August 2, 2021

So the whole location, location, location thing… The other end of that stick is we’re in a popular place for evening/early morning action being in an alley with several restaurants. We are also on the fifth floor with a window out to the roof where the seagulls like to hang out!! Somehow it has escaped me these many years on the planet that seagulls have a nightlife!! My Oh My they were loud! And then the music abruptly stopped in the middle of the Rolling Stones’, “I can’t get no satisfaction“, apparently due to the Covid curfew of 1:1 5 am…. On top of that, the third person in our room of three stayed out until 2 am, so when her alarm went off at 5:45, the “rise and shine” came a bit early!

We headed out at 7:00 after some stretches and a group bonding exercise to get going on our 9 mile day. Of course we had quite the hill to get out of Luarca’s harbor. For most of the morning and the first several miles, we walked rolling hills along country roads and paths through cow and corn fields. We saw a most spectacular sunrise, and the temperatures were very mild under cloudy skies.

At about mile five we started walking through a beautiful pine forest of old and new growth, intermixed with bright pink heather and eucalyptus trees (which you must know smell fabulous!) The mix of fauna allowed for stunning vistas of the ocean and more quaint coastal towns.

About a mile from our destination we were thrilled to happen upon our first (and only) open “bar” or what in the USA we consider a restaurant. I won’t usually order anything other than a café con leche at these establishments, unless they have huevos fritos (fried eggs), however, seeing the jamon y queso (ham and cheese) sandwiches that my fellow pilgrims had, I decided I would go ahead and have one, just in case we once again ran into a situation where there was no place to buy what I prioritize as decent food. And of course, I truly love café con leche here in Spain, so I definitely wanted to have one of those at the very least! The sandwich was slim on fixin‘s, but it was quite tasty.

And less than a mile later, I finally got to go to a grocery store and I am SOOOO HAPPY!!! It was a tiny market and the ”only one patron at a time” Pandemic protocol was in place (four locals were there already) yet Hallelujah, I succeeded in getting a decent haul! Sadly, no spinach or avocados… Good thing, too! Because, our albergue is literally next to the highway sign signifying the end of town, it is 100% rural and the pilgrims’ meal (at least they are offering it here – a bonus for sure), is at 8:00. I am frankly tired of compromising on my eating priorities, so I will be having a six ounce can of tuna, an orange, and a couple of Baby Belle cheese rounds for my dinner at probably 6:00.

Today we walked from Luarca, through La Corripa, L’ Outeiru, Taborcias, Aquel’cab’u, El Palaciu, El Rellón, and El Bao.

Tomorrow we walk nearly 10 miles from Piñera to La Caridad (A Carida)