Day 3: Endless Inclines

Day 3: Camino de Santiago, Camino del Norte

Approx. 28 KM; Ribadesella to Sebrayu

Fresh cheese and bread, my journal, and the beach. Total tranquility. A great start to my day.

Wanting to process the funeral from last night and enjoy the setting, I took some time to relax on the back porch, looking out at the ocean. There, I journaled and prayed a bit while enjoying my Asturian cheese with bread for breakfast. I packed up pretty late…everyone was already gone for the day, and the house was desolate. I must admit, in this moment I had my one pity party of the trip. With the remnants of my emotional night prior still lingering, I felt very alone and a bit overwhelmed at the road ahead. I cried for a few minutes, then shook it off, remembered all the uncountable things I have to be grateful for and hit the road after10:30 AM.

By this point, I’ve decided that the guidebook and maps I have are almost totally worthless. I basically stalked another Spanish cyclist and desperately asked him how he follows the Camino on his bike. He confirmed what two French cyclists told me this morning and said he sticks to the main roads because the Camino is often too hard for bikes. That was both consoling and disappointing for me. I hate knowing I’m missing some pretty scenery along the coast, but it really is just too hard on the bike.

The day started off with a killer hill almost immediately, which led to subsequent killer hills the rest of the day. I really needed that great scenery as a frequent reward, because of having to push my bike up most of them. Sometimes the up hills seemed never-ending. I realized I get more discouraged whenever I can´t see the top of the hill and I have no idea how long the uphill is going to last. I find myself just waiting for the downhill I know has to be on the other side. I think this actually parallels how I can be in my life when facing something uncertain or unknown. Maybe I have to figure out how to enjoy the uphill climbs in life, instead of to just waiting for the downhill…hmmm…deep thoughts to ponder!

I tried to stick to main road for first half to make it easier and then branched back onto the Camino at Colunga. In Colunga, I stopped for a drink and a pincho (like a tapas or small snack). Here I met a German couple, who were probably in their late 30s and were biking all over the world. They had already been biking for 6 months through Europe and were possibly going to America by boat! They are planning on biking for years and/or until the money they saved up runs out. They saved for 5 years, and had been planning their trip actively for 2 years. They were such an interesting and inspiring couple!

The shell is a symbol of the Camino, and also serves as an "arrow"/marker for the path.

After Colunga, I was doing great following the yellow arrows and was feeling really good about myself. Then somehow I got lost, wandered around for a while, sat in a roundabout trying to call the albergue, and in the end, knocked on a couple of doors and finally found a tiny path to take me to Sebrayu. On the way, I crossed a Spanish guy walking that I had already passed twice earlier…he was going basically just as fast walking as me on my bike. I blame this on the fact that the whole day I was in essence walking, just pushing my bike uphill. It was torture. I HAVE to mail things and get rid of weight. My backpack definitely weighs too much. I can’t keep pushing like this.

I pulled up to the albergue at Sebrayu, which is in fact a village…the kind that if you blink, you miss it. It was in the middle of literally nowhere, no shops, just a few small houses on one dirt street. It was still early in the day and I had energy to keep going a bit, but there wasn’t another albergue for 20+ miles, with more mountains. I knew I didn’t have energy for that! So, I stayed, enjoyed the peacefulness, washed clothes in the sink, and talked with a young German guy. A van drove up to the albergue selling veggies and other packaged foods as they apparently know us pilgrims travel light and have no where else to get food. I bought a few things, and made a simple dinner that I shared with my new German friend and an Italian couple.

Today, I didn’t take as many pictures. The scenery is starting to look the same, and I’m so tired, I don’t even care as much! HA! Here are the ones I did take: