Day 27: Gijón to Avilés

26 km. One 200m climb about 10 km in, otherwise just hilly, fairly easy walking.

I set out this morning not expecting much from the day. First, the weather app had downgraded the forecast overnight from ‘chance of rain in the afternoon’ to ‘chance of storms starting at 1 pm.’ I have had no lightening so far on this trip and wasn’t sure what to do with this information.

In addition, the Wise Pilgrim app has this to say about this stage: ‘From here [Gijon], all the way to Avilés, is difficult walking almost exclusively on pavement through city and industrial areas; the exception to the grime is the protected habitat west of the steel plant.’ Harsh words, indeed. Some websites suggest that if you are going to skip a stage (e.g., take a bus), this is the stage to skip. To skip or not to skip is actually a hot topic among pilgrims. Perhaps that is why I only saw one other pilgrim during my walk (going the other way), and all he said to me was, ‘This is the ugliest stretch so far!’

The weather was a concern, but not all weather sites had such dire predictions, so I decided to go for it. As for not walking, I am willing to compromise on many things - for example, staying in private rooms or reducing my daily walking distances - but walking every step is important to me. For some, this is a holiday and this is certainly a beautiful and rewarding holiday to take. For me, there are aspects of being a pilgrim that I associate with as well.

Merriam-Webster defines a pilgrim as either 1) one who journeys in foreign lands, or 2) one who travels to a shrine or holy place as a devotee. I am certainly traveling in a foreign land, and this journey does in fact end at a holy place, the Cathedal of Santiago de Compostela. I am not sure whether I would call myself a religious devotee, but I am walking this Camino to remember who I am and what I am capable of, and for me, making a spiritual connection is an important part of the process. Each step gives me time to either clear my head or reflect. It is so important that we make time for both in our lives. And beyond these lofty goals, I am simply a person who likes to do the best job I can at whatever it is. We each will define our ‘best Camino’ differently. For me, it’s taking all the steps.

So I preemptively covered my pack and set out with low expectations. In hindsight, it makes sense that reality stands a much greater chance of pleasing us by setting the bar very low. I did not find the day nearly as dismal as advertised! It was sunny when I left, and walking through central Gijón by the beach was lovely. Then there was a long walk out of the city, which I broke up by stopping for second breakfast. (Afternoon rain forecasts do not inspire me to hurry.) This ended in a brief industrial stretch, after which the road wound back up to a ridge, the start of about 13 km of rural farmland walking.

The last 9 km was definitely a long haul through an industrial area, with smoke billowing, etc. So far this Camino I have listened to no podcasts or music while walking. I associate these with my daily life too much, and also, I feel more connected without them. But in preparation for this stretch, I downloaded the audio version of the book I am reading, Don Quixote, and listened to that. It did not intrude on my experience and worked a treat at getting me through the stretch.

And finally, the icing on the cake for this underdog of a day…it didn’t rain! There was an hour or so in the early afternoon when it became windy and dark clouds rolled in, but they passed right by. All in all, not a bad day at all.

I arrived in Avilés and found my hotel just off of two lovely plazas. I showered, treated all of my new blisters*, got dressed, put on my elf shoes, and went out in search of dinner. (No menú del día today.) I was hoping for something a bit substantial and healthy, but I could only find one place serving food before 8 pm, and that was a sandwich restaurant. Oh well. I ordered a hot chicken sandwich that had plenty of lettuce and tomato and at least it filled me up and fueled me up with some protein.

*As for blisters…really? After my body has just been healing so nicely? I found two last night, one on the fourth toe of each foot. Then tonight I found one on my left big toe, and an area where one is threatening to start on my right big toe. (It’s cute how my feet like symmetry.) Thankfully, I have some magic, super-effective ointment that a pharmacist recommended a couple weeks back, when I had a cut that wouldn’t close after a week. (She looked at me and said, ‘You should put ointment on it and cover it up’, and barely refrained from adding ‘duh!’)

Photos from the day:

Leaving the hotel. Already looking pretty good!

Lots of surfers

Ok, not so beautiful, I suppose

But then there was this.

Ok, not great.

But then ducklings! Aw…

Path not bad on the ridge.

Stumper.

Farmland

A Los Celleros local must have started this lovely pilgrim stop.

Pilgrims leave their names or messages

Time for Don Quixote…

Arrived in Avilés!

My hotel is just down the lane.