Camino del Norte
Day 16
Sept 18
Not so much new to report. Today we walked over 30 km with our core group of 6…..Donna reserved ahead for 8 beds here in Villaviciosa…6 for our group plus 2 extra for the others who seem to connect most nights.
We have our two Dutch girls, one Danish guy plus a Korean gentleman from Seattle. Today we also walked with a German fellow who joined us yesterday.
Tomorrow is the last stay on the official Norte Way….after that we will veer off inland on the Camino Primitivo… most of our crowd plans to do the same although we will lose one of the Dutch girls. The terrain remains quite varied, we are still walking near the ocean, sometimes right on the sand and often on the cliff tops overlooking the waves. At each beach area there are surfers out in wetsuits and we pass many camper vehicles…some VW’s like ours plus many ClassC type vehicles….mostly surfers I think.
The towns offer many Surf Schools, the beaches offer showers and lots of cafes to sit and watch the water.
Yesterday was sunny and we walked a shorter day…left late (8:20) and arrived at our albergue by the 3:00pm opening time. We got together and bought the makings for dinner for 6 which our Danish chef prepared as a great pasta offering plus salad… we fed some others as well!
Today the weather was fine, mostly cloudy but often bright and hot sunshine.
My feet continue to be a problem, I had blisters under my big toe which encourages me to walk more on the outside of my foot, this then creates blisters on the side of my heel as I walk gingerly trying to find that balance. Ironically for me it is easier walking up hill as I can stay more on my toes. It is reminiscent of my back country skiing trips where we walk uphill for hours in order to ski down in minutes. It works best to just keep my head down and power up the hills. The downhill is more difficult as my toes push forward into my shoes.
We may stay an extra night in Ovieda before heading into the Primitivo…it seems that I’m not the only one wanting a rest day before commencing the more rigorous Primitivo route.
We are eating very well and sleeping soundly. So far so good!
With love from Villaviciosa, Asturia, Spain.
Tim
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