Sept 17 Gijon to Muros de Nalon 15kms

we did not sleep well last night thanks to an erupting sink in our room and so we found ourselves laughin as Alvina stuffed a towel in the drain of the small offending sink around 2 am. We met up with everyone including our group of 5 and Sally and Thise and then Anita from Norway at 8 am and left to find our way to the bur-train station. we had decided to take a bus out of the city as there is a pretty long period of industry after Gijon and toward Aviles. Sally and Thise are heading for the Camino Frances as their time is short and they want to complet the journey to Santiago soon. So we are a trail of pilgrims in the early morning dark of the busy city and eventually figure out that we are all better off on the train. After a quick breakfast which we are beginning to enjoy very much (Cafe con lech, tostadas and zumo naharje), we say our good byes and head off.
We get lost on the train can you imagine. We get the right train and ride through some pretty bleak areas of big manufacturing places and then at the station for Salinas, we cannot open the door, so travel to the next station. It all works out with the help of our fellow travellers and we are soon deposited a few kms closer to our chosen destination. We do realize that we are cutting off our walking kms by douing this and determine that his is the last time for transportation of this kind.
From Piedros Blanco, we find food and head off to the camino once again. When you follow the arrows and the conchas (blue shells) generally the experience is wonderful and so it is today. We are walking through forest and villages and remote areas once again and quite enjoying the enviroment. It threatens to rain all day, but does not really amount to much so we are luck not to have to don our rain gear as it is so hot.
we are heading for a hostel in San Estoban. So we take our time, having lots of kms to do in lots of time, and eventually see our destination in the distance. As we round a corner off the roadway, there waits a woman with a small car. I think she has car trouble, but no, she is waiting to offer us a place in her home for a good price. Now we have been in private accomodation for 4 nights in a row, have seen no pilgrims in all that time and are anxious to be in the throngs of our fellow travellers. It is a tough decision as she offers to wash our clothes for us, imagine the luxury of a washer and dryer, it is like having your mother waiting around the corner for you. So we agree to follow her up the hill to her casa and take advantage of her offer. We are soon in a wonderful apartment of 3 bedrooms, kitchen and sitting room and she carts off our dirty clothes while we shower and go for food.
We have a wonderful time here, wine, good food and clean clothes, could life be more complete than this. We sleep like babies in the quiet of the country and the good after effects of the wine and of course so much laughter. I don´t even recall what we laugh about except for Sonja worrying about how to get into the very small shower in the bathroom and Jette telling her to just hop into the biday and then into the shower. this was only topped by Sonya yelling with the cold in the shower which had water that was very intermittently hot and cold. All the while, Jette is giving a foot massage to Alvina which she has never done before and we are amazind that Alvina trusts her to do this!
It is something to trust people we learn. We are so suspicious of the good intentions of people and with this women, as with others along the way, we are not sure if we should be going with the flow or questioning the choices that we are presented with. We decide from this experience to allow life to happen and to go with the opportunities as they occur and to trust the inherent good intentions of the people that seem to cross our path.
Maggee

Sept 16, 2010 Villavicoisa to Gijon 23 kms

Today was a great day. When you are faced with a mountain to climb in the morning, it kind of takes the wind out of you before you even begin. I am worried about this even before I get up this morning. So we are 7 today as Sally and Thise are walking with us on their last day on the El Norte. We walk for quite a long way and as I have one of the two books that is our guide, I must pay close attention to the directions. I must say that I have finally figured out the way to work with the Confraternity of St James guide book for this route. First you have to tear out the pages that you want and place them in a handy pocket. Then you must cross out the routes you do not want to follow, then you must be vigilant in following the directions of the chosen route. Once you do that, the guide book is detailed and for the most part quite helpful. We have been following the yellow arrows mostly which work out quite well most of the time. There are a few times when the route is not well marked, but if you choose the upwards direction when there is a choice, you seldom go wrong.
So we walk....... We arrive pretty quickly at the demarcation between the route to the south along the Primitivo and then the Routa de la Costa which we prefer. After this, for the first time, we meet pilgrims going in the opposite direction to Santiago and it is a bit different to see this. They are mostly Spannish people at this point.
The climb is serious when we reach this point. Up for 400 m and most of it up a very steep rocky path on the mountain which is covered in mist when we arrive at the top. I am worried about keeping the group together and so warn everyone that we must keep in contact as we climb this way. It is quite an effort, but we all make it, even with Yette shouting for taxis and telling us not to talk as it is too hard to breath as well.
The way down is along a road and it is a 4 km stretch of downward walking that is enough to kill the soles of your feet and give you blisters in places that you have not experienced before. I still have no blisters and should not even mention this as it may destroy the foot karma that I have now.
We are laughing a lot and having a wonderful time, splitting into little groups to chat and just to walk slowly down towards the town we are heading for. It is a long haul into the city of Gijon, and quite a long walk along the pavement even with a good break in the afternoon.
We are all quite worn down with the walk and discouraged with the size of this large city as we walk and walk and walk into the centre of it.
Well the Camino Angels continue to appear out of no where and when we are just about to start a desperate scramble into an expensive hotel, a man approaches us and asks if we are looking for a pensionne. Then he leads us like a group of lost sheep. We are at the same time not sure of his intentions, but in the end we are taken to a pensionne where we all get a bed and the cost is E10 to each of us. So here we are, first aperatif in place and waiting for a good hot dinner together.
Sally and Thise will take a bus to the French route tomorrow and will walk for another week together there. We hear that people ar running for beds there and actually sleeping during the day and walking at night to make sure they get some sleep as the beds are scarce. Sally will SMS us to tell us how it really is.
The 5 of us will now take a bus to Aviles to avoid the cement and the industry out of Gijon that is not pleasant or necessary to walk through. We will likely take another bus out of Aviles as it is also a big city and then walk to the next alberque which is about 15 kms furthe along.
We miss the alberques as there are not a lot and so when we stay in the pensionnes, we do not see the pilgrims.
I am finding this route to be so different from the French route. We walk longer days and usually arrive after 4 pm now, Often there are no alberques and if there is a hostel, it is full when we get there. Regardless, it is now cheaper for us as a group fo 5 to stay in a small hotel or a pensionne as it is cheaper or the same price as the hostel or alberque and certainly much more pleasant.
Will go for dinner and hope we can find something hot and good now as the group is waiting for me to provide the communiçation to all who are waiting to hear from us. We did not get much to eat today as the stores were closed for the fiesta when we arrived last night and so we had to scrounge for food today along the way.
Last night Alvina wrote this for me on the paper table cloth during dinner, which is most relevant for my journey.

"My true home is where I become who I want to be" Yeng Chin
Maggee

Sept 15 La Vega to Villavicoisa (35kms)

We intended only to walk about 25 kms today but because the albegue in Sebroya was so awful, (dirty beds and pillows and an overflowing toilet) we headed on the extra 6 kms to Villaviciosa. The day tomorrow is supposed to be over the mountain to Gijon which is 23 kms and 400 m and then 200 m to climb so we have prepared to make this manageable by staying here tonight.
Today was beautiful and we enjoyed such a wonderful walk along the beach to La Isla and then a great coffee. All day we have loved the walk through the hills with the sounds and the vantage points and the feeling of the earth and the energy of the ocean and the moutains which surround us at every turn. You need to stop and just listen to the ocean from time to time to feel the energy that is coming towards your very soul and to absorb the majesty of the possibilty of strength that is available if you stop to take it all in.
I am feeling better at last and hope that this flu is OVER as it is not pleasant to be sick along the camino.
We arrived in Villavicoisa around 6 pm having walked for about 35 kms or so to get here and so of course ended up in a small hotel. This is fine because of the fresh sheets on the bed and the private bathroom and the towels. Such luxury for a tired and sweaty pilgrim.
We have found Sally and Thise from Denmark from a few days ago and so we had a big reunion tonight and they will walk over the mountain with us tomnorrow and then divert to the Camino Frances to shorten up their trip as they have only a week to go before their flight home.
It is peaceful and quiet to walk with this group, except for the laughter which erupts often from the back quarters and the funny comments from our friend Yette. On the hardest hills she can be heard to yell for a taxi and she also shoutys out very ouldy CAR when one approaches so that we can junmp safely out of the way. this becomes a bot ridivulous when we are in the busier places and she is calling out the cars as they pass by. She is so free and funny with her observations, Nothing passes by her without comment, sp we are sure to observe far more with her around.
We are all tired and have had no time to write or absorb the impact of the day we have had on this wonderful journey. Today for example, we walked with Sonja, Yette and I and were munching in walnuts that she picked from the trees overhead. Then she surprised us with pulling a fruity off a large cactus tres and peeling it with my knife to give us a wonderful taste of cactus fruit.
I am tired and going to bed in clean sheets with the windows closed to shut out the noise of the fiesta that is raging here tonight. they seem to have these very large parties during the weeek and we wonder when anyone gets any work done as they are all coming home drunk and singing when we are getting up at 0630 am.
Maggee

Ribadesella to La Vega Sept 14, 2010 10 kms

what was supposed to be a short hopover the mountain carrying our wine and dinner and breakfast food, turned out to be a bit longer when we followed the arrows instead of the book. By the time we realized that we had taken a wrong turn, we were 3 kms DOWN the mountain from our planned destination and had arrived at a beautiful beach village called La Vega. So we took time for a drink, summed up our options and quickly took a room in the nearest bar which overlooked the most magnificent beach so far.
Our first aperatif was on the beach with the sun shining and the waves crashing and such a wonderul environment that we realized this was where we were supposed to end up on this day.
We had a wonderful night in an empty place with no one even wanting to drink and party in the bar below.
So we wer up early and on the way to La Isla for coffee along a beach track that was worth the diversion the day before.
Such is the camino. It takes you to where you need to be
Maggee

Sept 14, 2010 Pria to San Esteban (13km)

We are up early and it is wonderful again. Morning sun on the mountains and a good walk into Ribadesella where we have coffee and a break. We are leaving later in the morning now as the day does not get light until after 0730 am. We have done only 10kms today, but wiull walk a little further for 5 kms and then rest at the albeque there. There are not so many places to sleep along this way now and so we are being a little carelfu with the plan for walking each day.
We have a plan to take it easy for the next two days as we are all tired and it would otherwise mean walking 25 - 30 kms to get to the next bed. We have no problem taking a pensionne if it is availabe as it is often not much more expensive and so much nicer.
I will write more on this day later, Not sure if we will have access to internet before Villavicosa which is 2 days away now.
Maggee

We know that there are many people reading this blog and wondering about our journey. We send our love and thanks to all of you and especially to Ilana who is now home and resting in Bremen. So many people touch our hearts along the way and others who are following us in spirit and wondering what has happened to us, when you do not hear about our daily adventures through this blog. It is fun for me to be the scribe of the process and so we just want to tell you that we all appreciate that you are out there as our guardian angels.
From the
Camino Sisters

Sept 13, 2010 Llanes to Pria (20kms)

What a better day with the sun shining on us from the early morning. We leave early hoping for a good coffee break as we did not have time to buy food yesterday with our late arrival. It is not long before we get to a wonderufl little bar and are happy with the first Cafe con leche. The walk is wonderful, through little villages and then what a path along the coast, It is breathtaking and we are stopping every 10 feet to take pictures and to enjoy the feeling of the sun and the sea.. We are only walking a short distance today so we take our time with more breaks and talk with th epeople we meet as we come up to them.
One stop is at an abandoned monestary which is now occupied by 2 horses. Lots of people seem to come here to visit the place and it should really be restored as it is an ancient and special place. We continue walking and eventually come to the little village that we had anticipated finding a bed. The alberque in Pria is closed and there is nothing there except for a church!
Luckily for us and perhaps this is how it goes, there is a home with a women who adversites beds for peregrinos for E10, We stop in there with two other people we have met and can you believe it, she provides us 5 wtih an apartment, 2 bedrooms, a sitting room and kitchen as well as bathroom AND the use of the washing machine. It is like heaven for us. She then offers to take us back to town for food as we did not bring any with us for dinner.
So we have a wonderful evening,. clean clothes, good pasta dinner and a wonderfu sleep in a very quiet village with a kind lady taking care of us. Turns out that there are about12 people that end up staying in the accomodation that she has there and it is very nice, clean and new and wonderful. a blessing along this way.
I am walking with an ache in my knee today and wondering if it just the effect of all of the long days of the past weekend and the pavement. I am taking my time and getting good massage from Alvina who is a master at this. I feel like I am just walking walking walking now and while I enjoy the environment and the wonderful friendships, I am wondering about purpose and intention for myself.
This morning I realize that this is how life goes, you just carry on and deal with things as they occur. You can take the time to relish the moments or you can just pulg away waiting to arrive. I am learning from myself as I walk that there is much to alter in the way that I approach each situation and each moment ie as opportunity or as just one more thing to deal wtih.
We have increased our group to include Sonja and Yette now and they bring so much fun to us. Yette, especially is such a wonderful person. She is jolly and happy and we laugh a lot with her.

Sept 12, 2010 Unquera to Llanes (32kms!!)

Well, the rain all night did not bode well for us in the morning, It was dull and overcast and before we had walked 1 km, we had to put our rain gear on. It was rain and rain and rain all day long, sometimes light drizzle and sometimes more of a steady downpour. The environment was beautiful in spite of the weather and so we did enjoy more beauty and solitude. This morning we followed the bread man in his little truck, as he went his way up through the hills, honking and honking to bring the people out to buy their bread from him. The bread man delivery is a very importan part of the day here in Spain. Luckily we were able to find places both for coffee and for lunch this day and wer able to come in out of the rain to dry of a bit.
Walking in rain gear is for sure an experience,. You are wet from the sweat on the inside and wet from the rain on the outside. The only think that keeps you wark is the body heat that warms up the water proof interior of your garments which are totally soaked inside. This means that you cannot take anyting off as you are immediately chilled.
We follow a route that is not the Camino wanting to avoid the coast which we fear is slippery and hilly and so not want the danger that we had a few days ago. So we are on pavement all day - hard on the feet and joints and the day is very long. It is beautiful as we are walking the hills of Asturtia now and the mountains in the distance are wonderful.
Our big excitement comes near the end of the day when we realize a lot of activyt is setting up along the road side. Eventually comes a lot of vehicles and motorcade and sports vans and the helicopters which are following hte cyclists racint eht Tour de Spain. They are about 100 riders, all in a tight pacl and whiz past us very fast, but the entourage with them was very impressive.
We do not arrive in Llanes until 6 pm, totally drained and done in. We are wet and hungry and so exhausted. We reject the first alveque which is expensive and like a prison cell and in short order find ourselves a wonderful pensionne for 22E. We are unpakced, dried off and have the room hung like a laundry room with our wet gear all over the place in no time.
We get a few SMS messages from Ilana that she is heading to Bilbao now with Christanne to head for home in Germany.
At dinner that night, it is like a miracle, as we sit there finishing our food. All of a sudden comes Christianne with Franco and Robert who we also have met a few times. C has just returned on the bus from Bilbao after getting Ilana on the airplane to Germany and even has a picture for us to see. We have a wonderful time wiht her and it completes the worry that we had for both of them in the past two days.
Christianne is from Geneva and has been walking for months, intending to complete 4000 kms before she gets home, I don´t think we will see her again as she is walking very fast now and we are getting tired. it was intended that she find us that night just to complete the circle of care that we had around Ilana.
Maggee