Camino del Salvador

On the way!
It poured with rain all night but when I got up at 05.40 it had stopped and it was a beautiful moonlit morning, I did what I have wanted to do for a long time, walk out of the village in the moonlight, without street lights. It was beautiful and I didn't need my torch at all.
The weather in Leon is beautiful and I have managed to have a good wander around, including coffee in the Parador. Last time I was here I had tendonitis and barely put a foot out of the convent. The system seems to have changed here, for one the 'hospitaleros' are all French, there's also a restaurant that wasn't here in 2010.


The Cathedral of Leon

The Parador of Leon

 

Back packs lined up in the Albergue of Leon

Sleeping accommodation, Albergue of Leon



Day 1 Leon to la Robla 27 kms

Lots of people got up early. There was lots of rustling, then I heard a child's voice outside so I looked at the time - 05.50! I kept trying to go back to sleep but when the light went on at 06.50 I gave up and got up. About half had already left though it was still dark outside. I got ready slowly and then left to find a bar and some breakfast, I found a bar that was just opening and had a coffee and very, very fresh churros. Then I got going. The path started along the road then it went under the road and there were no signs, my guide said that the path ran by the river so I took that path but there were no arrows, eventually I saw arrows up at the road. I was torn between the pleasant path and the arrows, in the end I opted for a path in the middle.

I stopped for a coffee in Carbajal, the first bar and shop were closed so I ended up in a bar well into town, the Bar Central, the owner is a friend of the Camino and gave me gifts, it was lovely. We are coming up to a weekend and Monday is a fiesta and tomorrow we go into the mountains so I'm trying to plan food:-)   I was told there was a shop in Carbajal but I didn't find it.

Tribute to Pilgrims in Carbajal

Green mushrooms!

A 'post box' with first aid things and a message book.

I was taken with this beautiful stonework!

 I had planned to stop in Cabanillas at 18kms,  as I thought a short first day was a good idea, but I got there far too early, so I stopped there for a rest and continued to La Robla. I met 2 other pilgrims in Cascante and now we are 4. 3 Brits and a Spaniard.

Day 2 La Robla to Poladura de la Tercia 23kms

A good night. I woke at 7 a.m. and realized I wasn't going to go back to sleep so I got up and put the coffee on.  The coffee pot has no handle and, as I discovered, leaks, but someone had left coffee and milk in the fridge so we were grateful to have breakfast before starting out. The walk started relatively flat. I stopped for coffee in La Pola de Gordon and bought some bread, I planned to stop for lunch at the top of the mountain. From Buiza it was almost straight up,  I thought it was going to be about 4 kms of up and I don't enjoy up, eventually I had to stop for a break I was almost on my knees, I found a stone I could sit on, I took off my boots and ate handfuls of fruit and nuts, with my strength renewed I started again but I discovered that the worst was over, from here the climb to the top was gentle.

An aqueduct near La Robla

The views from the top were spectacular. Overall it was not as difficult as some of the stages on the Catalan.

 

 

 I never managed to stop for my sandwich as I didn't find anywhere to to sit down after that first stone, so I had my sandwich at the albergue. I went to the bar and asked for 2 beers, 1 to drink and 1 to take away and a young man paid for both of them, I must have looked exhausted!

 

Day 3 Poladura to Pajares 15 kms

I had a room to myself but still slept badly. I had put my alarm on for 7.30, of course, when the alarm went off I was asleep! I had a bottle of chocolate drink and a muesli bar and got dressed slowly. It was raining so it was wet weather gear, as the walk went straight out into the hills I didn't want to leave until I could see clearly. I left at 08.20. The walk was uphill but not too bad and the rain was just drizzle, so not too uncomfortable, it prevented me seeing the tops of the mountains but it was safe for walking.

 It was a pleasant walk until Puerto de Pajares, then,  firstly, someone had put a sign saying Bar and arrows leading nowhere, I felt obliged to check it out but not for long, it was obvious that the bar was going to be on the road. I found the bar, had a big coffee and a local biscuit and set off again. The route was signed off the road and up a hill,  I was supposed to go through a gate but the gate was well disguised and took some finding, after that it was straight down a steep grassy slope. This would have been difficult at any time but the grass was wet and slippery, it made for a very slow descent. Eventually I got to the bottom, crossed the road and got into a nice country area, then there was another slippery descent through a field and then a wood. It seemed idyllic for a while then it became very muddy. My foot slipped and sank into mud that went over the top of my boot,  I thought I was going to lose my balance and sit down in the same mud, but I managed not to. The mud lasted a while so it was very slow going. It was only supposed to be 3.7 kms from Puerto de Pajares to Pajares but it seemed much longer. All in all it took me 5 hours to do 15 kms and much of that was a on the final stretch.

I've had to wash my boots and socks, I hope my boots dry in time.
From here on it's supposed to be fairly flat.

Day 4 Pajares to Pola de Lena 26 kms

I woke about 7. Jane, my sleeping companion, was also awake, so we decided to get up.  As there were 2 rooms we had a girl's room and a boys room! The albergue has a coffee machine, I took down my mug and had 2 'cafe con leche ' which I tipped straight into my mug, thus avoiding the sugar. It turned out to be a good coffee. Then it was a slow move towards leaving. I left at 8.15 when visibility was reasonable.


The view back to the Albergue

The path quickly went straight downhill, this one wasn't slippery grass but stones, but still very steep and difficult.
I had information from various sources but none agreed on distances so I wad hoping for the shorter distance. It was a lovely country walk but very up and down. In San Miguel, the first village, a doggy decided to accompany me,  he was very sweet but I didn't want a dog.  Fortunately, in the next village there was a woman who stopped him.

I was keeping a careful eye on my written notes as there were lots of 'bewares' and 'go here not there ' kind of info, so when I arrived at Puente de los Fierros and the info said that there is a very steep descent into Campomanes I decided to opt for the variation which follows the road.  This variation has obviously been well used in the passed as I saw 2 ruins of pilgrim hospitals. (When I met up with my companions they said I had made a good decision).

By Campomanes I was feeling pretty tired, it had taken much longer than I anticipated, I was desperate to sit down and take my boots off. I had a coffee and then looked for a shop.  It is fiesta today, but I managed a couple of emergency goods and then proceeded to the pre -Romanesque church of Sta Christina,  I got there just too late to see inside but I had a lunch break on the hill and carried on.

 I got to Pola de Lena just in time to use the supermarket and learned that tomorrow is fiesta here as well. 

My 'selfie', waiting outside the albergue!

The albergue was shut, I had to wait until 4pm, it is very nice but has no kitchen but I had just enough food to make a picnic, the others went out for a meal and I listened to the sounds of fiesta, I thought we wouldn't sleep!!
Day 5 Pola de Lena to Oviedo 33kms
It wasn't an earplug night, not for music anyway! The music stopped at 10 p.m., very strange for a Spanish fiesta. It was up early and get cracking as we had a long day ahead of us. There was a nice bakers open for breakfast and then 15 kms of flat walking till we got to Mieres, we all thought it was a doddle, little did we know, just a couple of kms more and then it was all up and down.

I'm taken with these horreos!

 

I found a picnic area and had a picnic and a rest and then the first up,  also the highest but it was on the road so not too steep, after this they became more and more difficult. Eventually I got to the edge of Oviedo where I followed the arrows into a park, but here I had problems as someone had painted yellow arrows for something else and I followed the wrong arrows, till a kind young lady rescued me.  I went straight to the cathedral, it seemed the right thing to do but I almost wish I hadn't. It's one of those cathedrals that you have to pay to enter and we got there behind a German woman but she was one of a group of German tourists so we were told to stand and wait whilst they all came in and were sorted. My feet were killing me and I had met Pepe outside and he really had foot problems. It wouldn't have taken a second to stamp our credencials.  I went right off Oviedo at that point.

Pepe 's feet are so bad that he had to take a train for the last 5 kms.  We had a drink together and that necessary sit down. I was contemplating going to a hotel for the night, I was so tired, but the hotels around the cathedral were expensive or full, so I went to the albergue. I met Jacek there,  he had contrived to save a room for us, in the hope we would all turn up! The end of his camino had been really impressive, he missed a turn in Mieres and ended up near the motorway so he tried to take a shortcut somewhere he shouldn't and was picked up by the police and driven all the way to Oviedo!
We had hoped to all have a drink together but we didn't manage it, which was a shame but Jacek and I had a lovely and enormous meal together before we had to rush in for the curfew!
This was the end of the El Salvador, a lovely camino.