Approximate distance 20km

The Cicerone guide and Village to Village suggest crossing the mountains in Galicia in two days, a distance of 55km and 2200m of ascent. My knee is a bit better after a few easier days so I decided to split this part of the Camino into three.

There was no bar on today’s walk so I waited for the cafes in Ribadeo to open at 9am so I could have breakfast. The late start might explain why I only saw one pelegrina today.

There is a large central square in Ribadeo. The town hall is an old Palacio, a statue of its original owner stands on the steps.

The Torre de los Moreno is an imposing building next door but was covered in scaffolding as it is being restored. The restaurants left me in no doubt I was in Galicia

The local speciality is octopus and there were several pulparias. I must say I don’t fancy trying the dish.

It did not take long to cross the suburbs of Ribadeo. The route markers have changed, I can no longer rely on the orientation of the shell but have to watch for the arrow. The distance to Santiago is also shown on the stone marker so you get a countdown as you progress through the day.

187,540km seems a bit long. I don’t see how they can measure it to the metre. Call me a pedant but the distance would change depending which side of the road you walk on round bends.

The day started sunny but the clouds soon rolled in covering the mountain tops to the south. Once I left Ribadeo I began to go uphill. At first this was mainly on roads but as the morning wore on the proportion of time I spent on tracks increased. The cloud slowly lifted and as I gained altitude the views improved.

At Vilela there was an area for resting and calm

I continued to walk through eucalyptus forest. At intervals the trees thinned out so I could see the view. Between the forest there were fields and isolated houses.

The path descended to cross a river at Ponte de Arante where there was a hamlet and a Chapel.

I now had a 300m climb over about 5km, mainly through forest, to get to the Pension where I am staying. It was really nice to be in the hills again and I enjoyed the walk, one of my favourite days on the Norte. The view from my bedroom window was not to shabby either.

There were only two other pilgrims staying in the Pension. A mother and daughter (I think) from Brazil.

Approximate distance 23km

It was sunny when I woke up. I set off in shorts and a T-shirt. After a short section on the road I turned off on to a footpath through forest

The path emerged from the wood at the main road. I crossed the road to follow a series of minor roads that passed between villages. By now thick cloud had developed and it as cold . I stopped to re-attach my zip-off legs and put on my fleece. There was an unusual pilgrim in the front garden of one of the houses.

The pilgrim theme was repeated at another house

The scenery was typical of the last few days, fields interspersed with woodland with mountains forming the backdrop.

It started to rain. There was another stretch of off road walking. At Porcia I crossed a river by an old bridge

I must admit the next 7km was a bit of a trudge. Mainly walking on tarmac with a few tracks until I arrived at the town of Tapia de Casareigo. I walked above a rocky beach.

I stopped for brunch. The men’s loo had an unusual game in the urinal

On the other side of town the Camino passed above a lovely sandy beach. I then followed a road climbed gently away from the beach. There was then a long, straight section of farm roads. In good weather this would have been pleasant but there was low, grey cloud, grey sea and the mountains were obscured by mist and cloud.

I passed the beautiful Playa de Peñarronda, there was a bar above the beach. Even though it was drizzling I stopped for coffee as this is the last beach of the Camino.

There was now a long section along minor roads but the sun came out! I missed a yellow arrow and ended up on the outskirts of Figueras but it was only a few hundred metres extra.

I left Asturias by crossing the estuary of the Ria de Ribadeo on a pedestrian path by the side of the A8.

I was now in Galicia, the last region in my journey across northern Spain. On my look round Ribadeo I bumped into Rosa and Stefan. They were on their way to the albergue with a large carrier bag of beer and wine. How much walking they will do tomorrow I wouldn’t hazard a guess. Richard and Elin are also in town.

I have been a bit negative about the last few days in Asturias. I think if the weather had been better I would have enjoyed the walks more. Also there are several sections when you can follow the GR coastal path which I haven’t because of the rain.

Approximate distance 31km

I had hoped the weather would be more settled and sunny by the end of May but we had another day of frequent showers. Unusually I saw very few other pilgrims today. My good (left) knee was slightly swollen this morning and my calf was sore. Not a good start to a long day’s walk.

The walk was easy but long. Like the last few days the landscape was rural passing between fields and through forest. I thought the receptionist at the hotel said the walk up the road was better than the Camino but there was a bit of a language barrier. Most of it was on a path by the side of the road along the top of the gorge of the Rio Negro.

I rejoined the Camino at Villiur. I followed a series of farm roads and tracks between fields and past scattered houses.

As the path climbed the hillside there were good views back to Luarca. Ominously, I could see rain out to sea.

The path entered woodland. As it wound round the hillside I could see rain approaching from the mountains. I donned my wet weather gear before the heavy shower arrived.

The shower soon passed and the path dropped down to a road that went next to an impressive viaduct carrying the A8 across the valley.

I

I walked through a village and I discovered what happens to those road signs you see in souvenir shops.

The weather was very changeable. When I arrived in Navia it was raining.

By the time I had a bite to eat and crossed the estuary the sun was out.

The afternoon’s walk was similar to the morning. I past a better preserved (or restored) laundry site

I had assumed these dated from a couple of hundred years ago but later I passed another one with the date 1930 on its roof.

As I neared La Caridad the waymarks changed

The nail on the cross points the way. Hidden by the roses is the date 1993 which was on all the crosses . I only saw these in this part of Asturias.

I was soon in La Caridad. My hotel was a lovely old house and the owner greeted me with a glass of beer.

Approximate distance 16km

There appears to be a disagreement about the distance of today’s walk. Gronze says the distance is 15km, the Cicerone guide says it is 16km and Wise pilgrim says it is 19km. Whatever, it was a short day’s walk.

I retraced my steps through Cadavedo to rejoin the Camino. On the way I bought some trail snacks. I have learnt my lesson.

After leaving Cadavedo, I turned off the road to pass through farmland, mainly on tracks. I could see the sea in the distance but the mountains inland were obscured by mist and low cloud. There was an odd sculpture in a field

Soon after it began to rain again. The Camino predominantly followed tracks which crossed and recrossed the N634. I suspect this was the original road between villages which has been replaced by the new main road. I stopped in Canero for coffee along with a couple of wet cyclists.

I missed the yellow arrow near the bar so followed the road which wound round the hillside. The path cut across the bends in the road so I was able to pick it up and climb steeply through woodland. The last part of the journey to Luarca was mainly along the road.

I got to Luarca in time for a late lunch. By now the cloud was breaking up and there were sunny intervals

Luarca was a pretty town, built into the hillside with narrow streets.

Approximate distance 21km

Breakfast at 7am and I was on the road soon after 7:45. The supermarket didn’t open until 9am so all I had for trail snacks today was half a bar of chocolate and three energy bars.

There was a nice pilgrim statue by the church.

I left the town with Max, a German who was at the albergue last night. The Camino is certainly going to change his life, he has decided to propose to his girlfriend when he gets home.

I left the road and climbed in along a track through forest to rejoin the road after about a kilometre. I had been vacillating about what to do since I arrived at the albergue last night.

The Ballotas route stays near the coast but, as far as I could see had so many ups and downs that it would have been nearly as hard as the Camino route that crosses the Sierra de las Palancas. Both the Dutch man I met yesterday and the hospitalera last night were very encouraging about the high level route. The sun was breaking through the cloud so I set off up the mountain. At first there was a well defined track that was not too steep, running through attractive woodland.

After a while the Camino turned off the track on to a poorly defined path. The undergrowth was wet because of the recent rain so my bottom half got soaked.

There was an added complication. A lot of the shell direction indicators had been vandalised. Using a bit of common sense, the side of the path where the stone indicator posts had been placed and with reference to gronzemaps I managed not to get lost.

It began to rain. I continued to climb on a mixture of tracks and paths until I met a road. The Camino tended to keep to the ridge so, despite the cloud, there were good views into the mountains and to the coast.

The rain stopped and visibility steadily increased. I followed the road for about a kilometre before returning to a well defined stony track. This was so much better than the miles of roads I had walked on since entering Cantabria. if it had been a sunny day it would have been perfect.

The summit of the sierrra is 633metres but there is a transmission station at the top so the path countours round the mountain just below the top.

The descent was initially down a narrow stony path which reached a forest track that ran down to a minor road in the valley.

The path joined the low level path well to the west of Cadavedo. At some point I realised I had booked a hotel in Cadavedo which meant a 2km walk in the wrong direction. I would have done better to continue to the albergue in Canero. To make matters worse, the hotel I had chosen was half a kilometre outside the other side of Cadavedo.

I was quite hungry by the time I got to Cadavedo. I had finished my chocolate near the summit. Everything was shut because it was siesta time. Happily, I reach my hotel 30 minutes before they stopped serving the menu del dia. There were two Antipodean cyclists who had just eaten. What a coincidence, one was a radiographer like Angela and the other was a paramedic like my son, Tim.

After an enormous bowl of Asturian soup followed by grilled fish and finished off with chocolate cake I felt rather full. The Belgian couple arrived as I was tackling the soup so they are convinced I am a glutton.

Approximate distance 16km

This was a short day so I had a leisurely start at about 9:00. I walked through Muros. The shops were open but, stupidly, I didn’t buy any trail snacks. It was a Sunday and nothing else was open. This decision would come back to bite me tomorrow.

I walked past the train station. There is a narrow gauge (1000mm) railway that extends from Irun to Galicia. I have seen it several times on the Camino and I used it when I stayed in Bilbao to facilitate a day when I only carried a day sack. It seems there are stops in almost every village. I mused how long it would take to return to Irun by this route and then get the TGV from Hendaye (I asked Mr Google, minimum journey time is 12 hours but you have to start at about 05:45 or you cannot do it in a single day).

After crossing the railway I followed nice tracks through the forest for about 4km to emerge at the town of El Pito. There is a stately home here that has been donated to the public, the Quinta de Selgas Palace.

I haven’t found out much about the history of the palace, but most of the large houses in this part of Spain were built by the returning Indianos, many of whom made their fortune from the Cuban Slave trade.

There was a rather attractive church.

According to Gronze.com the altar in the church dates back to the 8th century and was re-discovered in 1905 when it was being used as a table in a bar. I really fancied a coffee, I usually try to stop for one after 5-10km but there was nowhere open. As I left the town I passed a house with a rather nice pilgrims gate post.

The next part of the day was spent on paths and roads that led uphill to give nice views along the coast. I then descended to the village of El Rellayo. Here I took a short diversion from the Camino to the beach of La Concha de Artedo.

A Lithuanian woman, Monika, was sitting on the beach. I have seen her several times over the last week or so but not walked with her. She still had 18km to go so she soon set off, after taking a photograph.

I continued to the bar at the end of the beach where I had the largest portion of tortilla yet for lunch. A Belgian couple I have seen several times were there; every time they see me I seem to be eating.

After lunch I rejoined the Camino by an elevated wooden walkway and then a track that wound its way uphill. I could not miss the turning.

I continued uphill by tracks and minor roads. There were the usual good views of the surrounding hills and villages

After descending through forest I joined the main road, quiet because most through traffic now goes on the A8. I turned off to the Reguara albergue.

Another lovely, small albergue. While waiting for dinner I sat with Toby, one of the few Englishmen I have seen, following the final day of the Premier League on BBC Sport. We were both happy with the outcome: City won the premiership and Chelsea qualified for the Europa league. Lancashire had their first win of the season in the County Championship so all was good in the sporting world.

There was a nice vegetarian dinner (lentil stew, bread, salad) with the usual multinational mix of Peregrinos.

Approximate distance 23km

I am waking early every morning which was frustrating today as breakfast was not until 8:30 and I was unsure when I would pass a cafe on the walk. This was the first day since u started when it has rained all day and it was wet weather gear from the start.

The exit from Aviles was through part of the old city where the fisherman used to live, Sabugo, where there was an old church. An information panel informed me that they used to sit at an old stone table outside the church to plan their expeditions.

A Californian woman wished me “Buen Camino.” She asked if she and her companion could walk with me for a bit, it transpired they had run a marathon a few days before they came on the Camino. I said that I thought I would be much slower than they were and, indeed, I lagged behind at the first hill.

The first part of the walk was mostly road. The cloud was down, it was raining so it was a case of head down, keep walking. I amused myself by trying to spot unusual waymarks:

I stopped in Piedras Blancas for a coffee. I met a Dutchman on his way home. We had a discussion about route options. There are a lot of negative posts about a high level route in a couple of days but he said it’s fine and showed me some photographs he had taken. I will choose this route if the weather improves.

After coffee I climbed up to a ridge on roads. Here I joined a dirt track which ran for several kilometres. On a clear day this would have been a fine walk, past fields and through woodland, with views over the mountains and towards the sea.

I descended to a road in a small village where there was a bus shelter. At least this got me out of the rain while I ate a sandwich. As I crossed the road to continue Richard and Elin came down the path and I walked with them for the rest of the day.

We joined a forest trail that led up through woodland to a bare area that a sign said, I think, that it was being used to extract mineral deposits. We continued down a track that had obviously been used by heavy machinery.

We arrived in the old town of El Castillo de San Martin. The medieval tower could be seen across the valley

We walked up through the village with good views over the river

For the last five or six kilometres we have seen posters advertising a bar. Finally, at a busy roundabout, we arrived at it. There were several pilgrims drying out and drinking coffee. There was some sort of car rally going on on as cars with numbers on their sides and noisy exhausts kept crossing the roundabout.

Finally, the rain stopped and there was even a bit of blue sky as we climbed up towards Muros de Nalon

I do not know how the town got its name, Muros means walls. Maybe because it perches on a high bank above the Ria Nalon?

We were all staying at the same hotel which was on the far side of town. Memo to self: look at the map when booking accommodation, see tomorrow’s blog as well. The hotel as nice and there was a menu des noches so no problem with eating

Approximate distance 25km

“This is the most unpleasant section of the Camino del Norte”- Village to Vilage guide. “The arrival in Aviles…………..is one of the worst sections of the Northern Way”- Gronze. “This is probably the least enjoyable stage of walking on the Camino del Norte“- Cicerone guide.

These quotes did not promise a good day’s walking. It was cloudy and cool with a hint of drizzle when I left Gijon. The Camino followed the promenade to the end

So far so good, but this was only about 200 metres from my hotel. I crossed the road and set off down a busy shopping street. This seemed to go on for ages but it was probably only a couple of kilometres. Next was a section running between apartment blocks. The view ahead was not encouraging.

I went round a roundabout and entered the industrial area. The view was not enhanced by the railway line, the busy road and a metal scrap yard

On the hill was a gas pipeline.

The road started climbing and I was soon in the Monte Areo recreational area. Eventually the road became a concrete and then a stony track. This mid-section of the walk was enjoyable. I walked through mixed scrubland and woods but, because of the trees, good views of the surrounding countryside were rare, I passed a prehistoric dolmen.

The path ran along a ridge and then descended past a row of hot houses. it emerged into open land and dropped to the pretty church of Santa Eulalia.

Further on in the village I passed a medieval washing trough. Fed from a stream, the women would gather here to do their laundry.

After the village the road ran pleasantly across gently undulating countryside. By now, my legs were hurting, my back was aching and I was tired. A day off tomorrow.

I soon descended to the main road. This was busy, but there was a wide verge to walk along. There was the A8 motorway to the left and more industrial buildings to the right. To ease the monotony and eliminate some of the traffic noise, I put my earphones and listened to some music.

After about 5km I met up with George, a retired engineer who met a French lady on a trek, married her and now lives in France. His house s on the GR5 in the Vosges mountains, maybe I will see him if I do that section of the walk. After a further couple of kilometres we left the road to walk along a river bank, by an industrial estate. The gas pipeline could be seen again.

I stopped for a rest and then followed the river, through a sculpture park and into Aviles.

The following day I wandered round the old town of Aviles. There is a church dedicated to St Thomas of Canterbury, who I assume was Thomas a becket. The city museum was very interesting. In the early Middle Ages Aviles was the main port for this part of the coast but Gijon took over. Most of the factories are related to the steel industry which resurrected the regions economy in the mid 20th century.

Between here and Comillas there are a lot of large houses, or Palacios. In the 17th century a lot of Spaniards went Cuba and Latin America to seek their fortune, much of it coming from the slave trade. known as Los Indianos they settled along the north coast.

I met Richard and Elin for dinner. We are not very successful at dining in Spain. Last time, we could only find one restaurant that was serving meals rather than pinxtos. This time our translation programs didn’t work. I got sardines which was fine but Richard got an egg based dish and he does not eat eggs.

Approximate distance 30km

I left Villaviciosa by walking through a park on the bank of the river Linares. After the park, the road continued along the river. Even in the cities a lot of people keep chickens. This fine fellow was just by the road.

The road led through a couple of villages. After about 3km I came to the village of Casquita. Here was the final opportunity to decide between the Norte and the Primitivo. I took the Norte. In the end, the decision I made was to complete the Camino that I had started. I can always go back and walk the Primativo as a stand alone Camino.

The Camino Norte to Gijon follows the river valley. I stayed on the road which saved about 2km in what was going to be a long day. The road was quiet. Since I started walking at the end of April there have been progressively more wild flowers on the fields and at the roadside, enhancing the walk. This is cider (or, more correctly sidre, country. In some of the fields there were apple orchards. Blossom was present on the trees.

At the next village I thought I had got very lost.

I popped into Hogsmeade for a pint of butterbeer and then rejoined the Camino.The road got steeper as I began to ascend the Alto de la Cruz (436metres). The views were limited as I was in forest. Just over the top, the trees ended and a magnificent view of the Peon valley opened out.

Rosa, Stefan and a new person, Johannes, caught up with me and I walked with them for a while.. after a short distance we left the road and took a dirt path downhill. We stopped to sit on a wall for lunch and I finally booked a place to stay in Gijón. I had been worried about the length of the stage with my leg pain and thought I might have to split it into two, staying in an albergue about halfway.

We continued through the Peon valley passing through more orchards. In one field there was an enormous barrel, which we assumed was for cider.

The others went on ahead but I caught up with them at a bar in a tiny village

We sat on the bench outside. When I went to get my coffee an elderly lady was at the bar getting her martini refilled. It was 1pm. Impressive!

I learnt a new word. A “roadie” is a can (of alcohol) you buy to drink while you are walking on the road. The others got roadies and we set off.

I lagged behind as we descended down the road to Gijon

The suburbs of Gijon seemed to go on forever. Eventually I arrived at the estuary of the Ria Piles by the football stadium. Gijon play in the second division of La Liga but the stadium is infamous for “The Disgrace of Gijon” in the 1982 World Cup. Austria played Germany in the last match of the group. If Germany won 1-0 both teams would qualify for the knock out stages, at the expense of Algeria. Germany scored early and the teams then passed the ball to each other around the centre circle for the rest of the match. The rules were subsequently changed to prevent this happening again.

Between the stadium and the sea there was a park with formal gardens and sculptures. I walked through this and then along the promenade to get to my hotel.

I went to a bar and had some Asturian stew, basically lots of beans with a few bits of meat and sausage in a tomato spiced soup. It was OK but not my favourite.

Approximate distance 22km

I still cannot decide whether to stay on the Norte or not. I have to decide today as the path splits tomorrow and I haven’t booked any accommodation for tomorrow night.

Peter and Gerry were ready to leave the albergue at the same time as me so we set off together. The main Camino follows roads to Huerres but the Cicerone guide indicated there was a cliff path so that was the route we took.

This was a nice gentle walk along the cliff and not much longer than the road. We joins a farm track that led to Huerres. There was a strange contraption by the track that we assumed was a cattle restraining device.

We rejoined the main Camino in Huerres and followed the road into Colunga. We stopped in a bar, with a lot of other pilgrims. I have been trying to use what little Spanish I know. There were some small pinxtos sized tortilla rolls behind the bar so I (thought I had) ordered two each and three cups of coffee. Out of the kitchen came six normal sized rolls filled with omelette. Of course, we ate them all and they were delicious. The best tortilla are still slightly squidgy in the middle and these were perfect.

After breakfast we continued along the road. This was a nice rural walk, it could have been in England with rolling countryside and fields on either side. There were mountains inland though.

After 8km we came to the village of Priesca where there is 10th century church. There are pre-Romanesque wall paintings inside but restoration work was being carried out at the entrance so we could not go in.

Shortly after the village we left the road to take a muddy track that went steeply downhill. My left IT band had gone into spasm so I wanted to slow down and the others went on. This is becoming a daily problem. I am dealing with it by stretches and adding electrolyte tablets to my water. In the evening it disappears after 1-2 hours rest.

I continued on a mixture of tracks and roads. Near Sebrayo there was an albergue with an appropriate sculpture

I do not think he will get far with those spindly legs.

The rest of the walk went through woodland but I was never far from the A8 so there was traffic noise. Just outside Villaviciosa Richard and Elgin caught up with me and we finished the walk together. By coincidence we were staying in the same hotel.

This was very nice with old furniture. My rm was that Nader the eaves and had a low door, I think it was designed for a hobbit. Of course I banged my head on it a couple of times.

Richard and Elon went out to eat but I had arranged to meet some others who had stayed in the albergue last night.

Uwe (second on the left) was a star. He persuaded the staff to put City v Spurs on the television.

In Asturias the local drink is a cider called sidre. This is made from apples with no carbonisation. Yeast is allowed to grow on the apples which turns the sugar to alcohol, so, to add some fizz, the barman pours the cider from shoulder height