Start: Cañero
End: Villapedre
Distance: 14.29 miles (23 kilometers) and 1,428 feet (435.25 meters) of ascent.
Quote: “"Whoever does not know his history is doomed to repeat his mistakes.” ~ Sir Paul Preston, an English historian and Hispanist, biographer of Franco, and specialist in Spanish history, in particular the Spanish Civil War, which he has studied for more than 30 years. (This a quote that was posted along the Camino today near an historical site related to the Spanish Civil War.)
Musings: So today seemed like a typical Camino day so I thought I’d try to give you sense of that. We typically set the alarm for 7am. (Well, sometimes Carol suggests that we set the alarm earlier to which I almost always agree—albeit with a few grumbles.) We then check our laundry lines strung all around our room to see if our clothes dried overnight, put on the clothes we need for that day—dry or otherwise, pack all our other stuff away into our big or small day packs, drop our big packs off for Correos (the Spanish mail service) to pick to transport to our next location, and see what may be available for breakfast (if anything) at our hotel/hostel/albergue. Breakfast could be anything from a piece of toast and jam, to ham and eggs, to apple cake and yoghurt, which is what we had today. We then start walking. Carol is almost always way ahead of me within the first mile. I tell her that walking is one of her super powers.
Today, Jihong started walking with us almost from the get-go. Before long, she and Carol were far ahead of me. Frankly. that was good because I needed some walk-alone time. I’m one of those weird extrovert/introverts. I love being with people and can hold my own in just about any conversation, but to recharge when my energy is low I need quiet alone time. Things have been pretty social here on the Camino for awhile so a morning walking alone was perfect for me. So often, other pilgrims have mentioned to me that they love the time walking with other pilgrims but the time walking alone is just as important, and they love how the Camino offers an abundance of both.
This morning as I walked I was thinking about whether and how the Camino has changed anything for me and whether any of the changes will “stick” when I’m back in “regular life.” The Camino has definitely changed me physically. I think I’m as strong now than I have ever been as an adult. I have some developing osteoarthritis and was experiencing the start of some regular hip pain before I left. I haven’t experienced even a hint of that pain in at least two weeks. I have a troublesome shoulder that hasn’t felt this good in years. (I attribute that to muscle strengthening from all the use of trekking poles for the last several weeks.) The only ill-effects I’m experiencing are some mild blisters that I’m nursing on a couple of toes. What I’ve been wondering is how I maintain these good physical effects when I’m back home and not walking 15-20 miles every day? I definitely haven’t figured that one out yet. Let me know if you have any good ideas! The only thing I’ve come up with so far is to plan and start another Camino!
I’ve also definitely benefiting from largely unplugging here. I certainly haven’t done a social media or news “cleanse” like some do on the Camino. I check the headlines back home and also check-in occasionally on social media, but I certainly consume far less of both here. It’s mostly the slower, more relaxed pace that I’m enjoying—the time to have really thoughtful conversations and the time to reflect that is in abundance here. How can I maintain that at home?
Finally, the writing I’ve done on this trip has been my biggest Camino surprise. I didn’t go into this thinking that I would be writing as much as I have. I thought I’d jot a line or two with daily pictures, and that would be it. Had I realized how much writing I would be doing, I would have brought an iPad or something other than just my iPhone because this blog has been a lot of thumb-typing! But I’d like to keep writing more when I get home. It’s been fun and has given me a creative outlet that I have thoroughly enjoyed. I just have to sort out what that will look like when I’m home—writing classes or a writing group, some sort of blog that incorporates photography unrelated to the Camino, or what?
And then, just as I was getting pretty tired of my own thoughts, I descended into the coastal town of Luarca and found Carol, Jihong, and Cherie and Sue from Newfoundland, Canada, and we all gathered in a little cafe for our second coffee for the day (and perhaps a pastry too). Of course, just as we were about to leave, Tony and Helen arrived too. So we had a little Camino reunion in the cafe and then each continued their walks.
Carol, Cherie and Sue—all fast walkers—were soon ahead of me again. But just on the outskirts of Luarca, I meet up with Hilary, a pilgrim who originally hails from Cincinnati and Chicago, but who has traveled all over the world, and is presently considering a move to NYC. Hilary and Riley, who you were introduced to on this blog yesterday, met on the Camino and often stay together to share expenses but rarely walk together—not by design but just because they walk their own Caminos. As a result, there are folks on the Camino who have met Riley but not Hilary and vice versa. I was one of those who knew Riley but not Hilary. Well, today remedied that. I had the wonderful experience of walking all afternoon with Hilary and soon after Jihong joined us too. So the afternoon offered lots of opportunity for great conversation about the Camino and our experiences on it, world travel (both Hilary and Jihong have traveled solo throughout many parts of the world), what we plan to do next, and how to keep the great parts of the Camino with us in “real life.”
Several miles later we arrived at my destination for the day—Villapedre. Both Jihong and Hilary were walking further, but they wanted to stop for lunch in Villapedre. I was very hungry so wanted lunch as well before I checked into my hotel/hostel. We walked into the cafe in Villapedre and there, of course, was Carol, Sue, and Cherie! We settled into a table, and soon Helen and Tony arrived too. (By coincidence, Carol and I and Helen and Tony are staying in the same towns and the same hotels/hostels for three nights running!) And finally, through the door stepped Riley! So we had a confirmed sighting (with photo below) of Hilary and Riley in the same location along the Way! It was a veritable pilgrim party at the cafe!
Eventually, Carol and I made our way to the hotel, showered, hand-washed our clothes, and hung them to dry, read about tomorrow’s walk, chatted with loved ones back home, and then headed back to the cafe for some dinner—chicken cutlets for Carol and Asturian Fabada bean stew for me. Fabada is this wonderful dish made with Asturian white beans, which are the largest white bean I’ve ever seen. Contrary to expectations, the size of the bean does not make it tough. These enormous beans are buttery in texture and just melt in your mouth. Fabada consists of these Asturian beans cooked with Spanish chorizo sausage, blood sausage, and bacon back. It’s then seasoned primarily with saffron and paprika. It’s scrumptious! (Picture below!)
Carol and I are now back again at our hotel and both tucked in bed. Carol is reading and I’m obviously writing the Camino Capers. We will soon turn out the lights only to wake up and start all over again. But that’s the thing. Although this was an average Camino day, there’s no such thing as a typical Camino day. Tomorrow will bring different walking challenges, different weather, different scenery, different people, different conversations, and different musings. It’s all one Camino and yet different Caminos everyday.
Until tomorrow then, here are the photos from today:
Carol ahead and then Jihong on the trail this morning.
I think you’ll be seeing a lot more photos of us with these markers as the kilometers to Santiago tick down. We started at more than 800 kilometers.
A pretty run-down hórreo but with beautiful flowers decorating it!
Gorgeous flowers everywhere!
Luarca — where we stopped for our second café con leche.
It’s pretty run down, but this hórreo has a “for sale” sign attached. At least it comes with a nice view!
Jihong and Hilary on our walk this afternoon!
A sweet tribute someone made on the Way.
More Jihong and Hilary on the trail this afternoon.
A rare joint Hilary and Riley sighting!
Gotta have at least a couple of farm animals in each post . . . .
The sunset from our room just before lights out. And yes, that’s the Atlantic Ocean in the background.
I agree with you Tammy! Writing is fast becoming an apparent gift of yours and you need to pursue it. You both are inspiring ladies. What a joy to hear about your journey. God Bless you both 🙏🏻🤗 Good to see you are taking time to smell the roses 🌹
The flowers along the way are beautiful!