32km (489.3 km)
Friday 23 June 2017
Disappointment is the word that sums up today. At 6am I was sitting in the foyer of the Albergue sorting my rucksack when a French pilgrim appeared with half a dozen raw eggs, obviously intent on making his morning omelet only to be met with a locked kitchen door, he was almost reduced to tears – long distance walking will do this to you, things get blown out of all proportion. I had to try not to laugh as he tried and tried again to gain entrance to the kitchen as he looked helplessly at his uncooked breakfast. A few others straggled in, all trying the same locked door and one lady had left her water bottle and was also  rather fretful when she was told she have to wait 1 1/2 hrs to retrieve it…it’s an emotional roller coaster for sure.
It started to rain as I commenced my walk and I sheepishly donned my waterproofs, sheepishly because I have yet to meet another pilgrim with waterproofs – they all have big ponchos that go right over them and their bags and it seems to be just as effective and much lighter than my posh waterproofs. The route was probably the toughest yet, with extremely steep inclines and declines. At one point a young Swiss man, Victor, passed me saying he’d been worried about me when he’d reached the hills as he thought I might be struggling…suddenly I feel old! The guide book states that there is only one place for a coffee and it’s after 16km so everyone was headed for their first coffee four, or so, hours into the walk. More disappointment, with many groans, the cafe was obviously functioning, just not at 10:30am on a Friday! There was a vending machine and I don’t think I was alone in drinking my full fat coke grudgingly when what I’d had in mind was a café con leché and a bocadilla con jamon. It’s funny what becomes important when life is so simple for a while.
I arrived in Gijon just as it was waking up for the weekend; bars filled with an assortment of families and workers. I am staying in a hotel tonight and when checking in, with my elbows on the counter so that I didn’t fall over from foot pain, the receptionist started to explain where the best night spots were, and that it was a special night because it’s the official start of summer so I should go to the midnight fireworks…as I’ve said many times in this blog, next time!

Btw Gijon is pronounced ‘heehong’ not, as I was pronouncing it, like Dijon (mustard).

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