Amandi to Pola de Siero

Today it was goodbye to the Camino del Norte, as I am transitioning to the Camino Primitivo which starts in Oviedo where I will be tomorrow.

I left the albergue alone this morning, but soon two young women from the Netherlands who had been at the albergue caught up with me while I was attempting to fix a noisy squeak in my backpack. Hannah and Ans had already walked 1800 km from Belgium! We walked together off and on for a while, then I decided to take a detour that goes by a pre-romanesque church. I knew that it wasn't open on Mondays, but hoped to be able to see the outside. Unfortunately it and the adjacent monastery were behind a locked gate, so I had to be satisfied with a picture of the top of the church. As I climbed out of the valley I was able to see the monastery nestled in the valley below.

After stopping for second breakfast I caught up with a young French guy, and we walked together the rest of the way to Pola de Siero where we are staying at the public albergue, which has mostly single (non bunk) beds. I'm in a room with Dorotée from France who is also my age. It's a comfortable building with high ceilings and plenty of space between the beds. Shortly after arriving it started to rain, then pour, then loud claps of thunder. I'll wait a bit before heading to the grocery to resupply my snacks.Read more