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Covid Camino 2021

September - October 2021
A 35-day adventure by Laurie Read more

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  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021
    1

    First day on the Primitivo.

    September 14, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    I was planning for a 25 km day, but when I saw the sign pointing 3 km downhill to another pre-Romanesque church, San Pedro de Nora, I couldn’t resist. Good thing it was early in the day, or I wouldn’t have gone.The Señora who lives next door has the keys, and she was very happy to let me in, though the real beauty is from the outside. It’s right next to a river, and it’s gorgeous.

    I’ve talked to more people on this first day than I did on all of the days on the Salvador put together. A rough head count is 18 or 19 people! So the Primitivo is crowded. Lots of ups and downs, and I can feel the difference of the three years between this time and last. But it’s beautiful. I met an 80 yo Spaniard this morning, so I’ve got some more years I hope!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021

    Singing in the Rain to La Espina

    September 15, 2021 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    My GPS says 33km and 1077 m elevation gain. I believe the kms but not the elevation. I think that’s way too much. Anyway, in spite of the rain, it was really a pretty good day. When I woke up at around six, I saw that it wasn’t raining. So I decided to have a quick cup of coffee in my room (thank you Clare for that wonderful coil) so I could take off a little earlier, rather than wait for breakfast in the hotel. That was a good decision, because I had the first 3 1/2 or four hours with no rain. Lots of ups and downs, lots of pretty green valleys, but lots of fog so it was hard to see. Luckily since this is the fourth time I’ve done this route, I have pretty clear memories of the beautiful countryside. But it would be nice to see it!

    The rain started at about 11, it was very gentle at first but by about noon it started coming down hard. As a good Camino friend has pointed out, once you are totally wet you don’t get any wetter so there’s really not a problem walking once you get soaked through.

    I took a rest in Salas before the last 6 km, knowing that there were some pretty steep ascents. I found a nice looking place with tables under an awning, but unfortunately the café was closed for a weekly rest day. I stayed at the table and ate some stuff out of my pack which is always a good idea since it lightens your weight.

    For anyone who’s walked the Primitivo, you know that a stop at Bodenaya is required. I would have loved to stay there, but because of Covid, I resisted. David is one of those old school hospitaleros, who really believes in the Camino and what it does for people. We had a really nice talk and I was sorry to say goodbye.

    Clothes are washed (whether they will ever dry is another question), I am showered, and I’m heading out to buy some more fruit and nuts for my pack. Looks like the next few days will all have rain, but I long ago stopped worrying or complaining about that!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021

    Cloudy but no Rain -to Samblismo

    September 16, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    I woke up to a much better forecast than what I had seen last night. No rain in the forecast!!! 31 km and another 700 m elevation so I am getting in the swing. But I can see that the pace that’s comfortable for me this year is slower than the last camino. Not surprising I suppose.

    Today was just beautiful. Lots of forest walking, lots of spectacular views over the hills. Even though the clouds hid the mountains in the back, it was still a really beautiful walk.

    I am now in an albergue in the middle of nowhere. My first Albergue but I have a private room. Meeting the typical international crowd —German, Czech, Brit, and Dutch today. But the majority of walkers are Spanish. That has never been the case on my earlier walks on this route, but I think many people are staying close to home.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021
    11

    Hospitales in the Sun

    September 17, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    I had my first communal dinner last night, in a big room with a window and door wide open. It was fun and the food was great. So nice not to have a dinner with french fries and other greasy stuff. Javi makes it all, including the bread. It was the best bread I’ve had since arriving in Spain. And he’s a very nice guy. Anyone who is going to walk the Primitivo take note— Samblismo is the place to go. It’s right at the split for Hospitales.

    Today’s walk could not have been better. About 30 K and 1000 m of elevation, so it wasn’t a walk in the park. But it was beautiful, sunny the whole way until we got to the pass. A thick fog rolled in, and we could only see about 10 m in front of us. But as we started down on the other side, it all cleared and was lovely all the way to Berducedo. I had four more kilometers to go to get to La Mesa, but I decided to have my daily Kas de Limon and a handful of nuts. Unfortunately, just as I sat down to enjoy it, it started to rain. And it rained hard the whole way here. I am in a private room, worth every extra euro I have spent above the Albergue price. The hairdryer alone is worth it.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021
    11

    Dry but cloudy — I’ll take it!

    September 18, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    I left early, headlamp in the dark, and in a few minutes came up on someone taking off his raincoat. He said it was fine for me to tag along behind till daylight, and we were halfway through the descent to the dam when some light timidly tried to push out of the clouds.

    Lots of us had left early because of the forecast for rain, but happily it never materialized other than about 15 minutes of drizzle. The route goes through an area where there were bad forest fires a few years ago, and it still looks pretty bleak. The dam has a functioning hydroelectric plant, but there are many abandoned buildings and machinery dotting the hills around. I usually find dams and reservoirs pretty depressing, but this one was even more so than usual.

    Crossing over the dam means the start of the ascent, which was steep. But today’s total of 700 m is less than previous days and more than most of what’s coming up. So I’m a happy camper, especially when it’s added to the short day’s total of 23 kms.

    Tomorrow we leave Asturias and enter Galicia!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021
    3

    Hill fort

    September 18, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    This is my fourth time on the Primitivo. Every time I have wanted to visit the Bronze Age hill fort about 5 km beyond the typical stopping point. So this year since I’m sleeping only in private rooms, I saw my chance! There’s a little casa rural right there near the excavations! So I made my reservations, walked on through Grandas, and got to Castro only to learn that the hill fort is closed for renovations!!!

    Oh well, the museum was open and it was great. Showing how the hill fort went from Bronze Age to Iron Age to Roman. That seems like such an abrupt change that is hard to get your head around. But this Castro was “Romanized” and has a small villa.

    When I left the museum, I saw an “elderly woman” (aka someone about my age) who was sitting out on a bench. We started to talk, and she told me that she was the owner of the land where the Castro was discovered. She was growing wheat on the land and one day her brother found a spoon there. An ancient spoon it turned out. From there about a half hour of stories about how the archaeologists worked on her land and they eventually sold it in the early 1990s for 2,000,000 pesetas. I love these encounters, ending with the señora telling me that life is a gift and it’s short. Don’t we know it.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021

    Short day to A Fonsagrada

    September 19, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    This was just about as perfect a Camino day as you could design. Nearly all off road, through a few picturesque hamlets, two serious ascents (with only one slightly steep descent), blue sky with puffy clouds. Maybe a little short but all in all it was A-ok. 21 km, 650 m elevation. (I guess I wasn’t paying attention when I said there would be no more big elevation days, but this wasn’t so bad). The only slightly frustrating part is that you can see the town, strung out along a high ridge, from about 15 kms away. And you never seem to get any closer.

    I arrived pretty early, which was not planned. But the nice meson, where I had hoped to take a long rest with a snack, did not open until an hour after I was there. So I just kept walking.

    I am in the region of Galicia, which seems to get all the buzz about being green and beautiful. But for my money, Asturias is much prettier. Since it is more prosperous, the little villages are prettier and better maintained. But more than that, there are way fewer eucalyptus trees. I won’t start on my anti-Eucalyptus rant, but I do not like those trees!

    There are two very well-known pulperías here, so I will go and have some pulpo (octopus). I do like it a lot, but only for about five or six bites. I must be quite the connoisseur because I’ve been told that my assessment of good and bad is spot on. It has to do with the texture — there is a perfect sweet spot between not too mushy and not too chewy.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021
    1

    Up and down in Galicia

    September 20, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    This was a beautiful walk, except for a few kms in a logging forest, and with a lot more elevation than I remembered. Wikiloc tells me it was 34 km and 920 m up. Five years ago that was a walk in the park —this year I was dragging when I finally got to my destination. I deliberately went an extra 8 km beyond the “normal” stage so that I would have a short day into Lugo tomorrow.

    I have yet to come to that promised “end of huge elevation gains”, but I just take it slow and steady and enjoy the beautiful scenery. This morning on one particularly steep ascent, I came across an old man who was walking slowly up the hill. I tried to talk with him a bit, but I don’t know whether it was his lack of teeth (I only saw two) or his very thick Gallego accent, but my comprehension was limited. Every now and then I heard the word Camino or Santiago, but that was about it. When I finally got up to the town at the top, I asked the woman in the bar about this elderly gentleman. She told me he makes the 3 km walk up and 3 km down every day, rain or shine. In his rubber boots and holding a big stick for support. And there I was in my fancy trail runners with my expensive hiking poles, huffing and puffing as much as he was, or more!

    I’m staying in a real hotel tomorrow in Lugo, and I am very much looking forward to a shower that is bigger than 2 or 3 square feet! Not a complaint mind you, since I am already at the pilgrim luxury level of having my own private room and bath.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021
    1

    A short day into Lugo

    September 21, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    By 1:00 I was in my hotel and washing clothes. I will have all afternoon to enjoy this beautiful city. The walk was much nicer than I remember it, and I am assuming they have taken huge chunks off the road and put them on gorgeous little green tunnel paths.

    At about 12 km along the way, I came to a point where the arrows offered a choice to take on an extra kilometer and visit the church at Soutomerille. I had done that once before, long before there was any announcement of the option, and when I got there the whole church was covered in overgrowth. So I decided that this fancy little sign must indicate that someone had bothered to cut away the brush so the church would be visible.

    What a great decision, with several ancient chestnut trees as a bonus. One, according to a plaque, is at least 400 years old. And the church has a window that has been dated to the pre-Roman times. So it all was definitely a worthwhile detour.

    Lots of people walking these days and the weather is super. Sunny and 66 degrees in Lugo.

    I am off to walk the Roman walls before lunch. It’s about 2 km around and the walls are in tact. The guy who checked me into my hotel said they are the only fully intact Roman walls in the world. And the only ones that have free access 24/7 and no charge.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsCovid Camino 2021

    Afternoon in Lugo

    September 21, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Well there was a lot for me to do. First I walked the Roman walls and occasionally felt like I was intruding into someone’s private space as their windows opened onto the path.

    Then a real splurge for lunch at a place called Paprica. I got the menu del dia but even so it cost more than my hotel room. But my hotel room is very cheap. 😁 I have walked in Galicia many many times, but I have never really tried all the seafood specialties. So I am making up for lost time.

    In the afternoon my main objective was to find a new shirt to replace my dear blue shirt, whose right shoulder has been ripped open by the backpack strap. Not surprising after ten or twelve caminos. But I went from store to store and found nothing. So I called it quits and went to a few Roman sites in town.

    Lugo is a beautiful city with a lot of life. I was talking to Joe from a cafe in the plaza Mayor and he could hardly hear me.

    Weather looks good!    Read more

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