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Camino Del Norte 2022
  • Alison Kelly
Jul – Sep 2022

Camino Del Norte 2022

First time walking the Camino del Norte Read more
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  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Santillana del Mar

    August 14, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We spend 3 nights here in Santillana del Mar, it is so beautiful, busy and there are an absolute ton of restaurants to choose from. We visit the torture museum (very disturbing) and the mythical museum on our first rest day, and had planned to visit the Altimera Museum tomorrow but unfortunately it is closed. So we spend our time just chatting and hanging out, these are our last few days with George, he leaves us tomorrow to go meet up with his family in Lisbon, Portugal, ready to walk from Porto to Santiago de Compostela. So far in Santillana del Mar we have witnessed a concert in the plaza and festivities where the town folk dress up as mythical creatures that inhabit this region or in tradition clothing, they play instruments and parade around the town, causing infectious smiles, laughter, dancing and clapping. Fun times are had by all!Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Santillana del Mar to Cobreces

    August 16, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Ok, rest days are over it's time to get back on track, but we do this with heavy hearts - today is the day that our walking buddy George leaves us to go start a new and very exciting adventure - walking the Portuguese way with his children, we will miss him dearly, but are super excited for all the wonderful memories he gets to make with his family. We will have to step up our game though, George was the one who always got us the good table at the bars and ordered our drinks, he also kept us on the right path - leading our group of 3 up and down hills, through and around towns and meandering along headlands and coastal pathways, this is not always easy to do with two blondes in tow. Thank you for looking after us so well George, we appreciate everything you did for us and you will be greatly missed. We get ready and head up to George's accommodation, we wait with him until his taxi arrives before heading off on our walk for the day. The taxi arrives, we say our goodbyes, (we will next see George on the 2nd of September, the day after he and his family are scheduled to get into Santiago de Compostela). George goes in one direction and we soon branch off in another. On the outskirts of Santillana del Mar, we reach the campground which has a small supermarket attached to it, we decide to grab a ready made ceaser salad for our lunch today, then we keep going, luckily, George has warned me about the path going straight ahead and not to follow the bend in the road, as it will lead us the wrong way, and, at the last minute I notice the thin path running along side the campground, your natural instinct is to follow the bend in the road. It is a beautiful day today and we only have about 15 km to walk, this is our ideal distance - we can sleep in, and still get to our destination in a timely manner and our bodies are just starting to ache. Our walk today is mainly along quite country roads either asphalt or dirt, the countryside is very green, with wildflowers scattered through pastureland and along the roadside. We come into a town around the 7 km mark that has a lovely park with seating and decide this will be our lunch spot for today, it has a little stream running along side it and there are a few ducks here that seem to call this place home, we take our backpacks off and relax, eating our lunch for the next half hour or so. We feel recharged after our salad, so we pop on our backpacks and head off again, our next stop will be a bench out the front of a church, unfortunately most of the churches are locked on this Camino path, you can still utilise the outside areas that often have seating, shade and water, but you can’t go in to pray, it’s such a shame, every now and then you will fluke it though. We get to the outskirts of Cobreces and we see the banners hanging across the streets, we hear the music and see the bandannas around the necks of women and men - fiesta in Cobreces tonight! The sky has darkened and you can smell the rain in the air, I have everything crossed that we get to our accommodation before the downpour, and luckily for us the first drops hit as we are turning into the driveway of our home for the night, we have the perfect room that has a porch out the front that protects us from the rain, it is lovely sitting here, shoes off, with a glass of wine in hand, hearing and watching the rain, but not getting soaked. It’s the little things….Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Cobreces to Comillas

    August 17, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    We wake up this morning after a lovely nights sleep, listening to the heavy rain on the roof, we are both hoping and praying that this rain eases by the time we are ready to leave. We slowly get ready, we don’t have a big walking day ahead, so there is no need to rush, it may very well be a wet one. We leave the warmth, dryness and comfort of our room with the intention of getting a coffee around 2 Km mark up the hill - apparently there is a bar that opens at 8:30 am, so we should be fine….Wrong! No one mentioned that is was off the Camino trail, because we didn’t pass or see it. It has rained all day today, the tracks are muddy under foot and it’s slow going. We finally find coffee 1 hour into our walk, it’s so nice to get the backpack and rain coat off, sit down and take a break from the rain with a piping hot cuppa. We stretch this out as long as possible before getting back on trail. A few pilgrims have passed us this morning and although it’s wet, everyone is happy, the scenery if beautiful - it still amazes me just how much difference a little rain can make, everything looks so vibrant, crisp and clean. We finally make it to the outskirts of Comillas, our accommodation it on this side of town and just a little way off the Camino path. We find it, book in, shower and head to the restaurant for some well earned lunch. We settle in here for the rest of the afternoon enjoying the warmth and dryness that inside provides….Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Camillas to San Vicente de la Barquera

    August 18, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    We sleep in this morning, it's very easy to do after the rainy night and ultra comfy beds. We go for breakfast at 9:30 am then finish packing up and check out at 10:00 am. It starts off a little overcast but very soon turns into a warm sunny day. We stayed on the fringe of Comillas last night and were too tired to go down into the town, this is our daily struggle - we are visiting all these beautiful seaside towns, steeped in history with so many interesting buildings and stories to tell, and we are always too sore to be on our feet to go and explore, we get to our accommodation, shower and just want to put our feet up to stop them throbbing. Anyway as we walk through Comillas we enjoy the beauty, vibe and historical buildings we spy. Once on the outskirts, we are on a walking path that will take us to San Vicente de la Barquera, this path winds its way along the coastline, meandering inland from time to time, the views of the Cantabrian Sea, beaches, and coastal farmlands are spectacular, although we are ascending and descending all day, we can't help but smile, it's such a good day to be walking, I feel extremely grateful and fortunate to be on the trail. We stay at a hospedria 2km out of San Vicente de la Barquera, luckily we had stocked up at the supermarket as we passed through the outskirts of San Vicente de la Barquera, the climb up to our accommodation was hot and harsh, the strong wind that had accompanied us all along the headlands was now nowhere to be found. So when they told us that there was no dinner here you have to head back into the town, we were extremely happy that we had lugged all our salad, bread, wine and water up the hill. We would feast in our room tonight. I don't think these legs can do another 4 km today, they are feeling very old and tired...Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    San Vicente de la Barquera to Pechon

    August 19, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Blue skies for days is what we see as we open the shutters to reveal the day. We leave this hospederia at 10 am, we have a smile on our faces and a spring in our step. The countryside is extra beautiful today and the ‘Picos de Europa’ in the background is simply stunning (the photos just don't do it justice and they look like they are a million miles away, but in reality this isn't so). Not long into our walk, we are overtaken by a group of lovely young pilgrims, they pass us by with a “Buen Camino!”, they will be the only pilgrims we will see today. Our walk is on asphalt roads all the way. We pass through a few small villages and it's surprising how many homes we have come across on our northern walk that are under construction, the cement framework is complete but that's it. This day is heating up and we come to a bar right on the side of a busy main road and decide it's time for a drink, all the chairs in the shade are taken, so sunshine it is, it's still good to get off these feet. We enjoy our drinks and plot out our last section of today's walk (we are going off Camino as we couldn't get any accommodation on the trail). This means walking on a road where drivers may not be used to keeping an eye out for pesky pilgrims! To start with we cross over a bridge, and as we do so we watch some stand-up paddleboarders paddling up a very muddy-looking river. We then cross over a busy road and are now on a narrow, winding coast road that will lead to a beach and campground. Oh, this is going to be fun (2.5 km of holding your breath and hoping the next car isn't going to be the one to take you out). Only 1 person yells at us, I don't understand what she says, but I am pretty confident it's something not very nice. Well we make it to a lookout, take some pretty pictures then continue on, we now have a walking track on the side of the road, that runs the rest of the way to Pechon. We get into town, lunch is finished, the supermarket has closed for siesta. We settle into some comfy seats at the bar and we order some tapas consisting of small bite-size bread with regional cheese, walnuts and honey, they are yummy, we pair these with a lovely bottle of Rioja, this combo ties us over until we cook dinner tonight. Once siesta is over, we hit the supermarket and get ingredients to make spaghetti carbonara, we both miss and look forward to a home-cooked meal, and this goes down a treat, we go to bed with full bellies in a red wine haze...Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Unquera to Llanes

    August 20, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    We taxi from Pechon to Unquera, we are off the Camino trail and the 2 km into Unquera is way too dangerous to be walked (this road is busy, narrow, winding and downhill with sheer drop-offs 😳). Unquera is the last town in Cantabria and as we cross the bridge between Unquera and Bustio we have crossed into our 3rd region of Spain - Asturias.
    Fun Fact: We have walked 203.55 km in the Cantabrian Region, a lot of this walking was done on asphalt surfaces.
    Our first few hundred meters are up a steep road, once at the top, the views are spectacular - on one side we overlook farmland dotted with houses and cows, and on the other is a river system with the Pics de Europa in the background, there is also an obstacle course laid out about 10 metres off the ground that runs along the side of the road for around 100 metres. We come to our first town of the day and it looks like they are midway through a fiesta, the flags are hung and stung across the narrow streets, we see towns folk in traditional clothing and we are blessed to hear the sound of bagpipes and drums as we make our way through Colombres. We hit a dirt path soon after leaving and it seems that the Camino trail in Asturias may well be on country dirt roads or dirt paths for the majority of this region, this is a very welcome change. We cross a major road but are still walking on a lovely quiet dirt road that will lead us into a cool forest where we will be hidden from the sting of the sun that is high in the sky, we enjoy the drop in temperature and our surroundings, we come out of this little oasis, cross another busy major road and a railway track and will spend the rest of our day fully exposed to the sun, the sight and sound of the multiple blow holes that dot this part of the Asturian coastline make it worth it! This is one of my favourite days on the trail so far. It will take us all day to get to our destination as the coastal beauty that surrounds us is holding us here, begging us not to leave. We walk slowly, stopping frequently to watch and listen to the sound of these sea beasts (that’s what they sound like anyway). We hit a section where it sounds like a storm is fast approaching full of thunder and anger, but we work out it is the roar of the sea beasts coming up through the blow holes and reverberating off the mountains that are causing all this noise. We finally get to our destination, it has taken us all day, but man o man what a day on the trail…. Again we have missed lunch and will have to wait a couple of hours until the bars and restaurants open for dinner, but at least we can sit and relax with a couple of vinos, we have a lovely bartender that will let us know when we can go in for dinner, he ends up walking us round to the restaurant because these blonde brains are no longer working for today, he comes back and checks that we are ok after an hour or so and to make sure we have been feed. It’s been a fun night at the restaurant, we had a waiter that threw his hands in the air and walked away, he just couldn’t deal with us and our limited Spanish, we couldn’t stop laughing, thankfully he sent a lovely girl over to us to take our orders, who spoke better English than we did Spanish. With full bellies, laughter in our hearts and broken feet, it's now time to say goodnight to this most fabulous day!    Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Llanes to Ribadesella

    August 22, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    After a rest day in Llanes exploring this lovely coastal city, we set off on the longest day we have planned on this Camino. We have a 30 km day ahead of us and neither of us is particularly looking forward to it, our preferred km range is between 15-20 km. Anyway, we leave our lovely accommodation at 7:00 am, it is dark and we don’t have headlamps (we sent them back home thinking we wouldn’t need them 🤦‍♀️). It doesn’t take our eyes long to adjust, we start our walk in Llanes and soon enough have reached the outskirts of town, this first stretch has small villages spaced around 3 km apart which helps to make us feel like we are making progress. Llanes was still sleeping when we left this morning so we haven’t eaten or had our morning coffee, we keep our eyes peeled for an open bar, but it won’t be until around 11:00 am that we will come across one, when we do, we sit for a solid half hour enjoying this morning ritual. The weather is changeable, our rain jackets are on and off regularly throughout the day. We have a bit of everything on our walk today from beautiful coastal walking along the headlands, to forest and rural dirt roads and paths with ascents and descents. We have noticed that the Camino path in Asturias is not as well marked as in previous regions, the markers are less frequent and it is pretty easy to get off trail, today is not the day we want to be adding more distance to our walk though, so we are vigilant at checking our maps and watching for markers. We stop at a supermacado in Nueva and buy some rolls, ham and cheese, we will find a place to have a little picnic on the way today. We end up walking around 3 km before we come across a spot where we can sit, make and eat our lunch, it’s someone’s land right beside the dirt road we are walking on, but it’s past 1:00 pm and we are both buggered, hungry and our bodies are feeling broken. We throw our rain jackets on the ground and fall onto them, we make our lunch, remove our shoes and socks and try to find a comfortable position to rest in, the whole time wondering how we are going to get up and keep walking for the next few hours…. But it’s amazing what food, water, rest and a little foot massage will do for you, we have taken our time and we are both ready to tackle the final 9 kms of our day. We finally get into Ribadesella feeling broken, it is very hot now, we are unable to book into our accommodation until 5:00 pm, so we wait out our time at a bar just down the road from where we are staying, there is a park right near the bar with lots of families enjoying the green space with their kids, it’s lovely to watch and hear all the laughter and fun times these families are having together. We finally check into our apartment, we shower, go to the supermacado to get food for dinner, then we eat and call it a night, we are both exhausted and in need of rest. Fingers crossed we are able to get out of bed in the morning and continue walking….Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Ribadesella to Colunga

    August 23, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We wake this morning feeling surprisingly good, we thought our feet and legs would be killing us, but thankfully they don’t feel too bad. Our day starts in the picturesque town of Ribadesella, we were so tired and sore when we arrived yesterday that we were unable to check out the offerings of this town, (this seems to be the theme song to our Camino life!!) our path runs through the belly of the town, which takes up residence on both sides of the Rio Sella, a long bridge connects them and the shop front windows look out to the peaceful views of the river system, this is a really pretty little town. It’s a beautiful day, there is a slight crispness in the air that will disappear in the next hour or so. As we make our way through town we talk to our families, taking plenty of photos in the process, Lisa’s knee has been sore the last few days so before leaving we find a pharmacia and she gets a knee guard to help support the joint. We get to the outskirts of town and our climb starts, this tests out our legs and feet, we have a 20 km day and towns are plentiful, we hit the first one in no time, then another, and by the time we get to our third town for the day we are ready for a drink and a sit-down, there is a descent into the town, and on the outskirts we find a lovely bar which is playing music and is situated near the beach, we take our time soaking up the vibe and enjoying the rest. I am starting to feel off - a bit headachy and body achy. We continue on, making the climb up and out of Vega de Ribadesella, the views are spectacular! We spend the rest of our walk today along the coastline, meandering up, down and over headlands, lots of families are out and about enjoying the last few weeks of this European summer. We get to the 15 km mark and I am done, I am feeling sick, my headache hasn’t lifted, my body is aching all over and I need to get to our destination and try to sleep this off. We come to a bar on the outskirts of La Espasa, Lisa calls me a cab and we are at our accommodation before we know it, we check in, shower and I try to sleep, unfortunately our beautiful walking day cut short….Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Colunga to Villaviciosa

    August 24, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    I am up at 5:00 am and in the bath, I still don't feel the best, my body is aching and I feel quite dehydrated. I try to go back to sleep after my bath and some electrolytes and I manage to drift off for a half-hour or so, but I am just so uncomfortable and all I am doing is tossing and turning. I decide to get up and get my backpack packed, we need to have our backpacks down at reception before 8:30 am ready for pick up. We then go and have a cuppa and some toast. After breakfast we go to the tourist Information office to enquire about buses, I am not up to walking today, so it's now a forced rest day. We catch a bus to Villaviciosa at 12:30 pm and it costs 1.75€, it's about a half-hour drive up and around narrow, winding coastal roads, with lots of pedestrians, cyclists and other traffic, our bus driver does well to negotiate his way through. Once we arrive in Villaviocsa we find a place for lunch, then it's a taxi ride to our accommodation that's situated out in the country and well off the beaten track. We arrive to find a beautiful 17th-century restored home that has 10 hotel rooms, we book in for dinner tonight, and then I'm off to bed - trying to sleep myself better. I wake up just before dinner at 8:30 pm, and we are served vegetable soup, it's delicious and just what I needed. We then go back to our room, catch up on some social media, whilst enjoying the sound of rain and thunder in the background. It's easy falling off to sleep tonight, the stars have aligned - rain, thunder and and a big old comfy bed. Night all 💤Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Villaviciosa to Deva

    August 25, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    I just had the best nights sleep, this bed is the comfiest so far on Camino, I didn't wake up at all last night, I slept sound until my alarm went off at 7:00 am, I turn it off, roll over and go straight back to sleep until 8:00 am. I still feel quite off today, so we have decided to catch the bus again. It's overcast with steady light rain. We head down for breakfast, normally there isn't a lot of people up and about at 9:00 am, but this morning a lot of the people staying here are already up, including the lovely family with the beautiful black lab - he lies under the table, so well behaved. Food is in abundance at the breakfast buffet, it's hard to choose, it all looks so good, but I end up with some fresh oj, cheese, walnuts, a mini cinnamon custard pie, a slice of some sort of teacake bread and a cafe con leche. Chatting to one of our hosts Danny, his face lights up when he finds out I am from Australia, he recalls his time spent here, he had 3 months in Melbourne Victoria a few years ago, he loved it and met some really special people who took him in and treated him like family, I really appreciate and enjoy hearing stories like this about Australia. We finish up breakfast, check out, order a taxi and leave this beautiful, rural slice of paradise, with full bellies and great memories. We get dropped off in Villaviciosa, I'm in need of either a different pair of trail runners or some inner soles with arch support and some different types of socks, my current ones are way to tight around my ankles. I end up finding one pair of socks, but have no joy with the shoes or inner soles. We have an hour before our bus arrives to take us to Deva, so we decide to have a drink at this very cute panaderia, it's still raining, so the outside tables are out of the question, we have no trouble finding one inside and spend the next 40 minutes sipping our drinks surrounded by the delicious smells of freshly baked pastries, cakes, sweets and breads. It's now time to go, our bus will arrive shortly and we don't want to miss it as the next one doesn't leave until 3:30 pm. We get on the right bus, this is always a bonus, we are getting better at public transport as this is our second day in a row of catching a bus, we even downloaded the app and purchased our tickets online, then used the electronic ticket which was so much quicker then yesterday's process. We get off at our stop which is out of town on the side of the road, thankfully Lisa was on the ball and heard the driver tell some other pilgrims that this is the Deva stop. We hop off in the rain, get the map up on my phone and start walking on the side of the road to Deva, we stop at the Campgrounds which has a restaurant, so we decide to have some lunch, we then catch a taxi to our next hotel which is 2 km away, again out in the country. Our hotel setting is on a golf course and it has a hydrotherapy pool, this is the second one this trip. We get to our room, shower then go and book in at the pool, each session has a 2 hour time slot, we collect our robe, swim cap and the coolest makeshift thongs I have ever seen and then head to the bar for a drink while we wait for our session time to begin. We get into the pool and it is 35 degrees, the view out of the ceiling-to-floor windows is of the golf course and they have lilo’s scattered around the floor space facing out to the golf course, it's a perfect area to relax with a drink, wrapped up in your swimmers and robe on an overcast rainy day as you spend the afternoon hoping in and out of the pool. We eventually head back to our room for a shower before dinner. We are both tired but are feeling so much better since our session at the pool, it's amazing just how good it makes those sore muscles and joints feel. We go to bed feeling rested, relaxed and ready to tackle another day on the Camino del Norte.Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Deva to Gijon

    August 26, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We wake up this morning feeling great, we both had a great nights sleep, I think the hydrotherapy pool may have had something to do with it, as well as super comfy beds. We start getting ready, we need to be at breakfast at 8:30 am this morning. We are just finishing off getting ready when the phone rings, it is reception letting us know the correos is here to pick up our backpacks, I quickly finish packing my pack and we both hurry down to the lobby to hand them over. We then head for breakfast, check out and step outside, it's raining again today, we decide to call a taxi, we will be in Gijon way before check in time at our hotel and don't want to be wondering around soaking wet until 4pm when we are able to check in. It's only meant to be 7 kms today. We get into Gijon 9:45 am there isn't much open in this city yet, it's still sleeping but all that changes over the next hour, we pop into a bar for a coffee, this gives us time to Google all the sport stores and work out our plan of attack. We spend the best part of the day trying to find what we are looking for and by 7 pm tonight our mission is finally accomplished. I have finally found a pair of replacement shoes to walk in. It’s not until I buy my new pair that I turn my old pair over and realise just how worn out they actually are. It's then that the penny drops and I understand why my feet have been gradually getting worse, my shoes are done, finished, kaput, they have served me so well up until recently, they have carried me and my backpack up and down many hills on all kinds of surfaces for the past 40 days and would have travelled over 500 kms. Thank you Altra’s you have been amazing!! I hope these next shoes serve me and my feet as well as you did.Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Gijon to Avilés

    August 28, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    We are back on the Camino at 9:10 am this morning, it’s going to reach 26 degrees and apparently our walk today is 24 Km, (we’ll see when we get to our destination). Our packs feel very heavy today, it’s been a while since we carried them or even walked on the Camino. I am excited to be back on track, not really knowing what we will encounter or what our day will have in store for us, but to me that’s half the fun! We walk beside a massive steel production plant, it reminds me of the one out of Baz Luhrmann’s - The Great Gatsby. The sun already has some sting in it, and we are feeling it as we climb inclines in the road, I fear we may have lost our trail legs! I will know for sure by the end of the day. We walk on quite country roads all the way to our first town, we stop at the church there, it’s locked but it has a cute little library exchange on the grounds and there are a few cement benches positioned under the shade of big old trees, we pick one, take off our packs, shoes and socks, and sit, the cold cement on our bodies, legs and feet feels so soothing, we sit here for 20 minutes or so, just enjoying the break in the shade, then it’s time to go again. We get our socks and shoes back on, then heave the backpacks on and just like that we are ready to continue along the road to Santiago. We walk on a very quite country road, the scenery is pretty with rolling green hills, small crops and homes dotted here and there. We come to the next town, we have done 18.02 Km, it’s 3:00 pm and we are looking for lunch. We get to a bar and order a drink, but this bar has no food. We sit and drink our drinks. Louie’s feet are killing her today, she has struggled on all day and has done extremely well to get this far, we get a taxi the last 9.23 Km. We get to our apartment, drop our backpacks off, there is a bar just outside our place, we go there but can only get drinks, no food, so we have a drink, then go in search of a supermarket, they are all closed as it’s Sunday. We go back to our apartment hit the showers then order pasta through a food delivery app. It arrives, the portions are a good size and the food is yummy. We then lie down and rest our weary bones, if we fall asleep, so be it.Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Avilés to Muros del Nalón

    August 29, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We sleep in this morning, there is no need to rush, we don’t have to be out of here until 12 noon. We sleep in until 9:00 am then rise n shine and start getting ready for our day, slowly. We check out and start heading to the train station at around 11:30am, we get side tracked on the way there, by a bar which we stop at for a cafe con leche, we sit back, taking in our surroundings, this is a very busy town, that is full of people everywhere, this is the first really busy town at this hour of the morning that we have encountered. We finish up and continue on, we walk down one of the main streets packed with shops and people, when we get to the bottom and it has flattened out, we come across market stalls that take up the entire next block, we meander our way through, nothing really taking our eye, our packs are already heavy and we both know how one more thing can change your pack from being manageable to debilitating. We finally make it to the train station. We encounter a very helpful train attendant that points us in the right direction for what we need, the next helpful train attendant helps us purchase our tickets to Muros del Nalon, she tells us what train to watch out for, that it will be roughly 45mins wait and that we need to be on platform 2. We go, take a seat and wait patiently for our train to arrive. Meanwhile trains come and go, people hop on and off. A lovely older lady sits down beside us, it starts thundering and she is talking to her friend and Lisa about it, we strike up a very broken Spanish/English conversation, by the end she knows we are from Australia and that we are catching the train to Muros del Nalon. The train attendant comes down to us to let us know our train will be arriving any minute now, we thank her very much, next minute a train pulls in to platform 1 and our lovely older lady friend tells us that this is our train, we follow her instruction, hoping nothing got lost in translation 🤞. We board and take a seat, she lets us know that she will let us know when we have to get off and she sits close by with her 4 friends. We feel very looked after and fortunate to have crossed paths with these lovely women. The train ride takes about an hour, true to her word she lets us know when we need to get off, we bid each other goodbye and thank her very much. We step off the train and into rain with a little bit of thunder, our accommodation is roughly 1.2 km away and we set off hoping not to get too wet before we get there. Our walk takes us through the main square in town and out the other side, our accommodation is in a rural setting, we arrive, check in, then head down to the bar for lunch. The waiter informs us that the chef has gone to hospital and that he can make us a salad but no cooking, we both have a salad with some fresh, warm bread and chilled wine. We spend what is left of the afternoon talking, relaxing and sorting through our packs. At dinner time we head to the square for dinner, nothing is open, a neighbouring village is on fiesta so they are all off partying. We get some microwaveable meals take them back to our hotel and get our lovely waiter to heat them up for us. He not only heats it up but serves it to us in lovely bowls. After dinner we call it a night, but sleep evades us, the sounds and excitement of a nearby fiesta envelopes us and we are caught in this Spanish way of life life for another night….Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Muros De Nalón to Soto de Luiña

    August 30, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Sleep found us in the wee hours of the morning, so we end up sleeping in later than we had anticipated. We both get up bleary-eyed and start getting ready, we have a 16km day ahead of us which will turn out to be closer to 20km. We have some breaky with coffee and head off. Our walk today is overcast with the odd shower of rain here and there, we have a beautiful walk through forests that leads us into our first town El Pito, as we enter the main part of town and are waiting to cross the road, a man walks up to us, bids us a “Buen Camino” shakes our hands and gives us a little gift, it is a little plastic hand that has Camino del Norte on it, it was a lovely surprise and another little memento we will keep from this journey. In this town you will find Quinta de El Pito referred to as the Versailles of Asturias, this place was built by the sons of a local grocer, unfortunately, it was closed to the public when we walked through, we were looking forward to checking it out, but it wasn't meant to be so we push on. We are soon back in the forest enjoying the birdlife and sounds that are always in abundance in these areas. We get 3/4 through our walk and come to a ‘T’ intersection, to the right the sign says restaurant 200m or to the left we can continue on the Camino path, we decide to go right off the Camino path, we are both hungry and in need of a sit-down. We walk for what feels longer than 200m and eventually come to a beach, at the far left end there is a restaurant, we ask to be seated and we are seated, but we both get a distinct feeling that we aren't really welcome/wanted here, we quickly eat, drink and get back on track. We crisscross over the train tracks multiple times throughout the day, we also walk through lovely little towns and when we reach the higher sections of our walk we feel like we are walking in the clouds, we have mist all around us with the views of rolling hills, lucky for us there are seats positioned halfway up these hills alongside the road to rest our weary legs. We arrive at our accommodation for the night, tired and ready for a shower, we do this then head out to the terrace for a drink. This place is super interesting - it was built in the 1890s and has served as a priest's house, the headquarters of the guardian civil, a prison, a tailor's shop and a guesthouse. We have a lovely dinner here at the restaurant and enjoy an early night for we are both tired and had little sleep last night, we are lulled off to sleep by the sound of rain, it doesn't get much better than this.Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Soto de Luiña to Cadavedo

    August 31, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Decisions, decisions, decisions. We wake this morning to light rain outside, we get ready and then head down for breakfast, whilst eating we chat about which route we will take today - the mountains or the road??? We asked our host and her advice was to stick with the roads where we will pass through plenty of villages and we will have pilgrim support the whole way. Our Camino app provides feedback from pilgrims who have walked the two different routes and the reviews are many and varied. We are torn - whilst we love walking in forests up in the mountains, there is no support and the walk will be longer, harder and way slower, but if we take the road our feet and joints will be throbbing and sore in no time, we are over all the road walking on the Norte. We have organised to take a packed lunch with us and in the end, we toss a coin - heads we take the mountains, tails we take the road…Heads win, mountains it is! Our walk starts on a fairly busy bitumen road, the only one coming in and out of this village, vehicles whizz by and we are happy to get onto the country path and be heading into the mountains, the first few hours are great, with beautiful trails, scenery and sounds. Then the rain starts and we come across bog holes that we need to divert around, the track becomes overgrown, and hard to follow, at one point we take the wrong trail and have to double back after realising our mistake. I take the lead as Louie is not a fan of long grass and has a fear of snakes, I’m ok with snakes and I don’t mind the long grass, but once we start hitting all the spider webs and I start seeing these massive scary spiders I am OUT, I just want off this mountain! Clearly, we are the only idiots that decided to ignore the local’s advice of ‘stick to the road’, it looks like no one has walked this path in months and I am pretty sure if pilgrims were on this trail this morning the spiders couldn’t have rebuilt their intricate webs that fast, there’s just way too many of them! So now it’s Louie's turn to take the lead, she does an awesome job leading us out of this spider-infested overgrown jungle!! We GPS our location and end up taking a road down into Ballota, we stop halfway down at a church to eat lunch and rest for a while, and then we continue on. We get into Ballota and decide to train/taxi or bus the rest of the way to our destination today we have been walking for over 6 hours and have walked 15 hard kms and we are done. We go to the train stop but can’t work out how to buy a ticket or when the next train is due. So we walk to a bar, have a drink, sit down and enjoy the beautiful singing of some locals that have gathered here for a long boozy lunch, their voices, music and atmosphere is beautiful! After a couple of drinks of agua con gas, we order a taxi and enjoy the ride to our destination. The rest has worked wonders and once we have settled into our apartment for tonight we decide to go to the supermacado and get ingredients to make chicken and veggies for dinner. Louie prepares dinner and cooks it, it’s my job to keep her wine glass topped up, get some pre-dinner nibblies ready, and then clean up after dinner - this system works a treat. Dinner is delicious as usual, we sit and chat for a while solving all the worlds problems, before calling it a night - sweet dreams everyone ZzzzzzRead more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Cadavedo to Luarca

    September 1, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We wake to a beautiful day; the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and our shoes have dried out overnight. We hit the trail just before 10am walking on quite country roads that lead us through quite country towns. We break at a playground and enjoy a mid-morning snack then decide to have a go on the swings and other equipment at the park, it's nice to tap into my inner child, remembering what it's like to be a kid, swinging on a swing with the wind in my hair, building momentum, getting higher and higher. We then kick on, I am absolutely loving this Camino, the constant up and downs are challenging, but I think I am getting used to it, the countryside is so beautiful, the trails we walk on, the quite paths alongside rivers, the different shades of green we see throughout our days, the sound of the birds every morning as we walk, the passing of fellow pilgrims and locals, mostly with a smile and a 'Buen Camino', the barking dogs of all shapes and sizes, protective as we walk past their yards, the Camino markers and yellow arrows thoughtfully spaced, pointing us in the direction of our final destination, there is just so much to enjoy and appreciate out here on trail. I feel like I have stepped back in time, life seems simple, back to basics without all the distractions and constant grind that has become daily life. I truly think this is the main reason I feel an enormous pull of talking, planning & walking Caminos, for me it provides a reset of mind, body and soul. We finally get to the outskirts of Luarca, we are positioned above the town and the view from up here is stunning, Luarca is picture-perfect! It is quite a steep descent down into the town with many steps, this has been the case with many coastal villages, towns and cities along this Camino. We locate our hotel, book in then go exploring. Whilst we are out and about, we decide to find our bus stop ready for our trip to Santiago de Compostela tomorrow. We are going to meet up with George and his family, I can't wait to meet them & hear all about their Porto Camino.Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Luarca to Santiago de Compostela

    September 2, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    We rise early and get ready to go, there is little movement as we step out of our hotel and walk the few streets away to catch our bus, the only other people up and about at this hour are the street cleaners, it's so very quiet. We arrive at our bus stop by 8:00am, we are 20 minutes early, so take a seat and wait. Our bus pulls in about 20 minutes later than its scheduled time, we hand over our backpacks and hop on, we take our seats and settle in ready for our four-and-a-half-hour trip to Santiago de Compostela. 40 mins into our trip we receive a message from George, there has been a change in his plans and now he will be heading to Astorga with Michele and Victoria to meet up with a friend they met last year when walking the Camino Frances. We were really looking forward to catching up with George and his family but, he will have a fabulous time with other Camino friends he hasn't seen for a while. We have 6 stops in-between Luarca and Santiago de Compostela and this trip is full of twists and turns, I feel quite ill by the time we get there. We pull into the bus terminal, and hit the ground running - we need to get to our stored luggage at Casa Ivar's before 2:00pm, of course we are late arriving due to our delayed departure from Luarca this morning, I have been emailing Iria who will be meeting us so we can access our luggage and swap out some of our summer clothes for winter clothes ready for our walk in Galicia (this will be the third time of walking in Galicia, it rained the entire time on my pervious Caminos, so I know my base layers & poncho are a must). We arrive at Casa Ivar with 5 minutes to spare, it gives us enough time to pay the money we owe and just take our suitcases with us. We also need to retrieve a box of stuff from the Correos, that we had mailed ahead. I stay put with our suitcase and box whilst Lisa heads to the Correos to pick up our other box (Iria said the Correos closes at 2:30pm today), we somehow manage to collect all our luggage before they close, then we lug it to our hotel. On check in I ask if we are able to leave a couple of suitcases here for Iria to pick up and put back into storage on Monday, unfortunately the answer is no - they just don't have to room to store it. So, we now need to find an alternate storage method, this day just keeps on giving.... Lisa and I are both feeling like shit, but we have no option we need to sort through all our stuff and arrange storage at the Correos tonight as our bus departs at 9:00am tomorrow and nothing will be open at that hour, argh! We eventually get all our stuff sorted out, put into storage at the Correos, and then we crash and burn. Extremely happy for this day to be done!Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Santiago de Compostela to Luarca

    September 3, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    We wake early this morning, we have to walk to the bus transit centre ready to head back to Luarca. We map our way, but, due to the narrow streets and tall buildings we are finding it very difficult. We are going down wrong streets then our app is rerouting us and in the end, I am feeling frustrated and worried that we are going to miss our bus! Thank goodness we left with extra time up our sleeve. We finally arrive at the bus terminal, Lisa goes to the toilet and our bus arrives before she gets back, I am still panicked from our walk here and start trying to ring her, she isn’t picking up, so I am looking in the direction she left to see if I can see her, there is no sign of her, then out of the corner of my eye I see her coming from a different direction, she had exited the transit centre via an alternate door and found her way back. I am relieved, knowing we will be on the bus soon and heading back to Luarca to continue our Camino. The trip back is shorter and less sickening, we are sticking to the main highways and we don’t have as many stops. We arrive back in Laurca just before 1pm, we enjoy a long boozy lunch and have a look around the town, we end up back at the main square, the sun is shining and the music is playing; Dire Straits - Money for nothing! We can’t help but sing along, enjoying the vibe and this day. We take a taxi to our accommodation for the night, it is on the outskirts of town in a rural setting consisting of corn fields and such. Lisa cooks dinner in our apartment and we go to bed early, eager to resume our walk in the morning.Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Luarca to La Colorada

    September 4, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    We leave our apartment in the countryside on the outskirts of Luarca at around 10:00 am. We are surrounded by cornfields and other crops, the sky is cloudy and looks rather menacing, I shall keep my rain jacket handy today! I chat to Steve, Sami, Dave, Mum and Ann along my walk, its lovely to hear their voices and be updated on what’s been happening in their worlds when I am so far away. We are passed by a bunch of happy pilgrims not far into the trail today, we will overtake these lovely ladies at various times throughout our day until we reach our destination. We make our way through forests, small villages and walk along country roads. It turns out to be a stunning day (no jacket required). At around the 12 km mark we break in the little village of Villapedre for a drink and tapas, here we meet Robert from the USA. Robert ends up walking to La Colorada with us, we chat about our families, life back at home as well as life on the trail. We are passed by more pilgrims - it’s good to see so many along this stretch. We pass a veggie patch filled with huge pumpkins, you never see pumpkin on the menu and we were told years ago that they grow them to feed to their pigs. In the last few weeks we are passing more and more abandoned or run down homes, barns and old structures, although they aren’t occupied and cared for, they are very interesting and beautiful to look at and photograph. We get to La Colorada at around 3pm, this is where we part ways with Robert, he is staying in Navia tonight. We may or may not run into Robert again, you just never know. We are staying at Hotel Spa Blanco and yes it has a hydrotherapy pool and it’s the best one yet! Here the food is delicious and our time at the spa is amazing, we go to bed feeling full, relaxed and ready for a goods night sleep Zzzz.Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    La Colorada to La Caridad

    September 5, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We sleep in this morning, our room is so comfy it would be super easy to stay here for the next few days, but that is just a dream! We finally drag our butts out of bed and start getting ready for our day, not having a big walking day ahead of us, we can enjoy a leisurely breakfast and slowly get ourselves ready. We hit the trail just before 11am, our bodies are feeling pretty good after our time in the hydrotherapy spa yesterday, our first town is Navia and it’s only 2 Km away, we end up breaking here, Louie has an upset tummy that she needs to sort out. This is a big, bustling town, we end up here for around an hour or so, then head on. Again we are walking up and out of the town and the view is spectacular! It’s a beautiful day and we are walking in rural settings, on quite country roads. We come upon another old community washhouse from back in the 1930’s, this one is well loved and preserved. It has really started to heat up but thankfully we have made it to our destination. We find a bar eager for some lunch, we share a dish that is a local speciality - Crumbed pork with peppers and chips (it’s yummo!) We then head to our accommodation, our host is very welcoming and even gives us a bottle of red wine for our room as the bar and restaurant here are closed due to renovations. We will head back up to the same bar we ate lunch at for dinner tonight. We didn’t run into Robert from the USA on our trail today, no surprise there, we didn’t start walking till nearly lunch time! We go to bed early, resting our bodies ready for another walking day tomorrow.Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    La Caridad to Tapia de Casariego

    September 6, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We wake earlier this morning, get ready, then walk back up to a bar in a plaza to grab a quick bite and a coffee. We find a table outside in the sun and enjoy the morning vibes of the locals going about their business, then we set off on a beautiful walk to Tapia de Casariego. It’s a perfect walking day, around 15km in length and following the coastline, we stop at a homemade stall not too far out of La Caridad - a young girl has painted shells and made bracelets, Louie and I both buy a shell off her, then we continue on our way. Out of our 2 route options for today we have decided to stick to the coastline, we only have 2 more walking days along the coast, and want to make the most of it. The sounds of the ocean is strong and the smells of the sea air fills our nostrils, our next stop is at a small beach bar perched on top of a grassy hill, there are beautiful big shade trees to relax under, and from here we overlook the beach and way out into the ocean, we opt for ice-creams and settle in for a short break enjoying the views and watching some people swinging on a tree swing - creating social media content. We are then taken away from the coastline and are walking amongst fields and farms, a sun-shower cools us down, and goes just as quickly as it came. We continue our walk enjoying the scenery all the way into Tapia de Casariego. We pass the municipal aubergue that has prime position overlooking the ocean. Our first port of call is to find lunch, we walk into a small plaza packed full of eateries and pick one. We enjoy another local speciality dish that has been recommended by our waiter and it is delicious. Heavy rain comes out of no where and we move inside, we settle in here with wine and chats for the next couple of hours, our waiter is great and soon realises Lisa’s love of wine and brings her a 5 ltr bottle 😂. We then head to our accommodation, our room is teeny tiny, but we make it work. We are in a room above a bar and the last sounds of chatter, laughter and good times ceases at around 2am and finally we find sleep…..Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Tapia de Casariego to Ribadeo

    September 7, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    It’s a later start to our day - due to lack of shut eye last night. We get ready, head up stairs for some coffee and brekkie, then hit the trail. Tapia is a far bigger coastal town than we originally thought, and as we make our way through town we find a small puppy that has escaped from his owner, this little fella is going ten to the dozen and his lead is trailing behind him, we manage to take hold of the lead and then we try to locate the owner, we end up leaving the puppy in a locals care where we found him, and hope he will be reunited with his owner shortly. It is another beautiful walking day, we are so grateful as this is our last day on the coast, we are going off trail today and will be following the E9 all the way to Ribadeo, it is a local coastal walking trail that hugs the coastline as much a possible. This is also our last day in the region of Asturias and at the end of our walk today we will cross a bridge and enter the region of Galicia and the city of Ribadeo. We seem to have every walking surface along our path today, from bitumen roads to paved walking tracks to dirt roads and paths to boardwalks and bridges, from towns to country and city walking, wow Asturias, you have thrown everything at us for this last day and we will miss you dearly, for you have been stunningly beautiful! We break frequently to enjoy the picture perfect views and to really soak this day up, it takes us close to 5pm to get to our destination today and when we do we find out that the city is in party mode. We are booked into a lovely hotel in the main square and there is a fair with rides, food trucks, 2 concert stages set up, and people everywhere! We find a lovely little restaurant for dinner and enjoy some Indian cuisine, it is absolutely beautiful and so are the owners, they spoil us and treat us so well. We then go to the fair, the vibe is electric, the music is banging and it’s so nice watching the kids on rides, laughing, giggling and jumping around with excitement and anticipation, we end the night sitting on the ground listening to the band before heading to bed. Life really doesn’t get any better. ♥️Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Ribadeo to Mondoñedo

    September 8, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    We get to sleep in this morning and leisurely get ourselves ready, we were unable to book accommodation between here and Mondoñedo, which means we are catching a bus, it is scheduled to leave Ribadeo at 10:15 am. The day is overcast and drizzly, and we are not the only pilgrims on the bus, the common theme is a lack of accommodation - there just isn’t enough open this year for the number of people walking this stretch. So we board the bus, sit back and enjoy the views from the comfort of our seats. We make it into Mondoñedo by noon, and quite a few of us pilgrims disembark. The bus stop is on the edge of town, so it is a long uphill walk into the main area. It has a lovely feel to it and we have an apartment booked and will be staying here for 2 nights. Before we get to our apartment we decide to stop at a bar for some wine and tapas. We are the only pilgrims in this bar and it’s interesting listening to the banter and laughter among the locals. We then head to our accommodation, it is in a beautiful old stone building, on the second storey and it’s absolutely lovely. We unpack and head to the supermarket to stock up on supplies for some long-awaited home-cooked meals. Over the next 2 days, we explore this lovely town, including a visit to the cathedral, it is truly beautiful and I buy a Christmas bauble as a memento to hang on my tree. We also visit a hiking store, I need to buy a poncho and base layer (I sent both these items back home 🤦‍♀️), every time I have walked in Galicia it has been really cold and wet, so I am going to get these while I can. We enjoy plenty of home-cooked meals compliments of Louie and we savour these moments and also the flavours, knowing we will be eating out now until the end. This is our last rest day on this Camino, and our bodies have enjoyed the downtime, we leave here on the 10th of September feeling recharged and refreshed, ready for our next and last leg into Santiago de Compostela.Read more

  • Alison KellyCamino Del Norte 2022Traveler

    Mondoñedo to Abadín

    September 10, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    It’s time to leave this lovely town, we have packed our packs, left the key to our apartment on the kitchen table and we are on our way. We follow a road leading up into the hills, starting on bitumen then turning in to dirt and finally just a walking path, it is a steep, hot climb and we are both feeling it, the shade of the trees is a god send and keeps us putting one foot in front of the other. About half way up this hill we come to a split in the road and we rest on a fallen tree with our packs off for a while, an older man arrives, we offer him a seat beside us, he is grateful to sit and rest while he waits for his wife. His wife isn’t far behind, we all chat for a while, and work out we are all going to be in the same town tonight, so we might catch up later. Ok, break over, it’s time to tackle the rest of this hill - it’s a long, hot winding path to the top. Woohoo we finally made it! We see a servo with a restaurant attached and decide to break here for lunch, there are no tables left inside, but we manage to score one outside. A waiter comes and takes our order, we order 2 red wines and 2 mineral waters. When our waiter returns with our drinks he sits the glasses of wine on our table and proceeds to pour the mineral waters into them! We are shocked, speechless and end up just bursting out in laughter! In all these weeks/months of ordering our drinks, this is the first time this has happened to us, and actually, it’s not too bad. We stay for about an hour, eating, drinking and chatting, then push on. We still have aways to go and the heat is severe. Thank goodness, we have finally reach our destination for today, it is still very hot and we can’t wait to check in, have a shower and grab a cold drink. We are staying at a fabulous albergue in a private room with its own bathroom but it has a shared kitchen and lounge area, it is super clean, modern and comfortable, our host is very welcoming and accommodating. After checking in & showering we head out to find a bar, there is one just down the road and we settle in there for a few drinks. The older couple we rested with on the path today spot us and ask if they can join us, of course we say in unison and we sit and chat for the next couple of hours, we book in here for dinner tonight. We meet another pilgrim he is an American called Ruddy, we get to chatting and he helps us out by ordering our meals as he is quite fluent in Spanish. We finish dinner and turn in early, it’s going to be another scorcher tomorrow, so we are getting on the road before the sun comes up.Read more

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