Day 22 Villaviciosa to Gijon

I’d been slightly anxious about today’s stage mainly on account of the distance, two steep hills and a lack of infrastructure. In the event it was fine and the most difficult section was in the first 10k when there was cloud and mist and it was cool. As ever there was a bewildering array of route options. The entire Camino del Norte was designated a World Heritage Site in 2015 and since then various local groups have designed and promoted new paths, mostly to take pilgrims off the road. Some of these alternatives are very ziggy zaggy and can add several kilometres each day.

I eventually found coffee and a sandwich at an enormous campsite at 21k. Surrounded by thumping music and a noisy swimming pool I took a long break along with 2 other pilgrims.

I made a short video for Liv when I was walking in bear country, possibly. It went down well apparently, although her parents found it hilarious which was not my intention. I ended the day with no blip so after supper at Burger King, a life saver this evening, I went down to the beach area where at 8pm the beach was jam packed and the sea which didn’t look particularly inviting to me was full of people.

There is a definitely a Friday night vibe going on in Gijon, my rather nice hotel is right in the centre, up on the fifth floor it’s remarkably quiet. I’m never quite sure what my accommodation is going to be like and while it’s always clean and friendly it’s often very basic. Tonight is an exception and I have air conditioning, decent WiFi and a bath.

31km, 950m ascent, about 8 pilgrims and 3 conversations.