Colombres

A slow start to the day today, getting on the trail at 7:45 am. I was feeling very fortunate to be on the Camino today. The complain train has left the station. 🚉

Today's walk was quite pleasant. I walked past a number of lagoons and estuaries first thing in the morning. Before coming here, I was told how important it is to remember to look behind you because the best view might be behind you. That was absolutely the case today! The view of the coast from the top of the bluff was brilliant!

As I was climbing this hill, I passed an older couple (Ms. Tennis Shoes and Mr. Cough All Night). They must be approaching 80-85 years old and are still carrying their own backpacks and walking the full Camino. There are two couples in this age range I’ve met in the past few days. I think they are so impressive. 💪🏻 As I walk past them, I see parts of my (hopefully) future self. No matter how hard we try to resist it and take care of ourselves, we WILL slow down. But slowing down doesn’t mean stopping. Slowing down to me means gracefully accepting what my new pace is, while also trying to push myself to maintain what is still available. Carrying your own backpack for as long as you can.

I really loved the beach town of San Vicente de la Barquera. The people are so kind! 🥹 It's absolutely a surf village full of happy ocean people. 🏄🏻‍♀️🌊 I wish I had allowed myself a short day to stay there. I loved sitting on the bluff watching the waves and the surfers, and I really enjoyed walking across the sand. In San Vicente, I had a really weird yet filling sandwich called a "sandwich completo." It was absolutely complete. 😂 I would actually call it an "everything but the kitchen sink" sandwich. It had three layers of bread (I know, I know, bread won today), ham, cheese, lettuce, tomato, fried egg, bacon-like thing, and tuna. I’m not sure I’d say it was tasty, but it was certainly filling. Which is good because I walked 17.4 miles.

The landscape on today's walk was peaceful and beautiful. Everything was very green and full of foliage. I crossed many rivers, which is my favorite! Bastion and I took short breaks, and he took the opportunity to enjoy the tire swing. My favorite river was crossing from Cantabria to Asturias into Bustio.

The day ended in Colombres, which is one of the first towns in Asturias. Colombres is important for its architecture. The residents of this town were some of those fortunate to have gone to South and Central America to earn a fortune and return to Spain. It’s one of the sleepiest villages I have stayed in so far.

Tonight, I get my own room in an Airbnb. I’m going to sleep like a queen!Read more