Dreadknot and Two Feathers

It's amazing what a little bit of rest does for an injury! We only left for the Camino at 09:00 which is a very late start for us, passing by one of the many ancient " lavendarias" (communal laundries) that are now historical points of interest as we made our way out of town.

Shuffling up the steep hill climb, we met a woman who lifted our spirits and made our day. Fili Katova is a wonderful artist and a free spirit who also has a home stay for peregrinos at her beautiful artsy home. 

If only we had known about this awesome place, we would have kept on walking yesterday and stayed here instead! I would definitely recommend it. Fili also showed us her art which is gorgeous, colorful and expressionistic bringing together nature, culture and people.

She was about to go to a neighboring village to paint a "carpet mural" in the town square for a festival that was taking place there. This is the painting depicted below.

Check out her artwork at www.katova.blogspot.com or bisontedemaariz.blogspot.com

What a divine human being. I'm so happy to have met her!

Both of our injuries were feeling much better today, a huge relief considering the  massive climb that confronted us first thing in the morning. The terrain fortunately flattened out for a long stretch this afternoon, allowing us to make more miles than expected today.

Today Josh got a trail name: Dreadknot. His long dreads tied up in a top knot above his head has been the interest of every person we've come across. It's the perfect name! Now we go by Dreadknot and Two Feathers. 😀

A 22 miles/35km day brought us to the town of Vilalba where we're camping behind the Albergue in a nice sheltered nook. After a camp meal of noodles, avocado, nectarine and melon juice we're feeling pretty stoked about the day.

We received a gift of melon juice from another hiker who we've called "Speedy Shorts". Another pilgrim we've met on and off for the past week, Susanna from Hungary also kindly offered to share some of her supper and then took photos of us in our tent, as it is interesting considering that hardly anyone does this hike with a tent. The other Hungarians at the Albergue were very intrigued by Dreadknot's hair and wanted to feel it and look at it which cracked him up laughing.

We see the finish within our sights and we're loving the journey!

Best item in the pack: Frogg Togg rain ponchos. We've used them as rain ponchos, tent camouflage, tent darkener as it stays light until after 10:00 pm and a picnic blanket. 

Grand cathedrals, rolling hills and forests

Day 21: We're currently walking across Galicia, the final province in our foot journey across northern Spain. 

We've backpacked with 12kg/25 lb packs for 32km/20 miles every day now for 20 days and we're feeling it! Today we hiked 16 miles and decided to take a rest in the delightful town of Mondonedo where we're staying as guests in the seminary adjacent to the huge cathedral built in Gothic and Baroque styles. An unexpected and interesting spontaneous experience! 

During our journey here this morning we met a fabulous couple parked in their traveling van outside a closed, unused Albergue in one of the small towns. They gave us trail magic in the form of coffee and cookies and were so interesting to talk to. They come from the Netherlands and Belgium and have a dream of opening and running an Albergue somewhere along the Del Norte, however they are experiencing resistance by the mayor of this small village for one or another reason. I hope their dream comes to fruition as it is a much needed service from what we can gather.

 The town of Laurenza was a fantastic place to buy fresh produce and we left with heavily laden backpacks after witnessing the cutest little cluster of kiddies obviously out on a school field trip at the cathedral. Surprisingly, many of the bigger churches have been open for the last week in towns we've been through.

The route in this area is very well marked with some steep climbs, followed by pleasant forest walks and downhill slopes into villages.

Fascinating architecture abounds whether it be in the dry stack rock walls or grand Gothic or Romanesque cathedrals.

The town we're staying in tonight is Mondonedo which is designated a historic-artistic heritage site. It was the provincial capital until 1833 and prior to that had been taken over by the Moors for a century and a half and recaptured in 858. The strange part about this historical fact is that one would think that over a period of 150 years the Moors would have built things and left an imprint of their presence and yet, to my knowledge there are few to no artifacts to be found. Were they all destroyed? 

We unexpectedly landed up at the door of the seminary and got a very comfortable private room in this grand, historical establishment for less than we would have paid at an Albergue.

When we arrived in town we wanted to see whether we could go inside the huge cathedral and popped our heads inside the door. We discovered that Mass was in progress being given in English by an Irish priest to an all Spanish community!

Hopefully after a night of good solid rest we'll feel strong and be able to tackle the next 100 miles/160km to Santiago. First we have to get up over the steep climb tomorrow to the peak known as the Alto da Xesta! See you on the flip side.

Making the southbound turn at Ribadeo

Day 20: We were so cosy in our camouflaged tent  in the woods last night. After breaking down the camp we left no trace of anyone ever having been there.

One of the differences we have noticed nearing Galicia is that their grain storage houses or horreos are shaped differently, rectangles instead of squares.

It was with a great sense of relief and excitement that we walked across the very long Os Santos Bridge into the pretty city of Ribadeo in Galicia, Spain's most north westerly province. The western cliffs at Finisterra were thought to be " the end of the world" by the Romans. 

The natives in this area speak two languages, Galician ( related to Portuguese) and Spanish. We've been trying to communicate in Spanglish and so far have got by. I have to admit that I smile and nod a lot while saying "Si" and "Gracias" for every second word. So funny!

Once in town we went to business of going to a bank to exchange money and buy a few items and fresh food that we needed. I am loving the peaches and apricots here. We've been buying them when we pass through big towns ever since we were in Basque Country. It is impossible to buy a vegetarian dinner at a restaurant and as a result I've had to resort to eating a lot of carbs: bread and patatas fritas ( French fries). I can't  wait for my own home cooked healthy meals again!

Enjoying the sights of this lovely city and encountering friendly and helpful locals, we decided to press on. 

The Camino was now taking us up, up and away into the mountains with small villages once again. We noticed more vegetable food farming and forestry. We are heading into a biosphere reserve area. Apparently the introduced Eucalyptus Tree has run rampant in the wild. It was first planted by the paper industry in the mid twentieth century and we've noticed how commonly found these trees are now.

Along the Camino, ever since the start we've come across these odd little sculptures outside of people's homes consisting of stones and steel rods bent into various shapes and it has piqued our curiosity.

Even though our injuries are still painful, they seem to be improving and we still managed to hike 21miles/34km and found a great place to "wild camp" on the top of a mountain. Next to the path leading down to the camp site where some deer hoof prints. There is evidently a very endangered European Wolf but farmers and hunters have almost exterminated it.

One thing we've noticed an abundance of are birds of prey which look like Hawks. We see them every day.

After camouflage the tent looked a bit different again.

We tried taking a panorama photograph of the map of the Camino Del Norte to show how far we've walked. It's been a very long way!

We're almost in Galicia

Last night Josh and I were cold all night in our tent. We put it down to the fact that for the first time there was no cloud cover to trap any warm air. Even though we thought we had chosen a nice even area at the camp site, we were both sliding off our mattresses all night on a slight slope. Despite that, we felt rested in the morning and bade our wonderful camp hosts at Otur Camping a fond farewell, limping back towards the Camino. My shin splints in my right leg were severe today and Josh's right foot injury was no better, adding to the fact that one of his blisters had burst open.

Anyway, we decided that as long as we kept moving forward, no matter how slowly, we would make progress.

Much of the day's walking was spent giving each other moral support and encouraging each other to keep on moving forward, one step in front of the other. Approximately every two hours we stopped to have a break and rest our injuries for 30 minutes or so. Josh even massaged my shin on a bench at the back of a gas station.

By the time we reached the town of Navia, I was finding it unbearable to walk. Fortunately it was a bigger town with a pharmacy and I bought a calf compression sleeve which actually really helped a lot, giving firm support to the inflamed muscle.

The long climb out of Navia led us to La Caridad by around 4:00 pm were many peregrinos were sitting outside of the Albergue. We learned that it was full or  "completo"as they say, as always by midday-ish,  but that did not affect us in the least, as we had our tent. We did however notice that there have been a few people who seem to be pretending to hike and catching buses between towns that are about 25km apart, then arriving at the Albergues, getting a stamp in their Credencial and taking the few beds available for people that are actually walking the whole way. I'm not here to judge, and I believe everyone is entitled to " hike their own hike", but this does seem unfair as there are inadequate affordable accommodations along this specific trail.

We walked through the town and as we came to the outskirts, we realized that we hadn't sampled the famous Asturian Cider yet, so we promptly remedied that fact! The waitress showed us how to pour the cider from high up into the glass and then drink it fast. This led to us giggling our way further along the Camino for awhile whilst being enveloped in the ever-present nauseating aroma of fermenting cow dung.

We thought we might be able to camp along the bank of the river in Porcia, but when we arrived there it suddenly didn't seem like a good idea as we couldn't see any hidden camping spots. Onwards we continued until we saw the beautiful sight of a little forest above the town.

Making our way stealthfully into the woods, we waited an hour and ate our salad sandwiches for supper. At 9:00 pm, the locals supper time, we set up the tent and camouflaged it with the branches lying around. Hopefully we will be safe and undisturbed tonight....

Gijon to Camping Paradise in Otur

To exit Gijon one has to walk through the industrial section of the city. A rather bleak walk to say the least but it was Sunday morning, so it was quiet and devoid of heavy vehicle traffic. There was some trail magic along the way though which was rather nice, in the form of water, snacks, encouragement and chairs to rest on.

As we walked out of our hotel we saw the Austrians walking up the road with Cavi who we found out was actually Javi. We were stoked to see each other once again, exchanging hugs, kisses and "shakas". Today we learned their names, Ernesto and Lisalotte. The steep climb out of Gijon led us past fields, forests and farms again on top of the hill and once we plummeted down the hill on the other side we found ourselves in the next little farming village.

 The Camino always takes the route past the village church, which was empty, so we sat in the churchyard and enjoyed a picnic lunch of whole grain pan (bread) which avocado and Asturian cheese.

Fueled for the next leg into Aviles, we continued on through a long stretch past the industrial wasteland that leads into the city. 

Once a thriving steel foundry town, it all looked like it had seen better days. We felt like we were walking through what would be the perfect movie set for a film about Chernobyl, it had that depressing, eerie, spent feeling about it. The warehouses and huge old production yard looked abandoned with broken windows and weeds taking over the buildings, while the enormous gas pipe running the length of the industrial area was leaking noxious gases that almost suffocated us as we walked past. 

We got caught in another thunderstorm and waited out the worst of it undercover at a cafe bar in the city center where we learned there was a week of festivities happening centered around an international Duathlon.

Not wanting to waste half a day, we pressed on, leaving our friends in town. The way led us past the huge St Thomas of Canterbury Church built in the 1300's.

From the hilltop outside of the town we could visualize how the city had been built along an estuary. Evidently, it boasts being the flattest land in the municipality, much of it reclaimed from the sea.

Another four hours of hiking brought us to the quaint village of Santiago Del Monte. 

The village church was built in 1130. Not knowing how our evening was going to progress, we made and ate our supper in the grounds before pressing onwards and upwards out of town. Once again we found ourselves in wilder surroundings on the top of the hill and scouted for a suitable campsite, finding the perfect spot in a clearing amidst a bluegum forest. 

Now comfortable in my wonderful, spacious but compact Big Agnes Flycreek UL3, lying on my comfortable Big Agnes sleep system, I reflect on how fortunate I am to be experiencing this wild and crazy adventure. I am so grateful to those friends and family who are with us in spirit and send encouraging messages which really lift our spirits and spur us on.

Best items in our packs by far over the past two days has been our rain gear which allowed us to keep moving forward: pack rain covers, rain ponchos and trekking umbrellas. Don't leave home without them!

We awoke and packed up our camp by 07:00 in the morning. It was raining and must have been pouring all night judging by the muddy trail and huge puddles of water along the trail. Our tent kept us completely warm and dry! 

The trail took us past a beautiful medieval village with a castle, and then another.

The entire morning consisted of mostly off-road trails that were completely muddy due to all the rain. We did experience some lovely coastal views as we progressed. 

I almost stepped on a fair sized snake which reared its head and hissed at me, then slithered off before I could take a photograph. Following that incident a little way further down the path, Josh said that I did actually step onto the next snake but I didn't realize it. I felt bad and hoped that it was okay, considering it was much smaller but it did slither away, with a little shimmy according to Josh. I was unaware of the fact that there are so many snakes in Spain, apparently there are 13 types, 5 of which are venomous. 

We made our way through many more villages where absolutely no humans were to be seen.

 Even in the town marked as a large "dot" on the map, we arrived hoping to at least find a pharmacy to purchase treatments to treat our achy bodies with. We were exposed to a town that was "empty". There were no stores and it appeared that 80% of the town was shuttered up and for sale. It was a little freaky to say the least. It seemed as though the only thing that was keeping the town alive were the Camino hikers.

After passing through a few more villages, the Camino offered two routes. A coastal route and an inland route. 

We took the coastal route and after about 23 miles for the day and with huge thunderclouds overhead we checked in at Pension Prada in Santa Marina, so happy to be out of the rain. The "Wise Pilgrim"  app brought us along this route.

Tomorrow we have to pull out all the stops to get to Otun. Buenos noches from the Camino.

Day eighteen was a big mileage day. We're motivated to get to Ribadeo, the last town in Asturias and then make our way south in Galicia towards Santiago de Compostela. These northern villages on the eastern side of Spain are very sleepy and we walked through multiple villages without seeing a soul. 

Each village is separated by a deep valley and you can either hike the road around the valley, or go through the valley on an unpacked trail which is a gorgeous choice as you plummet down through rough foliage and some of the trails take you to a beach, then comes the steep climb up and through the next village.

We were certainly rewarded with some epic ocean vistas as we plodded along on our injuries, trying our best to use mind over matter to get us through. Hardly any of the towns had any stores and finally we went through one that had a pharmacy which enabled us to purchase ibuprofen and arnica ointment. 

By late afternoon we arrived in the beautiful and very picturesque port town of Luarca 

with smelly clothes and aching limbs but the Albergue was full, so we pushed on to Otun to find a campsite, completing 37km/ 23 miles for the day. 

Now cosy in our wonderful tent we are extremely happy campers. We achieved our goal for the day, have clean dry clothes, as the campsite has a washer and dryer, we're showered, fed and I've got the most comfortable sleeping bag in the universe! 

Best items in backpack: Big Agnes Tent, Big Agnes sleeping pad, Black Diamond trekking poles.

Good night from el Camino Del Norte .