Two Pilgrims Two Paths

 Hiking Day 22     April 30 Miles     19.7 Total miles     305.2 Ascent      1780’ Descent        1067’ Today we say goodbye to the ocean and goodbye to the Camino del Norte…we will not see either again. Three miles out of Villaviciosa, under overcast skies but no rain, we fork off of the del Norte and begin the Camino Primitivo. The Camino Primitivo or the Original Camino is the oldest Camino de Santiago route. In the 9th century, King Alfonso II the Chaste, was the first ever pilgrim on this route (although I suspect he was not traveling alone!). He walked (really?) from the city of Oviedo in Austria to Santiago with a mission to confirm that the remains found in Santiago were indeed those of St James the Apostle. We will be hiking about 220 miles on the Camino Primitivo on our journey towards Santiago. We will join the Camino St James (Frances) about 30 miles from Santiago. The Primitivo is described  as one o...

 Rest Day in Villaviciosa and at look at one of Gaudi’s masterpieces. Today we enjoy a very laid back day in the small town of Villaviciosa with a population of about 15,000. Best known for the production of fermented ciders, it is home to numerous cafes and shops of various sorts. Our laid-back attitude is partly out of “an attitude of rest”, but mostly because there is little to do or see in this town. It is a place to eat and drink and the locals and the few tourists seem to do that quite well. Let us go back in time a few days to the town of Comillas, the home of The Capricho de Gaudi”.I will share a few photos of one of Antoni Gaudi’s famous works, “The Caprice of Gaudi”. Having visited this remarkable home I would define his caprice, as his “Whim”. The Caprice is one of Gaudi’s earliest works (around age 33) and one of just a handful that he created outside of the Barcelona area. A home for a wealthy businessman, Gaudi showcased his skills as the “architect of nature”. Here i...

 Hiking Day 21     April 28 Colunga to Villaviciosa Miles 12.0 Total miles     285.5 Ascent     983’ Descent     1055’ “Todos Los Caminos….Son El Camino”     All the Caminos (Paths)…Are the Camino (Path) The St James Way (Camino de Santiago) is actually an extensive network of routes and tracks that begin in many different places, but they all end in Santiago de Compostela on the westernmost edge of the continent of Europe. Around the year 820 CE, the tomb of Saint James the Apostle was discovered in Galicia. Today, 12 centuries later, scores of pilgrims travel along the Camino for many different reasons. There are currently 281 Caminos recognized on routes through 29 countries. 49 of the routes are in Spain. In 2019, 350,000pilgrims arrived in Santiago de Compostela from 190 countries. All the routes eventually lead to Santiago…you could start in Rome and walk to Santiago! All the paths are one path… The day begins in a light mist ...

 Hiking Day 20     April 27 Ribadesella to Colunga Miles 14.7 Total Miles     273.5 Ascent     1092’ Descent     1029’ Today we believe we have reached the halfway point of our journey in terms of miles hiked. As our friend Bill says, “Every hike has a midpoint, you just cannot know where the midpoint is until the hike is completed”. So it is true with our hike. We think the total mileage from Irun to Santiago is about 525 miles but there is no way to be sure until the entire hike is completed. With that in mind, we arbitrarily designate this spot and this bathtub/water trough as the exact mid point of our adventure. To celebrate we snap a photo and continue to hike! The walk today is about half on paved but remote and little traveled one lane “roads”. The remainder is on unpaved paths, often muddy and some running with small streams of water left over from last night’s rains. It is slow going at times, the ever futile attempt to keep our sho...

 Hiking Day 19     April 26 Llanes to Ribadesella Miles     21.0 Total Miles     258.8 Ascent     1093’ Descent     1097’ We have at least 20 miles to cover today but breakfast is not to be served until 9 am. How can that be possible when we have so far to walk today and we have to start early? Seems like a poor booking decision by Mac’s Adventure. We are able to arrange for a “picnic breakfast” bag. We eat part of it in our room before we leave to start hiking, the rest is not really breakfast food so we skip those items. Then out the door into sunny skies once again.  Before I continue today’s adventure, let me mention a few other hikers we have met along the way. These are the “pilgrims” we meet each day. While few in number compared to our Camino Frances three years ago, they are an important part of any Camino, The social part. The following are examples of the  pilgrims we meet while hiking or at our various stops. S...