25.5 km / 15.9 miles

Today was beautiful and the miles flew by quickly. I started out of Oviedo before sunrise. Through the city, the Camino markings were the little metal shells on the sidewalks. But i quickly realized that I’d have an easy go of getting out of the city as a group of four guys from Spain were just ahead of me. With the stoplights, we ended up walking out of the city together. They didn’t speak English and my Spanish is quite limited. Another pilgrim shortly joined along with the group of us.

I stopped to search for a geocache that I didn’t find since I didn’t allow myself much time to search. I walked alone for a bit until a pilgrim/peregrino from Texas caught up with me. We then spent the day walking and chatting with each other. So far, all but one of the pilgrims I spent time walking with has checked into the albergue I’m staying at in Grado.

So I think I mentioned that today was beautiful. Farmland hillsides and beautiful mountains, rivers and streams. Yesterday’s scenery was fairly easy to beat but today’s walk outdid itself

I’m not a morning person. But on the Camino, I’m a morning person and it pays off in many ways. Not only is it cooler then, but the early morning views before the clouds have lifted are something magical.

Most of today’s walk was on paved roads. Some very small single lane roads and others busy highways. But we did pass through some more primitive roads and trails. Small portions were still a bit muddy. But overall good walking conditions. The major hill of the day didn’t even seem that bad – perhaps because the pilgrim from Texas and I were in the middle of a conversation.

I’ve showered, done laundry and am now sitting outside my albergue enjoying some beverages and potato chips. As you can see below, tonight’s experience will be the typical shared bedroom one expects from the Camino. Luckily I got here early enough to not have the shared shower experience. 😳 Most albergues will have individual shower stalls, but you’ll find the occasional few that will take you back to the misery days of junior high or high school.

Laundry can vary at albergues, but often it’s a sink outside and clothing lines to dry your clothes.

Grado is a slightly bigger town, so I’ll plan to wander around and hopefully find a slightly more substantial meal than potato chips.