We left early this morning, intending to do an easy 15 km to the Sebrayu albergue. The weather was beautiful and the rural scenes idyllic. We arrived at the Sebrayu albergue around 12:30pm. It is a little former schoolhouse in a tiny tiny hamlet in the middle of nowhere. There are signs by the door for a restaurant that will deliver dinner since there is nothing closeby. Apparently there is also a “ambulatory store” (small shop in a van) that comes by in the afternoon.  Arriving so early, we didn’t feel ready to stop and spend the rest of the day in the tiny albergue so we decided to press on to Villaviciosa, another 6km. Villaviciosa does not have any albergue, but several hotels and hostales advertise special rates for pilgrims. We looked at Hostal del Sol (€24 for a dbl room with shared bathroom) and Hotel Carlos I (€30 for a double room with private bathroom and breakfast).

We went with the hotel and were very glad we did. It was a luxurious, quirky little place, lavishly decorated with rich brocade fabrics. Our room even had a little loveseat (we are always excited to have something soft to sit on, a rare treat on the Camino).  We both took hot bubble baths and caught up on emails with the wifi.

I went out to the shop and got fixin’s to have a taco salad for dinner (ham and cheese sandwiches are wearing thin…)  There was a knock on the door in the evening, and our breakfast was delivered (with hot coffee in a thermos) so that we could enjoy an early breakfast the next morning (most cafes don’t open until 9 or 10am.) We slept amazingly well in the dark, quiet room and our thermos of coffee was piping hot in the morning, as promised. Considering that many youth hostels cost €15 per person, this hotel was a phenomenal deal and a great way to catch up on rest.

I am finally feeling better today and was able to keep down my soup from last night. We woke up to another dreary day and the forecast looked like a lot of rain. We slept in a little and lingered over breakfast before setting out on the trail around 9am. We had some beautiful dirt tracks with views of the rugged sea and determined surfers out practicing in spite of the weather.

The weather varied a lot, with some perfectly sunny sections with blue skies and others under dark and stormy clouds. We weren’t sure how far we would make it today since I’m still recovering. The normal stage is Llanes to Ribasello, about 33 km. We ended up stopping at Piñera, at about 20km. There’s a sweet little albergue here called La Llosa del Cosme. The owner is super nice. We’re in a little cabin with two Dutch ladies. There is a little garden outside and a big green lawn. The owner did our laundry for us and we even have a kitchen. I backtracked about 2km to the last town to get some groceries to make a good dinner (we originally went by the grocery stores during the dreaded siesta hours when they were all closed…)

The forecast looks clear for the next few days so we hope to do some bigger days and get back on schedule.

After my rough night, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to walk today. We slept in a while and went to a café to think about our options. I decided to try to walk and explore some of the closer accommodations options. Leaving Colombres we had to walk along a highway with truck after truck speeding by us. Finally in Buelnes we were able to get off the highway and onto the scenic GR E-9 path out on the cliffs above the ocean. This was one of the most scenic paths yet and we had amazing sunny weather.

I was still feeling weak and nauseous, so was happy to see a sign advertising rooms in a local café for €25. I figured a cheap room above a café might be pretty crappy, but would at least give me a place to lie down and recuperate. So I was very pleasantly surprised when we arrived to the room and it was a beautiful spotless room with a large luxurious private bathroom.

Dave dropped his pack and went back onto the trail to continue walking to Llanes in order to get the GPS data, while I took a hot shower and collapsed into bed. I was feeling so much better that I even ordered a dinner in the café below (they offer a delicious two-course meal with dessert for €7). The dinner was so tasty and I was so hungry from my two days of not really eating that I started off with too much too fast. Shorly after, my food made a reappearance. L  Clearly my illness is not over yet!

This was a short day so we decided to sleep in a bit and do some email and work in a café before beginning our 12 kilometer journey. The albergue in San Vicente has 44 beds so we didn’t feel in any rush to get there. The weather was cloudy and cool. I woke up feeling somewhat sick to my stomach and felt tired and draggy in spite of the short distance to walk.

The albergue in San Vicente supposedly opened at noon, but when we arrived around 1:30, it was still closed. Some of people who were waiting said they called and were informed that the albergue would open late at 1:30pm because of a local celebration, but the hospitalero didn’t show up until well after 2pm. We were a bit leery of this place because the entrance was very cluttered and the rooms, essentially in a basement, seemed rather damp and mildewed. The kicker was when Dave went to take a shower and encountered a stinky dog in the bathroom!

We should have trusted our intuition and found a different place to sleep. The online albergue information says this albergue costs €6 so we were surprised when they requested €13 each. Apparently the communal dinner and breakfast used to be on a donation basis, but now they were charging a flat fee for bed and meals.  As I was still feeling sick, I took a nap and then joined Dave in the common room. I was shocked to hear the daughter of the hospitaleros, who was in the corner loudly saying rude things about the pilgrims (who did not speak Spanish so did not understand her). She was saying “Why aren’t you helping? What kind of pilgrims are you? Didn’t you read your pilgrim passport? Read it, it’s right there, a pilgrim doesn’t demand, a pilgrim accepts. Help him, go help!” A few people did volunteer to help with meal preparation, but it would have been nice if up front they would have asked for volunteers. Usually when we pay for a dinner somewhere, we aren’t conscripted to help prepare it… The attitude of the daughter was very awkward and just set a bad tone.

Apparently the hospitaleros have been involved with the Camino for a long time and very active in the marking of the trail in this area. However, it seemed apparent to us that they may be suffering from “burn out” as they no longer seem to take joy in working with pilgrims and seemed to resent our presence. It probably doesn’t help that they seem to live in the same building in the room just next to the dormitory. I’m sure I would get tired of an endless stream of pilgrims with all their needs, smells, and idiosyncrasies! This seems to be why volunteer hospitaleros, who serve for a few weeks at a time, are so important to keep the positive energy flowing.

The dinner was tasty but not very filling, with pasta salad, sandwich meat, fish soup and an unflavored yogurt for dessert. After the meal, the hospitalero basically said, “I’m going to bed, you all clean up!” I continued to feel sick through the night and slept very poorly. I had a top bunk that was very rickety and difficult to get in and out.  If I’m ever in San Vicente again, I think I’ll get a hotel!

Today was a medium length day, disappointingly still primarily on paved roads. We started the day with a 2-minute train ride from Bóo to Mogro. The alternative to this small “cheat” is to walk over 7km in a big loop in order to cross the river at pedestrian bridge (rather than the train bridge). Guidebooks used to recommend that pilgrims walk the tracks across the train bridge and just try to time it that no trains are coming! Along with being dangerous, this is also illegal, so most pilgrims take the 2-minute train.

The weather has been quite hot the past few days and we are beginning to miss those cloudy, cool days. Most of this morning was on pleasant country lanes with nice views. In the afternoon we passed a huge industrial chemical factory, which was definitely not the highlight of the day. We arrived in Santillana del Mar around 2:30pm and were happy to see our German friend, Stefan, in the main square.

Santillana del Mar is also called the city of the three lies: “No es santo” (It isn’t holy), “No es llano” (It isn’t flat), and “No es del mar” (It’s not on the sea). However, it is a beautiful Medieval city with many historic buildings. The streets are full of tourists and there are many shops selling local dairy products, ceramics, homemade jams, and other products from the area.

Santillana is also only about 3 km from the Caves of Altamira, famous for their cave paintings from prehistoric times. After we checked into the albergue, we made the walk up to visit the museum and recreation of the main cave (the real cave is closed to the public after the paintings began to deteriorate from so much contact.) It was really interesting and even worth the extra walk in the hot afternoon sunny. We were lucky and were able to get a ride back to town with one of the museum staff.

The Santillana albergue is quite small with only 16 beds, and very simple without much space, but it has a great location by the main square of the old city. We were afraid it would fill up quickly but there are still some empty beds. Crowds on the Norte route seem to arise and dissipate very quickly. As we get farther into September it seems like there will be fewer hiker as vacation time is over.

We’re excited to be back on the coast tomorrow as we make our way to Comillas. We’re feeling pretty good, though Dave has a painful crack in his foot and the pavement continues to cause foot pain. We are really hoping for some sections of dirt path soon!