Day 5 - Berducedo to Grandas de Salime

After a great night's sleep Bonnie and I were ready to take on another day on the Primitivo. The place we stayed provided breakfast and we were thankful for the coffee, toast and orange juice to start the day. We agreed, we've never had better OJ than what they make here in Spain a cup at a time. We've also decided we have more energy for the walk when we eat breakfast first.

We were surprised when we went outside this morning to find sunshine. The night before the forecast had been for rain all day. We had the gift of the first half of today without any precipitation.

The views were spectacular both being above the clouds and then in them. We walked a while with Benjamina and Alba (a couple from Sweden and Spain, respectively) and I commented that it was nice to see our shadow again this morning as yesterday we didn't see much of it all. Alba responded that she and Benjamin could barely see each other yesterday, and we all laughed.

It is interesting to interact with people from other countries about the politics in ours. Europeans seem to be very aware of what is going on in the American government. Sometimes we are asked questions. Sometimes pilgrims want to know who we will be voting for in the upcoming election. There is a lot of concern regarding the direction that American politics has swung and how it affects the rest of the world.

We met a sweet girl from the Ukraine today. She talked a bit about the war in her country. Yesterday she was confronted with two Russian pilgrims and she didn't feel safe. She was walking longer today to try and get ahead of them and in a smaller albergue. She also told us that in discussing the war in Ukraine many people will try to dismiss the conflict to economics. In her view it is easier for people to stomach the war with that reasoning. It is also her view that the war exists because some people are simply evil.

The realities of our world don't disappear on the Camino. Even when you'd like to you don't necessarily get a break from them.

The walk today went up, and then as our Greek fried Agapeosa would say, "Down, down, downstairs." We had been told how unrelenting the decline would be that would lead us down to the reservoir, only only to then have to ascend back up to the town where we would be staying. We found the decline manageable, especially with the nice weather.

We stopped at a restaurant just above the dam for lunch for our first actual break of the day. I took a photo of the dam, looking back in the direction we had come, from the back patio as we were getting ready to leave. By the time we exited the front entrance it had begun to rain. It was astonishing how fast the weather came over the mountain. Bonnie and I walked the remaining kilometers in pouring rain. It was such a difference from the first part of the day. We have no photos from the last third of the walk.
Rain is also forecast for tomorrow. We are attempting to dry out our shoes for that longer walk. After that we are supposed to see sunshine again.

It is our last night in Asturias as tomorrow we will cross over into the region of Galicia. We are going to eat more of the local delicacies tonight as tomorrow they will be different. This is such a marvelous adventure!

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