Today’s stage was about 25 km, most of it uphill. We decided to break it into two stages. The first stage is to Mondonedo, which is about 9 km and climbs up and then down. The next 15 km is said to be the steepest and hardest climb in Galacia for the Camino del Norte.  We left that for tomorrow. 

We decided to leave at 7:30 in the morning. When we tried to get out of our room this morning, the lock was jammed and we could not open the door. We called the Pension number explaining in the little Spanish that we know and kept getting “no intendo.”

Fortunately there were two angels next door (Marc and Sakkar) who somehow found the manager and rescued us out of the locked room. 

We started 15 minutes later than planned but managed to not miss the morning glory. 

   
    
   
It was one of those beautiful mornings which reminds you why you go through the agonies of climbing and walking the Camino. 

   
    
   
The first 5 km was uphill, so we kept on walking and making steady progress. Even though it was 41 degrees, none of us felt cold. 

   
    
 
It started to rain by about 8:45, so we had to get our rain jackets on. Fortunately it stopped soon and by 9 we were ready for our snack.  

 
We continued our walk through the hills, enjoying the views and working hard. 

 
We could see the town below and were eager to get to our destination. It rained again for a bit as we were going down to the town. 

   
    
    
    
   
The first stop in the town was the cathedral at the center of town.  We had our lunch right across the plaza. 

We are staying at the serene and peaceful seminary Santa Catalina for the night. I am sitting in the wonderful courtyard as I compose this blog. We are looking forward to a nice dinner at the seminary tonight. 

Today’s hike was mostly uphill, and we thought it would be about 18 km.  It turned out to be 20 km.

Marc and Sakkar were still a bit jet legged and not ready for the long day and the steep climb, so they decided to sleep in and take a cab. 

Pat and I left at 6:30 in the dark.  It was a foggy and cloudy day. 

   
    
    
     
    

At 9, we stopped for a snack along the path.  The climb uphill was continuous all morning and went on for over 6 km.  At about 11 the sun finally peeked through some of the clouds. 

We could finally see the beautiful,  lush rolling hills of Galicia. 

At about 14 km, as we came down a path into a country road. All of a sudden this car honks at us. Surprised, we look back and guess who we see (two autogrenos- that is peregrinos in a car). 

We and our backpacks were offered a lift, but we only had another 6 km to go, so we declined. After about another km or so finally around 11:30, we reached our first and only cafe of the day. We decided to stop and enjoyed chatting with few German pilgrims before we took on our last climb of the day. 

   
    
    
  
After 20 km we reached Lourenza, a town famous for it’s 10th century Monastery and church designed by the same architect who designed the Santiago church. 

It was the first day for our new arrivals. There is no true way to prepare for the Camino. Camino is the way and we wanted a gentle way to break in our new partners.  Unfortunately the albergues along  the stage were at 7 and 21 km.  

After research at the tourism office, we found a pension some 11 to 12 km away which would make for a challenging but manageable day. 

We started around 8:45 am from Ribadeo. 

   
 
The path turned out to be combination of country roads, paths, and dirt roads with some beautiful views of the mountains. 

   
    
 
We successfully made it to our first stop for coffee and drinks at 7 km. Everyone was feeling strong, so we continued on to look for our pension. 

   
    
 
After going 12 km we had not seen our pension where we thought it ought to be (there were no signs to it, the pension was not on the “way,” and gps could not locate the place). 
After talking with a few locals, we realized that we had overshot our target and had to go on a different road to eventually find the place. Instead of walking 12 km, we ended up walking almost 14 km.  

It was a nice and challenging day and everyone is feeling good and tired.

About 18.5 km from Ribadeo is the famous Catedrais; I think it means cathedrals. On full tide the structures are underwater, but during low tide you can walk on the beach among these rock formations. We decided to use our rest day to take the bus and visit this monument in Galicia. 

It was amazingly beautiful, the likes of which I have never seen. Even though it is a rest day, and even though I was not going to blog, the pictures are worth sharing and tell a story of nature and its magical artistry that I don’t have words for.  Enjoy. 

Today was our last day walking along the coast. We have thoroughly enjoyed our coastal hikes across the regions of Basque Country, Cantabria, and Asturias. Once we cross the bridge to Ribadeo, we enter Galicia and start moving inland toward Santiago. 

We started early to catch the morning light on the coast.  It was one of those beautiful mornings that we will remember for a long time. I think the pictures will give you a a partial sense of the beauty we encountered.

   
    
    
    
    
   
The sunrise with the mountain backdrop was simple yet spectacular.

   
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
   
We had our breakfast while sitting on a bench overlooking the ocean. 

   
    
 
Soon we reached another beach. At the same time Kristen (American), Philip (Austrian), and Merith (from Norway) joined us to enjoy the beach together. 

We all have different schedule plans, so the probability of our meeting again after today is pretty low. 

   
    
   
We continued our way to Ribadeo. 

In the town center a car show was going on. 

   
 
We wanted to get a place near the town center so that we could enjoy our couple of days here with Marc and Sakkar (brother in law and sister) who now join us and begin walking with us on the Camino. 
At lunch we met Juan and Christine, a French couple living in Spain and spending their summer in Ribadeo. 

Mark and Sakkar arrived at 6 after a long trip. They travelled from LA to Dallas to Madrid on plane, from Madrid to Oviedo on train, and from Oviedo to Ribadeo by cab. 

   
 
At 7 we visited our new friends Juan and Christine in their summer home overlooking the river. 

   
    
 
We are all tired and happy that we have a rest day tomorrow. 

Today would have been the last coastal day for us if we had gone to Ribadeo. We decided to take the longer route through Tapia and stay at the albergue there.  Once we reach Ribadeo tomorrow, then we move inland toward Santiago. 

We left at 7, had breakfast and started our walk. With the detour we only needed to do 13km for the day.  Another 13 for tomorrow to reach Ribadeo to greet my sister and brother in law, as they arrive to walk the Camino with us. 

   
    
 
We moved into the country path after we left the town. The day was still cloudy and perfect for flower pictures.

   
    
    
    
 
Eventually we reached the split on the Camino. Left you head to Ribadeo, right you head to the beach and continue along the coast. 

   
    
 
The sun never materialized but the hike was nice and short. Tomorrow sun is expected to come out, so our coastal walk tomorrow should be nice. 

    
    
    
   
Lunch with Alex from France. He started the Camino the same day as us and we have run into him few times. Last 3 days we have stayed in the same albergue. 

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Seems like after the rain our luck improves. Once again yesterday the Hotel Villa Austarela that we found was excellent.  The room had nice heaters which allowed us to dry our shoes. 

As we were heading into the hotel, our Austrian buddies also showed up with the idea of staying in the same place. After a late lunch they engaged us in a lively Austrian card game that Pat won. 

Breakfast was included in the price of the hotel, so we had an early morning breakfast at 7 and headed along the country road. 

After 2 km we were off onto one of the beautiful country paths. The air was cool, and the morning breeze was full of the aroma of damp earth and bushes.

   

We have been passing by many dairy farms for days. Here is a typical scene. 

Navia, at about 9 km, was a big town on our way today. Situated at the banks of Rio de Navia, this 13th century town is fairly modern yet retains some of its 13th century architectural elements around town. 

We continued past Navia. Pat was up to her old trick of enjoying the blackberries as we walked. 
  
    
   

After the town of Jarro, we found this wonderful bench overlooking the ocean and decided to enjoy our lunch. 

After our lunch as we were leaving, Kristin appeared.  She had spent four days in Gijon visiting a friend and caught a bus directly to Luarca.  What a happy surprise that our paths would cross again, right there on the trail, after so many days.

We completed our 18 km to La Caridad and are settled in for the night at the albergue.  BTW, we lucked out and there was no rain. It is getting cold, though. Tomorrow morning the temperature will be in the 40’s (57 Fahrenheit), so fall is definitely on its way. 

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Some would call today a short day, and some would call it a long day. It is all a matter of perspective!

We were up early again. Outside the streets were wet, and it was misting a bit. We decided to eat a little before stepping out of the albergue. When we left at 7:15, there was no rain. It was a foggy and cool morning with a hint of autumn in the air. The views climbing out of the village were outstanding. 

The walk above in the farmland was surreal with fog hanging low among the trees. 

We passed this medieval ruin.  Unfortunately we could not decipher any details from the Spanish poster. 

We continued walking for about 2 hours. 

The wind picked up and the clouds were about to burst. 

It was time for a break and a snack. I told Pat, this would be a perfect time for us to find a church with a nice veranda so we could take our backpacks off and relax and eat. Low and behold as we made the turn, there was a church! No veranda or shelter, though. 

You take the lemon and make lemonade. We stopped and barely had a few morsels of food in our mouth, and the rain came pouring down.

We continued walking for the next 2 hours while it kept pouring. There was no shelter anywhere.  Walking in the rain was fun, but our shoes and socks were completely drenched.  Finally at 13 km we reached our first village. Our goal was to go 16 km, but we decided to get out of the rain and rest a bit.  While we scouted out the town, we had a tough choice to make–go another 3 km as planned and hope we can get a bed in the albergue or call it a day and get a hotel room right where we were. We opted to dry up and live to fight another day. 

All the while, it continued to rain outside!
   

Yesterday marked the end of a month of walking on Camino del Norte. In that period we covered approximately 550 km of beautiful coastline and lush green mountains. 

We were fortunate to find a fabulous hotel “Casa Roja” in Cadavedo. We ate our dinner at the hotel at 9 and were treated to a wonderful three-course meal (the best we have had the entire month). 

   
 
Breakfast was included in our price, so we decided to indulge in that, too, as we were only supposed to go 15 km today to Luarca. 

   
We were the only two for breakfast and easily this was one of the best breakfasts we have had in a month. 

I give our hotel two thumbs up. It turned out to be wonderful stop for us. 

 
The view from our window promised another cloudy and cool day. 

We left happy and content to begin our month 2 on the Camino.  

    
    
    
    
 
Luarca used to be a whaling town until the 17th century.  Now it’s a hybrid fishing and farming town. The colors of the town as you descend are noticeably gray and white.  One reaches the town center by crossing over Rio Negro. 

   
     
    
After 18 km, we are settled in an albergue. The wind is picking up, and the weather is looking as if fall is about to encroach on summer. We have successfully avoided rain today.