Here we go!
May 29, 2022
After a decent night’s sleep, I wanted to get an early start so I was ready to go by 7:00. I thought the streets would be deserted since I was starting on Saturday morning. I was wrong! There were still many partiers from the previous night out wandering the streets. I made my way to the cathedral and using my app for GPS guidance, started following the Way out of Oviedo.
I saw a few other pilgrims as I left Oviedo but I would end up walking alone for most of the day. There was a rest stop outside of town where I could stamp my pilgrim passport and chat with a few others. I also had my first experience of nearly getting run over by cyclists. I was going down a fairly steep gravel path when I heard the yelling (in either Spanish or Italian) and I nearly fell down trying to get out of their way. Buen Camino! The route today consisted of a combination of paths, trails, and roads with a lot of up and down. This would be a small preview of things to come!
For some reason, I had a hard time getting motivated for my trip to Spain. Maybe because It had only been eight months since I walked the West Highland Way in Scotland. I chose to go at the end of May since it was bound to be a busy year coming out of the Covid shutdowns. It also had the potential for better weather. Any reservations I had melted away once I started walking, as I knew it would.
The first day was fairly uneventful. The path was easy to follow with the waymarks and there were several peregrinos both walking and biking. By the afternoon it was starting to get hot! At one point after a never-ending uphill climb, I could feel my energy quickly fading so I took a break in the shade of a chapel until I felt better. It was time to find somewhere to eat lunch!
Lunchtime
After walking for what seemed to be forever, there was a sign for a short diversion to a bar that promised great food. This path led through a forested area to the main street of a village. A few other ladies who were walking close to me also decided to make the stop and we all sat outside a small bar with a resident cat.
With my limited Spanish, I was able to tell the owner that I was vegetarian so he made me an egg bocadillo. I also order my very first tinto del verano (sangria) of the trip! This simple meal hit the spot and I headed back to the trail for the last few miles to Grado. Of course, I walked about a quarter mile before I realized I had left my trekking poles at my table and had to go back to retrieve them.
Arriving in Grado
As I was getting close to Grado, I met Gary from NYC. It was so great to meet another American and someone who spoke English! We walked through Grado together until he got to his hotel, my hostel was a little farther down the road. Little did we realize that we would end up walking the rest of the Camino together along with two others who would make up our Camino family. I arrived at the Quintana Albergue and made up my bed, showered, and washed my clothes. This would become the daily routine. It was a little odd at first sharing a coed bathroom as I found myself brushing my teeth next to a German man only wearing his underwear. I think Americans especially aren’t used to this kind of “closeness” as the Europeans didn’t seem to think twice about it.
My bunkmate was a woman from Australia, Alice, and she invited me to sit with her at dinner along with a German father/daughter duo she had been walking with that day. I also met Malthe, a 20-year-old young man from Denmark who would become part of my Camino family as well. He sat near us during dinner and was also in our bunk room. It really struck me just how articulate he was for his age (at least comparing him to my own sons of similar age. Shhhh…). Dinner was interesting. My vegetarian option was a huge helping of eggs, fries, and a salad. And a tinto del verano. I was glad to have finally met other pilgrims to talk to and had a fun night!
Photos – Click to enlarge
It’s so weird that we were in the same albergue but didn’t meet until the next day. To look back at the beginnings knowing how it ended is so interesting. Miss you my Camino sister!