Well it’s official. With the exception of a few twenty somethings in the mix, the Camino is being walked by a bunch of old people. And Mark and I in our 50’s are the young ones. I would guess it is close to a 50/50 mix of men and women but it is hard to tell. Tonight’s albergue has put 9 men and 1 woman in our room, and at least 9 women in another.
Yves is from France. He started this camino in Santander. He hiked ‘The Way’ in France from Le Puy to Pied de Port before.
Bob is from Amsterdam, Holland. Bob is 80 and he walked 38 km today. He has walked several Caminos over the years.
We have had beaches and clifftops for the past while, but are now walking through rolling farmland. When I say rolling, think Airport road from HWY 89 to Creemore. Unlike home, no road is straight. They all curve and wind up and down hills, intersected by other roads doing the same. It feels like each little four home hamlet has a big old church perched on its highest point. Two kilometres down the road you find the next hamlet with another big church. Very few churches are open or even appear to be used any more.
Asturias has graineries on most farms and next to many homes in small communities. They are old and date to a time when you needed to store feed for your horse and livestock. They are built on stilts topped with large flat rocks to keep rodents from entering. Many have stone steps for people to access but they are at least a foot and a half from the graineries to again stop pests from entering. My understanding is that the graineries are protected historical buildings now so owners are having fun with them. Some park their cars under them. Other pile wood or hand laundry. I even saw one used as a shaded patio complete a bbq and patio lights. The design of the graineries is very consistent to this area. Stay tuned for when we enter Galicia, our final region, because the graineries take on a new look.
In three days, Mark’s girlfriend Shelagh will join us on the trail. She flies into Madrid and then has to make her way north on busses to reach us and the Camino. There is a whole community of people here excited to meet her and welcome her to our adventure.