31 km. Partly cloudy and beautiful in the morning, then steady rain for the rest of the walk. The climbing was reminiscent of the first week, with a similar total ascent/descent of about 850m. This included two big ascents of about 400m and 250m. I wasn’t sure I could do it, but my leg held out.
Got an early start (for me) just before 8 am. There were not going to be many food stops along the way, and I wasn’t sure I would have time to stop anyway, so my pack was heavy with extra food and water. No menú del día for me today, I was going to keep moving. The first hour was pretty flat, and I was cruising along feeling special for making good time. Then I hit the first hill. Slow and steady…it was steep.
I had a goal to take it easy (75%), stop when needed, and take my pack off each hour to stretch. At one point near the start of the climb, I saw a sign for Nievares, which would leave me 300m to go. I decided that I would stop there to relax and eat my first cheese sandwich. (No second breakfast today!) Up, up, up I went, just focusing on progress. Eventually, I thought, ‘Ok, I’ll stop in Nievares, or at 11 am, whichever comes first.’ Then ten minutes later, I decided I’d better check the map. Turns out, I had read that sign wrong! I was well past Nievares and almost two-thirds of the way up. That felt great. I stopped then, stretched, decided the sandwich could be eaten at the top, ate some chocolate covered walnuts, drank water, and continued on.
My walk so far had been solo, and I had not even seen other pilgrims. This is actually good when you are taking on a challenge and want to be sure you are walking at the pace that is good for you. It’s not so great for celebrating, though. Just before I reached the top, a large group of Spanish pilgrims caught up to me (no backpacks, they were having them transferred). When we reached the top, they let out a cheer and high-fived each other with trekking poles, then kindly included me in the fun. I was so grateful, because I was pretty relieved and proud and it was good to share the achievement.
After the big hill, I was feeling on top of the world. It had started to rain, but only lightly, so I didn’t mind the cooling effect. The second hill came shortly after the first, and I made it up and over that, too. Life was good! The rest of the walk (about 12 km) was going to be easy. Then…the rain picked up. The temperature dropped and my pants were quite wet. At Deva, with about 10 km to go, I ducked into the first restaurant I’d seen open all day. And guess what? The only thing they were serving was menú del día! Well twist my arm, then.
Sat and ate, hoping the rain would at least slow some, but it didn’t. As I waited, I got colder. Partly because I wasn’t moving, and now that I wasn’t walking I could feel it (and my pants were still wet), and partly because the temperature continued to drop. Other diners were bundled up in puffy jackets and I did the same. After I finished my meal, I decided to wait 30 more minutes. It did not stop. So, I put on all of my layers under my rain jacket and set out. The last two hours weren’t terrible, but they weren’t awesome either. I was at the outskirts of Gijón, so it was mainly wet city neighborhood walking.
By the time I arrived at my hotel, all of my layers were wet. I’m not sure how that happened, but I think it was from me constantly opening my coats to try to dry my phone and hands on my t-shirt so I could consult my map. Anyway, I made it and it still feels good. Once I arrived, I bought groceries for dinner, and had a long, hot shower. Heaven.
A note on the challenge today: I have always been a good walker and love a climb, and I am used to passing people on a trail. At home in Brisbane I often climb Mt. Coot-tha, which is 250m, and to prepare for trip I climbed up and down three times with my pack. But this Camino has been different. The sheer mileage wears on me, and here I am just a solid medium-speed walker. This reality reminds me to let go of certain ‘identities’. Sometimes they are just stories we have told ourselves, anyway. The proof is in the pudding, as they say.
The summits of both hills were surrounded by trees so no views from the top. Photos from the day:
What a trip! Good job still carrying your pack