On The Norte

Cades to San Vicente
24 km, 500 m

Great day! The Senda Fluvial del Nansá (Nansá River Trail) is fabulous. The trail is exceptionally well maintained, there are wooden bridges and steps, and there are alternatives for when the river is high (as it was today). It is 14 km alongside the river, just great for walking. I met a very chatty señor working on an environmental project to improve the health of plant life along the river. His particular challenge for the day was pulling out invasive species, which seems like a never ending task. But they have other jobs too like working on water quality, trying to protect the bat population, preventing erosion, etc. A good use of government funds!

In the town of Serdio, the Lebaniego merges with the Norte. There is a certain amount of arrow confusion, and I somehow managed to find myself on the path that took me to the damaged wooden bridge that is theoretically closed. But I had talked to several people who had climbed over the barrier and walked across, and so that’s what I did too. It is true that the bridge is badly in need of repair or replacement, but I was not about to go back 5 km and take another longer route.

By 3:00 I was in San Vicente, and as I was walking on the main drag, I saw a hotel, the Luzón, that looked like it was built in the early 20th century. Very charming. Turns out it is the oldest hotel in town, and was built as a hotel more than 100 years ago. It has been in the family since it was built, and there is currently a 30-ish guy working in the office who tells me he is the next generation and hopes to have kids who will also carry it on.

I have spent a few hours walking around, remembering especially the time that Dana and I stayed here in the albergue. The hospitalero was very hostile to us, accusing us of being hegemonist Americans. It was not pleasant. The albergue is still there, under private management now, so I’m sure our old friend is long gone.

I have a few more days to walk and I have plenty of time to get to my goal of Santander. So I think I will lollygag around a bit, walking backwards on the Norte.

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