I began walking at 7:30am today, my earliest start yet. I walked for an entire hour through the city of Oviedo, and by around 8:30 I'd reached the west end. In the distance I saw a hill - which I correctly assumed I'd have to climb - farmland, cows grazing, and lots of trees also. But before climbing the hill I stopped at a local coffee shop for what's becoming a stable breakfast for me: café con leche, and a slice of tortilla española.
Since I started earlier than most people, I walked alone for much of the day, passing a little chapel (Capilla de el Carmen) in Lampajúa, where I self-stamped my passport. Then as I continued onward and through various small towns, it became evident to me that I'd definitely left the Basque country behind. I was now in Asturias, a province that seemed much less well-to-do and more agrarian.
The weather was different too. In the morning it was a little crisp and fresh, with a few raindrops here and there, but in the afternoon, the heavens opened up well before Peñaflor, with around 10kms of walking still in front.
I put on my poncho, which was an exercise in engineering in itself, but once on, it was pleasant enough to walk in. I'd read some reviews prior to purchasing it that they get hot and sweaty if worn for an hour or longer, and I found that to be true. But given the option, with the amount of water that was coming down, I chose to be sweaty-wet instead of rainy-wet. A decision that I will rarely favour.
By the time I got to Grado, about 3kms before San Juan, I was fed up with walking and was ready to pack it in for the day. The blister on my left foot was flaring up again, although not as badly as on the previous 2 walking days. I walked through the town, looking for lodging options, but the cheapest one I could find was 24 Euros. No chance I was going to spend that much money today. So on I went.
The rain had in the meantime stopped, but ahead of me lay 3kms of uphill grinding. On most days I'd have welcomed an uphill climb, but I was near the end of my energy levels and in a horrible mood.
But a Czech pilgrim had by this time caught up to me and passed me, and that spurred me on. Also, I met up with a woman, probably about my age, perhaps a little older, who was on her way up to San Juan. She mentioned that about a year ago a loved one had passed away (I think her mother), and that she was walking to the church in San Juan every day this week, to pray, a sort of mini-pilgrimage, if you will. I thought that was quite meaningful. Life is a pilgrimage. Everyday we're on a pilgrimage, everyday we are a little closer to seeing the face of God.
I finally arrived at the albergue at around 5:30pm, after being on the road for 10 hours. I was pleased to find out that I was the 2nd person to arrive (I'd passed the Czech fellow with about 500 metres to go). My reward was that I could choose pretty much any of the bunk beds in the common sleeping room. I picked one in a corner, near a window.
By 7pm the albergue was full, with about 20 pilgrims in total. San Juan is kinda in the middle of nowhere, with no grocery stores nearby, but the great thing about this albergue was that it was fully stocked: pasta, potatoes, onions, eggs, red peppers, the fridge was fully stocked. There were even bottles of beer and wine on offer, for the amazingly cheap price of 1E!
A group of us cooked dinner together, shared Camino stories, and planned our journey for tomorrow, before turning in for another night of rest. I haven't had a night of bad sleep yet on the Camino. I guess walking 20+ kms per day takes care of that...
Tomorrow, from what I understand, we go to a still more remote town, Salas. Well, remote in the sense that it's away from major cities. I think most towns I stay at will at least have a grocery store, so from that perspective, San Juan is an anomaly.
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