Intermezzo

I will cease complaining about BlogPress, both its iPad and on-line versions except to tell everyone out there who might be thinking about it, FIND ANOTHER WAY! It is the clunkiest app ever. You would all probably use Facebook, but I can't deal with that for other reasons.

The hotel in Colunga was modest, to say the least, and I would not have minded except that the walls were so thin that in the wee hours I was awakened by my neighbours who were, shall we say, enjoying themselves mightily.

A big surprise awaited as I headed out, hopefully towards Villaviciosa, the weather had changed dramtatically. It was cold! Oh joy! I get to use my whole other wardrobe. Switching from the lightweight, 3/4 Northface pants to the sturdier Mountain Hardware hiking pants will be great because the former have only one pocket for my too many papers, whereas the latter have more pockets to allow for categorization of maps and instructions from "most likely useful" (left leg pocket) to "not likely useful" (right side pocket, leaving the right leg pocket for "undecided usefulness." I feel better already! Also, I have not yet needed my rather ugly-colored Pertex wind jacket, a replacement for the pretty-colored Pertex wind jacket that I lost last year and for which I mourned excessively.

The stretch from Colunga to Villaviciosa was, for me, the last stage of the Camino Norte, The first two-thirds of which was like walking through the pages of a picture book. The landscape was stunningly beautiful: deep valleys, graceful rises, mountains in the background, animals grazing, the mist evaporating. With little exception, one day has been a greater feast for the eyes and ears than the previous.

Leaving Colunga one sees early deliveries on door handles:





Didn't check to see if it works:



See this marker?



In case I have not pointed it out already, on all of the Caminos the end of the shell where the lines come out point to the direction one is supposed to walk, but in Asturias, the end where the lines converge points the way. It is so like Schlemiel going to Warsaw. One needs one's wits about one at all times.

Here, too, a kid needs a hoop:




A little extra storage space is always useful:




I got to see a lot of the A 8 today. From underneath:




From above:



From on top:



Tomorrow, if I were doing things by the book, I would be walking 32K to Gijon, but I am not. Instead I ride with my luggage and sightsee. Feeling only mildly guilty.

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Location:Calle del Marqués de San Esteban,Gijón,Spain