40km (467.3 km)Thursday 22 June 2017
I left the Pension bright and early as usual, having bid farewell to Marianne (groggy from my administered ‘sleepeze’ tablet 😱) and headed off in a generally westerly direction, this usually works when one is heading west for 600k or so. I finally found the shells and realised that my long day was now 3k longer because our Pension was 3k from the start of the route. Luckily the weather has broken, for the moment at least, so it was pleasantly overcast and perfect for walking. The route out of Ribadesella was beautiful; cutting in and out from the coast making the first part of the day fly by. I had taken provisions so stopped for ‘breakfast’ (a cake, donated by Marianne and a banana) and then found a cafe at around 12k. The route was quite hilly but the 22degree temperature was a welcome relief from the last few days. At Colunga I bumped into a couple of Australians, whom i’d met along they way a few times, and they seemed taken aback that I still had a further 18km to go at this 20km point! I felt fine, stopped for a good hour and then set off. This part of the route is very unpopulated, the villages barely have a beating heart and there is nowhere to pick up provisions or stop for coffee so I stocked up with some more food before continuing. I passed Priesca with 10km to go and bumped into Marianne who had taken a bus to the Albergue, after another brief farewell I was on my way for the final 10km. At home this distance is easy but after 30km it isn’t. I finally arrived in Villaviciosa at around 5pm and swithered between going to a bar to dull the pain or going to bed…I awoke at 7:30, jumped off the bunk (well less jumped, more negotiated the cheap wobbly bed without falling off it) and headed out to look for something to eat. It’s obviously a bus tour stop and I found myself in a restaurant in bus tour stop alley….not quite as posh as Green Park (mum&dad) but definitely had the same vibe. Villaviciosa is a pleasant little town and is apparently the apple capital of Spain, luckily I don’t like cider so I wasn’t tempted by the huge cider menu and opted for the pilgrim one! It has an atmosphere, like so many places I’ve visited along the way, of faded grandeur which I find quite attractive. I think a road trip of this part of Spain is definitely on the cards as I’ve said before (and I’ll be leaving the walking boots in the bin, sorry I meant in the flat!).