Rest Day Luarca to Ribadeo, Spain

Today we made the best decision to take the bus to Ribadeo. Reason being is there is a beautiful beach called Playa De Las Catedrales, AKA, Cathedral Beach. Stunning, massive rock formations lining the coast. It was absolutely breathtaking and unlike anything I have ever seen. So glad we took the time to enjoy some beach. We have been passing them consistently and yet never been able to enjoy because we haven’t had the time after getting our chores done. I would have really regretted not doing this. This was a suggestion made by our Camino friend, Ingrid from the Netherlands. I have no trail photos for today, just great beach memories and photos, sorry, we are slacking a bit. The weather was a little chilly so we decided not to wear our sandals to the beach and instead wore our hiking shoes. Bad decision. We headed down to the beach and started walking along the beautiful (dry) sand and within minutes a big wave came in and totally soaked our shoes. Both of our eyes got huge and we were both thinking ‘No, Not The Shoes!!!’. Took those off, hiked up our leggings, and continued to explore this beach properly, toes in the sand. It was a great feeling. After getting back to town we found some newspapers, wadded them up and shoved them in our shoes to absorb the moisture. We have them and our socks hanging out our window in hopes they dry by morning. I think they will be ok. We still have some good sun.
Our backpack couriers route ended here so I had a little panic attack when I contacted the one he recommended and he said he wasn’t working tomorrow. WHAT? So I asked who he recommended and sent a message to him. €20 each. No way. We have been paying half that. Contacted another, and was told about the same. I said there was no way I was paying €20/day, we must be able to do better. We got back to where we are staying and asked the front desk lady for a recommendation. She gave us a great guy who charges €8/day for each. So €2 less per day than what we have been paying. So glad I didn’t say yes to those other guys out of convenience or so I didn’t have to keep investigating. I just got done booking the next 4 days of accommodations and sent him our itinerary so he knows where to pick up and drop off each day.
I have developed a pain on the bottom of my shin where my foot and leg meets/bends. It started at the end of our walk yesterday and I was hoping a day off would fix that. I still feel it, so I will be popping ibuprofen this evening and in the morning to see if that helps. The show must go on. No stopping now even if I have to cut it off. We have only 9 walking days left! It’s getting so close, but still, 9 days is 9 days.
Tomorrow is going to be a tough one. 28.6km/17.8miles. The day after that is a 27.2km/16.9miles. We have a couple tougher days with some good and sweaty climbs ahead, but after that, it’ll get much better, and we will be that much stronger. 💪👣🎒Read more