Start: Avilés
End: Muros de Nalón
Distance: 15.2 miles (24.46 kilometers) and 1.819 feet (554.43 meters) of ascent.
Quote: “[Walking] is the perfect way of moving if you want to see into the life of things. It is the one way of freedom. If you go to a place on anything but your own feet you are taken there too fast, and miss a thousand delicate joys that were waiting for you by the wayside.” ~ Elizabeth von Arnim, The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen
Musings: Today we returned to the countryside and predominately wide, forested, easy-to-walk, dirt roads, which were kinder to Carol’s sore knee. The highlights included the Río Nalón and the Castillo de San Martín, a medieval castle which was built over the ruins of a Roman fort. You can see why both the Romans and the Spansih built a fortification here as no one would be able to navigate the bend in the river without paying tribute to the castle first.
I’ll post some pictures from today, but I also thought I’d take the opportunity to introduce some new Canino friends that we’ve met along the way that I haven’t had a chance to talk about yet. I’ll try to match photos to my descriptions where possible. Meeting fellow pilgrimages along the way and being able to talk with them and get to know them over miles of walking is one of the unique joys of this form of travel. I knew that this was part of the Camino before I came, but I did not realize how integral it would be to our experience here. As a new Camino friend, Michelle, put it today, “I feel on the Camino like I’m entering into an entire stream of souls.” I couldn’t agree more—both the souls we are traveling with today and the many more that preceded us along this path for the past thousand years.
I also wanted to reassure anyone who was wondering about my posts concerning other pilgrims. I always let folks know that I am blogging about my experiences here and ask for their permission before including them in it. I do not post unless they say it’s okay, and if I sense even a hint of hesitation I decline to do so.
So that being said, here are the photos for today, as well as some photos and brief introductions to some of the fellow pilgrims that we have met along the way:
Cathedral as we walked out of Aviles.
Interior of the same cathedral.
This is the condition in which we see most Hórreos. We have been told that they are protected structures so cannot be torn down. But a lot of people cannot afford to keep them up so they fall into disrepair.
Our new Camino friend, Rob from Winnipeg, walking ahead of me through a eucalyptus grove on the way.
Rob again in the foreground and Michelle, his wife, and Carol walking together ahead.
Rush hour on the Camino.
Michelle and Rob and Carol in front of a stone wall below an Hórreo with a (difficult to see) scallop shell and cross imbedded in the design of the wall.
Same wall but with me and Carol. Photo credit goes to Rob.
El Castillo de San Martín
Easy to see why two empires built a castle at this river bend.
Interesting dock style but it works!
Eucalyptus trees.
Introducing some Camino friends:
This is Michael from Belgium. I first met Michael on a very rainy day in Cantabria. I was leaning on my poles near the top of a steep hill in pouring rain. I’m sure I was a sight. I didn’t hear him coming up behind me but all of the sudden a voice said, “You’re almost there. Not much further.” Michael is kind and thoughtful and just the kind of service-oriented person anyone should want on a police force, which is what he does in his non-Camino life.
This is Chris from the UK. Chris is retired but previously worked in the insurance industry. We had wonderful talks about sustainable living, meat-eating, hunting (in theory, because neither of us really do it), volunteerism in retirement, and world travel. Chris has traveled all over the world and often treks where he goes. We said good-bye to Chris at the point where the Camino del Norte branches off to the Camino Primitivo.
This is Connie from Germany with Peanut her Pomeranian. We’ve met two families walking with infants in baby carriages, but Connie is the only pilgrim we’ve met walking with her dog. Peanut gets to walk some and ride some. This is Connie’s second camino. She did the Camino Frances without a pet along. Peanut makes the logistics of the camino a bit more difficult because most albergues will not accept Peanut, but they are already more than halfway so managing things fine.
These are three wonderful pilgrims that we met for dinner one night. At the head of the table is Danny from Phoenix. He’s a retired PA like Carol. We walked a good part of one morning with him and Michael along some of the beautiful Asturian coastline. He was a PA in the armed services and did one tour in Iraq. We’re still hoping to meet up with him again in the coming days.
Next to Danny is Mike from Germany. Mike is the head of a company that makes certain types of farm equipment. He’s taking time to walk the Camino after the pandemic—to recoup and revitalize.
Next to Mike is Irma. Irma is from Belgium and is the most inspiring pilgrim that I’ve met. Irma suffered a stroke three years ago and the right side of her body was paralyzed. She’s recovered from that experience and wanted to walk the Camino to punctuate her recovery.
Meet Marlene from Germany & Mélanie from Switzerland. These are two delightful young pilgrims we had the privilege of sitting near at dinner one evening in an albergue and then walking with for most of the next morning. Marlene is studying to be a teacher. She just finished her thesis for her first degree and will begin her masters in the fall. She’s walking the Camino between these two milestones. Mélanie is in the hospitality industry and is walking the Camino during a break and spending some time thinking about what comes next in her career.
This is Carol with Ulla from Denmark. We spent most of a day walking with Ulla and we talked about shared life experiences, the delights of parenting adult children, and horses! She presently owns four but used to own dozens! Ulla was walking just part of the Camino on this trip and has finished her Camino for now. Carol and I now have a friend anytime we are in Denmark and Ulla has two anytime she’s in the PNW. Her son is a world class weight lifter and she travels the world to watch him compete. She has now started competitive weight lifting as well!
Another young friend we met along the way is David from Melbourne — or as he put it the Seattle of the South! I didn’t get a picture of David but we had a long chat one morning about the relative benefits and detriments of mandatory voting (as they have in Australia) verses voluntary voting (as we have in the US). David had a lot questions about what is happening in US politics right now—as do many of our new European friends as well. These folks often have detailed knowledge about what’s happening in the States, which is not really that surprising since if the US sneezes the rest of the world can suffer the blowout—so to speak. Many have shared their worries and concerns and asked for our insights to help them understand. I usually confess that I am as confused as they are. But it’s been interesting and enlightening to listen to their takes on US politics from afar. It’s also been enlightening to hear about their local political situations and to realize how often their situations and ours seem to mirror one another in many respects. More often than not, our new friends from abroad view our situation and theirs through an historical lens that many Americans miss or fail to see. That’s just been my observation. But I think there’s a lot we could learn by listening more to these different perspectives.
Well - that’s all for now. Until our capers continue tomorrow, good night to all!
Liked reading about fellow pilgrims!
Great stories, and honestly, I can’t get enough of cathedrals! I love how delighted you are with all the pilgrims you meet. Seems like you found a perfect balance of internal/external exploration on this journey. Carry on, my friend! 😎