Hey, hey, hey! I'm back for day 3 of my trek on the Camino de Santiago--thanks for coming along with me!
After leaving Nicolás and his magical albergue, I set off for the next major town on the trail: Tineo. I'd shared with Nicolás my concerns about not being able to complete the whole trail with the time that I had. I'd gotten the idea to try to make it at least to the border between Asturias and Galicia, but Nicolás recommended trying for Lugo, the capital of Galicia. I wasn't sure yet what I was going to do, but I felt more encouraged and motivated than I had the two days previously.
This was the first day that I had major problems with rain. I would absolutely recommend hiking the Camino de Santiago, but I absolutely would not recommend doing so in November! The water literally gushes down the trail in torrents, and it can be hard to even get along, much less keep your feet dry, which is completely impossible and can be miserable.
By the time I'd reached Tineo, which was about 10 kilometers along, I had gone through all my socks and was so ready to just stop in a bar and order some cocoa, which is exactly what I did. I tried to dry off as well as I could, and put my shoes and socks by the fireplace, but I knew I was losing daylight and couldn't wait until everything was completely dry.
I set off again, and after my feet got drenched again almost immediately, I decided to just accept it and went sloshing through the water. I have to say though, that I really enjoyed the hike that afternoon. It was beautiful. I saw snow, and Tineo and its surroundings reminded me of Switzerland.
The part of Asturias where I live has been taken over by eucalyptus trees, which are not a native species, and though I love them, they have changed the landscape in to something alien--they let a lot of light down, which encourages a wild undergrowth of brambles, making walking through the woods almost impossible except where it's been cleared. Here farther west, it felt more like the real Asturias: an old forest of oak trees.
"I wish my camera could capture the green velvet of these hills," I wrote.
It was already dark when I reached the village of Campiello that evening. In fact, it got dark around 6pm every day, and since my flashlight was still in my lost luggage, I hadn't brought it along. I got a private room in a lovely old stone albergue, took a scalding hot shower, and washed and dried all my clothes, including my sneakers. Then I just enjoyed looking at how clean and dry they were lol.
There wasn't much else to do--no internet, so no movies, books, or stories. But that was okay. It was okay to just disconnect and embrace the quiet.