Cinco Caminos – Stage 2: Naves to Ribadesella (18 km) 17ºC sunny, ending with rain Met 19 pilgrims (12w, 7c)

By Laurel

After a nice breakfast of coffee, croissants, toast, and oranges fresh off the b’n’b owner’s tree, we set out for Day 2 on the del Norte.  The weatherman predicted an 85% chance of rain for the day — fortunately, our walk proved to be 85% sunshine and only the last 15% of very light rain.  In fact, once the sprinkle of rain started I enjoyed the cooling off that it provided.    Today’s Camino route was slightly inland from the coast; to our left was a ridge of green mountains and to our right we could sometimes view the blue of the ocean.  The path was very well marked with the familiar yellow Camino scallop shells and/or arrows and so we never got off the route, which took us through fragrant eucalyptus woods, across pastures with cows munching new grass, beside rural stone churches, along train tracks, past farms, and villages until we arrived at the coastal town of Ribadesella.  Seafood is on the menu for supper!

A little library was right on the Camino!

The Camino went along the train track.

Picnic lunch beside a stream.

Can you see the painted yellow arrow?

A very light rain on our approach to Ribadesella.

Down the stairs, painted with positive messages as a Ribadesella community project.    

Cinco Caminos – Stage 1: Llanes to Naves (17 km) 14°C – sunny Met 1 pilgrim

After more than two weeks in Italy we finally made it to Spain to begin our Cinco Caminos.  A train from Lucca to Florence and on to Bologna, a flight to Santander, and finally a bus brought us to our trailhead of Llanes.  The sky was clear and sunny and the air was cool as we walked from the bus station in Llanes to join the Camino del Norte, one of the many pilgrimage routes that traverse Spain and lead to Santiago de Compostela.  The Camino del Norte begins in Irun, France and follows the North Coast of Spain for more than 800 km.  We have joined near its middle and will only walk on it for five days before branching off onto the Camino Primitivo.

Our weather was perfect for photos so we took an alternate scenic route that stayed close to the coast.  Rocky headlands punctuated with sandy beaches provided amazing vistas, but also challenged our legs.  A text message from a hostel in Villahormes, informing us that they had not yet opened for the season, allowed us to stop sooner in the village of Naves.

The beautiful section we walked today is a very popular holiday spot for Spanish tourists.  Beach bars, restaurants, and campgrounds are everywhere.  Unfortunately for us, the season doesn’t start until May and so nearly all were closed.  One campground bar opened its doors to us, defrosted a frozen pizza, and provided a lesson in pouring sidra, a local apple cider.  We had no such luck in Naves, where all three restaurants/siderias are closed.  Luckily our room comes with breakfast!

Our starting point in LLanes.

Basilica de Santa Maria del Conceuyu – Llanes

Our first beach (at Llanes).

Sharing an orange on an estuary while the tide was out.

Pouring local cider after the bartender instructed us in the proper method.

Arrivederci to Valpromaro

Although long and tiring, our days at Valpromaro went by quickly.   After learning the routines, we appreciated the peaceful regimen.

Clean, cook, host, repeat

6:30 a.m.:  make coffee and set the table for breakfast (bread, jam, fruit, and hard-boiled egg)

7:00 - 7:30:  pilgrims’ breakfast

7:30 - 8:30:  the pilgrims depart

8:30 - 10:00:  clean the hostel

10:00 - 11:00:  shower and do laundry (hang it outside)

11:00 - 1:00:  prepare bread dough, collect pine cones for the fireplace, fill acqua frizzante bottles, etc.

1:00 p.m.:  ospitalieras’ lunch

1:30 - 2:30:  riposo

2:30 - 5:00:  welcome new pilgrims

3:00 - 7:00:  prepare supper (soup/salad, bread, main, and cake)

7:30 - 8:30:  pilgrims’ supper

8:30 - 9:30:  wash dishes, clean the kitchen, and visit with pilgrims

9:30:  bedtime

With no local store and Luciano without a car, we ospitalieras worked with the ingredients on hand in the hostel cucina.  Luciano determined the menu and cooked the main dish, while Jim prepared the soup or salad.  Laurel quickly found her groove as the ostello baker and experimented daily with the different flours she found in the cupboard.  Breads, buns, and cakes soon filled the pantry and our bellies.  Dissatisfied with the quality of the bread that she was turning out, Laurel researched the proper Italian flour for bread and learned it to be “Farina Manitoba” — upon her request, the local committee sourced some.  Our meals now included cinnamon buns and focaccia. 

This personal touch to our meals was remarkable and seemed to bring everyone closer together.  What began as a group of pilgrims was transformed into a table of friends by the time dessert was passed around.  You could not only see it their faces, you could also hear it in the animated multilingual conversations and laughter.  It was a beautiful noise!

By the end of the week we were exhausted, but sad to leave Luciano behind.  Hugs and last minute photos almost made us miss our bus to Lucca.

Luciano kept our fireplace ablaze (temperatures were as low as 4C).

Pine cones were essential for the fireplace, scorpions were not!

Dorms were swept and mopped every morning (max 45 beds).

Hanging Laundry

Cinnamon buns were a favourite.

The number of pilgrims varied from 4 to 14.

Focaccia and minestrone were made for each other.

By the end of a meal everyone felt like old friends.

The Three Ospitalieras 

Luciano and our replacement, Paola

April 19 – 21: Valpromaro Revisited

Upon our return to Valpromaro two things became clear.  The community was not quite as picturesque as we remembered it and the hostel was not quite as beautiful.  This prompted us to wonder why we both remembered it so fondly … upon brief reflection, we realized that it was definitely the two ospitalieras who had made our stay here so memorable.  So it was with this in mind that we began our week as ospitalieras ourselves, aiming to provide kindness and nourishment to pilgrims walking the Via Francigena.  As we unfortunately cannot speak Italian, we have fortunately been partnered with Luciano, an ospitaliero from near Turin.  Luciano is a retired musical instrument craftsman who spent his career building harpsichords in his own workshop.  Together the three of us rely on smiles, charades, broken French, and Google translate (Italian-English-Italian) to communicate and coordinate our thoughts, plans, and cooking.  We have told Luciano that he is the “Generale” and we are the “soldati” (soldiers) in the Ostello.  So far, we have hosted pilgrims from Italy, France, the Netherlands, Brazil, and Denmark.  It is wonderful to hear about their experiences on the Via Francigena and on the Camino de Santiago (as many have walked there previously or are on their way there now)!  

The Ostello:  Casa del Pellegrinos in Valpromaro

The outgoing ospitalieras and the incoming ones.

Jim and Luciano (our co-ospitaliero)

Luciano and Laurel

Our first supper at the Ostello with the outgoing ospitalieras and three pilgrims, plus Stefano who lives nearby and often donates his garden produce to the Ostello.

A pilgrim checking in, while other ones relax.

At times, it rained heavily (view out the front door).

It even hailed one morning!

Seeing off a Brazilian pilgrim in the morning.

Flora

 A few photos of flowers and plants … 

Potted azalea at a church door.

Pansies/Johnny-Jump-Ups on a window sill.

Wisteria

European spruce with new needles.

Olive

Azaleas

More wisteria.

Camellia

Hawksbeard

Moss on a stone fence.

Tulips in front of a hotel.

Fan palm frond.

April 17 – 18: Lucca

Wednesday, April 17 and Thursday, April 18:  It was time to wave goodbye to the lake and speed along the rails to Tuscany — at 300 kms per hour, our train soon arrived at Lucca!  It was so nice to once again visit this charming city that we had first encountered when we walked the Via Francigena in 2022.  Unlike most other Tuscan towns, which are built atop hills, Lucca is flat — but it is no less picturesque.  The central section is completely surrounded by an intact defensive wall and patrolled by a citizenry, young and old, on bicycles.  As we had been there twice before, this time we spent our days wandering the streets and our memories, in search of the ultimate pizza. 

Spiral stone steps going up to our apartment on the third floor — see how they are worn out by many, many years of use?

View out our apartment window — Piazza and San Michele in Forno Church.

Bicycles are part of Lucca’s esthetic and transportation system.

Lucca’s perimeter wall is a beautiful 4.5 km stroll.

There is beauty on both sides of the wall at Lucca.

An aerial view of Lucca