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Camino de Santiago del Norte
Day 18 of our Adventure: WALK!!
CAMINO Day 11
Tuesday September 19, 2017

What we expected: 31km / 13 miles / 8 hours
We got lost… 16 miles, only 6 hours!
Total Ascent: 1378 ft.
Total Descent: 1312 ft.
Difficulty Rating: Terrain 4; Waymarking 3
Scenery Rating: 4

Ribadesella to Colunga, then on to Oviedo

We left the beautiful town of Ribadesella before dawn, very happy that we didn’t need our ponchos! After cutting briefly inland, the Camino returned to the coastline early today. We walked in bright sunshine, and we were making good time until we made a wrong turn in La Isla. We literally walked around in circles….. On our route we walked through this cute little town (I think it was La Vega) that had beautiful murals painted on houses. And we saw bags of bread hanging on the doorknobs of houses along the way. Fresh bread is very important here in Spain!

Eventually we made it to Colunga where we had lunch (Sopa de Pescado for me, Fabadas Asturiana for Mike). We then did our final “jump-ahead” to Oviedo. Altogether we’ve skipped about four to five days of walking, partly to avoid the hustle-bustle of larger cities (Bilbao, Santander, Gijon), but mostly to make time to see my family in El Pais Vasco.

I specifically wanted to stay longer (2 nights) in Oviedo because of the wonderful reviews on the dozens of Camino blogs that I’ve read. It will also give us a chance to find a Fitbit for Mike. His stopped working last week, probably due to the exposure to the rain. We’ve also lost the lens cap for our camera, and we know for sure that there’s a camera store in Oviedo.

My cough, sore throat, and cold have worsened, and Mike went out after breakfast to find a pharmacy. My hero brought back medicine for me. I’m sure that I’ll feel better soon! It’s good that we have an extra day of rest.

Hotel Blue Longoria Plaza is very close to the Cathedral and the main Plaza. I’m sure that we’ll have a great day exploring!