When we left Torre de Villademoros it still looked like we could be lucky and miss out on the rain. We decided to stay on the main road, because the Camino Histórico would lead us up into the Sierra de Troncedo, which was probably not a good idea after all the rain we had yesterday. The road followed every little turn into each valley through green Eucalyptus forests in a zig zag line and at the Rio Cabo we passed under a huge bridge of the highway. Nevertheless, we were still on the Camino del Norte and at the village of Balotta we were even able to find a place where to stamp our credentials. After getting my stamp at the Casa Fernando was it impossible to leave again without a new catchy tune in my head, biking on with the lyrics of ABBA: “There was something in the air that night – the stars bright – Fernando”
Being hunted by catchy tunes the next village name wasn’t any help, because now I was back to the German singer Roland Kaiser with a twisted version called “Santa Marina”. But as the road was always a bit more inland we had no chance to see any marina. So at the next village of Castañeras we decided to make a little detour to see the Playa del Silencio. We reached a beautiful viewpoint up on the cliffs into a wild rocky bay, from which we could see the horizon starting to be eaten up by heavy rain showers rolling in. We had no choice but to just get back into our rain gear again, and back on track as the rain showers got closer.
In the next village we found some shelter from the rain together with other pilgrims at the loggia of the church Santa María de Soto de Luiña. Unfortunately it was closed, because it must have been a quite important place for pilgrims as there was even the Casa Rectoral nearby as antique historical hospital for pilgrims. The church dated back to the 16th century while the tower was added in the 18th century. At least the bar of La Tasca de Rosa could give us a stamp for Soto de Luiña. Back uphill again the rain stopped and from San Martín de Luiña we enjoyed rolling out this lush valley through meadows and forests down to the Playa Concha de Artedo, where the waves were breaking in clear lines on the sandy beach.
Getting closer to Muros de Nalón the clouds got really dark and we tried to find our next pilgrims hostel before the rain started. Robert showed me at a roundabout where the address was supposed to be and I hurried and picked the wrong exit into the village instead of following the by-pass around it. It would have been a nice village on a hilltop to have a look at if the sky would not have opened its dark wall and released a waterfall. On top of that I had lost Robert and when I found him again he had that look in his face like he was a dog just pulled out of the water and shaking his head and fur for letting me know I took the wrong way.
The only way to keep on going in this pouring rain was to stay with our good humour and find the Casa Carmina outside the village as quickly as possible. When we entered the place we were creating water stains wherever we walked, and the owner Sara showed us where we could leave our bikes and bags and get dry again before we wetted the whole lounge. Already in the hall we were welcomed by unusual Bauhaus posters framed as design gems, and Sara explained us that she was into graphics and art. The room was brand-newly renovated and looked so inviting. We were so happy to be here and to get our things sorted.
After a nice warm shower we enjoyed returning to the cosy lounge where more and more pilgrims gathered to enjoy some of the vegan or vegetarian food, while outside it kept on pouring non-stop. I used the time to catch up on our blog until it was dinner time.
The pilgrims compared to the ones on the Camino Frances were mostly younger and more adventurous. For them it seemed to be more important to experience the wild nature than the spiritual part of the Saint James trail. They were even talking about the bus they had taken to avoid the endless industrial zones they were forced to walk through.
For dinner the team was complete and Laura joined Sara behind the front desk. They were able to create a very relaxed atmosphere for all the guests. At the wall was a black and white portrait of Sara’s grandmother Carmina, after who the place was named, with a great smile and a wink in her eye showing her great spirit. It reminded me of my grandmother Marga turning 103 in November.
The pilgrims usually go to bed early, but we ended up having a long conversation with our hosts Sara and Laura. It turned out they were a couple, and Sara a great photographer and filmmaker. We told her about our project of the “Less-is-More-Tour” and that we want to make a documentary about it. She gave me high five and we would probably have been a great team to realize such an idea.
They told us about their travels to the US and showed their photo sessions as they are great fans of “Thelma and Louise”. We had great fun and hopefully did not keep the pilgrims from sleeping with our laughter.
