Accepting the Way : Pola de Lena to Oviedo

We headed down to breakfast at the bar associated with our hotel just after 6 am to begin our final day on the Camino San Salvador.  After reading several accounts of other people's experiences of the last 30 km of this hike, we were heading into it with very mixed feelings.  Although the San Salvador route is short, it is a physically demanding Camino, which I think leaves many pilgrims exhausted, injured, and or at the very least feeling less than at their best by the last day. 

The guidebooks suggest the last 30 km are an easy, downhill walk that is mostly on pavement. Writing this at the end of a long, strenuous day I can say this is in no way an accurate description of today's walk, and I can fully appreciate the despair felt by others who were struggling to finish and whose expectations of an easy walk were dashed. 

We joined Mick, Jacques, and Fernando for a huge and delicious breakfast of cafè con leche and toastada, and then set off a few minutes behind them into a foggy, overcast, and cool morning.  We headed out to the edge of town on sidewalks, seeing a lot of somewhat confusing arrows pointing in several directions along the way.  At the edge of town the sidewalk ended, and we began following the edge of a narrow, winding paved road that seemed to be mostly blind corners. 

For the first 6 km or so we followed this winding road, passing through the tiny communities of La Vega and Villallana along the way, their colourful homes stretched out along the road.  Children were just heading out to school from many of the houses as we passed, boarding school buses or getting onto the commuter trains that frequently passed by, heading for Mieres and Oviedo.  Feeling sore and unenthusiastic about walking into a larger town, the frequent bus and train stops we passed throughout the day seemed like seductresses, trying to convince us to yield to their screeching cries and let them take us in the final kilometers. 

Between the smaller towns we were mostly surrounded by countryside.  Small pastures were occupied by horses, donkeys, cows, or a couple sheep, and well-tended garden plots surrounded by low stone walls were just beginning to thrive.  Beyond the small fields and tiny orchards the lush green hills rose up into the clouds beyond. In some ways the scenery was quite beautiful.  However, the constant noise of civilization made it impossible to forget that we were essentially walking between a major highway and a train line, and we constantly had to watch for traffic on the narrow winding road which left us nowhere to step off. 

 

 

Around 8:30 am we reached the larger town of Ujo, and had two options.  One was a paved cycling trail that led directly past the town along the river, or we could divert into town to see the church and have a second breakfast in the town square.  Being Hobbits at heart, and since a light rain had begun to fall, we decided to take the longer route through town, and see if we could find a second café con leche and a place to shelter for a few minutes. 

Along the way we stepped inside the Church of Santa Eulalia de Ujo, a 12th century church that was moved in 1922 to the spot it now occupies in order to make way for the railroad.  The door was open, and when we stepped into the shadowy interior we were met with a magical sight.  The old priest was slowly making his way around the church, lighting candles in the darkness.  It smelled of beeswax and matches, and the soft light made the quiet interior of the solid stone church feel like a sanctuary.  The priest saw us come in and quietly stand in the back, and very kindly offered to take us across to his office to stamp our pilgrim credentials, which we greatly appreciated.  

After sitting in a crowded and bustling café to enjoy our coffees we headed back out of town, following the paved bicycling path along the edge of the large, fast-flowing Caudal River.  There were quite a few locals out walking and jogging, despite the cool, damp weather.  We essentially followed this bike path for the next 10 km to Mieres, walking in a green corridor of trees beside the river.  To our delight we spotted a few new birds fishing in the waters below.  Somewhere in this stretch was passed Fernando, our Spanish pilgrim friend with a friendly wave.  Sadly, this turned out to be the last time we saw him.

Mieres is a relatively large town of around 38,000 inhabitants, and is the heart of the coal mining industry in Spain.  As we followed the river into town the path became increasingly busy.  Across the water we could see the brown brick buildings of the campus of the Oviedo University, while we passed various auto repair shops and small businesses on our side of the river.  Eventually we crossed over the waterway on a pedestrian bridge and found ourselves in the downtown proper. 

We had been thinking of stopping for something to eat, but as we made  our way along the streets, we found ourselves overwhelmed by the midday crowds.  Like Pola de Lena, the buildings that lined the streets were mostly 6 or more floors tall, unlike most of the other cities we've visited along the Caminos.  All the cafés and shops were open, and the sidewalks were full of people, many of whom seemed to be in a great hurry. 

 Instead of stopping, we ended up making our way as quickly as possible through the town, pausing only at the Iglesia de San Juan, which sadly was closed as we passed.  Just beside the church in Plaza San Juan Mieres was a bronze statue of a man pouring the famous Asturian cider.  The apple cider is fermented, and to give it the proper amount of aeration the person pouring it stretches their arm full length above their head and holds the glass down as low as possible.  Even with the special splash guards that are used in the process, it must take quite a lot of skill not to make a huge mess while doing this! 

Shortly after the church we came to a tiny parkette tucked under a roadway, which had the remains of an old brick lavanderia. We took a short break at the benches, and then continued on towards the outskirts of the town. It was at this point, with 18 km of walking left, that the strenuous portion of the day began. 

At the edge of town we began a 7 km long climb up to El Padrun, mostly walking on the edge of narrow, winding, paved roads.  Lush green countryside, which almost had a tropical feel and included everything from ferns, to palm trees, to eucalyptus trees bordered the road as we climbed.  We periodically passed homes with panoramic views down the valley below.  

We climbed steadily through five small communities, many of which featured colourful homes, well-tended hillside gardens, and beautiful stone churches. To one side the valley stretched out below, and we could see the highway, railroad tracks, river, and pathways running along far below us. Large factories and several mines were also visible in the valley, giving us a sense of the industrial heritage of the area.  In the background the lush green hills receded into the distance, creating a truly magnificent view.  Sadly, the noise from the city still reached us, even at those heights.  

As we neared El Padrun we could see Mieres stretched out in the valley behind us.  We passed the covered Fuente de Santa Maria tucked into the lush vegetation at the roadside, it's terra cotta roof providing momentary shelter from the sun.  

When we finally reached the summit of that first climb, we discovered that the cafés, bars, and multiple sidererias in the small community were all closed.  The guidebook had warned of this, but it was still a disappointment, as we were ready for something cold to drink in the warm, humid afternoon. 

The descent from the summit was on an extremely steep track that cut across the fields.  The first part was paved, but covered in mud and running water, which made it incredibly slippery.  The Way then became a grassy track running between hedges and lush green vegetation, but it soon devolved once again into slippery, sticky, mud.  Eventually we emerged back onto the steep, paved road. 

We passed through a small collection of homes in the tiny community of Casares, where a highlight was seeing two small goats sitting on the roof of their shelter in someone's garden.  After that it was a short descent to Olloniego, where we finally stopped for a café con leche. 

From this point we still had 10 km and two very large hills to climb over before reaching Oviedo.  This last portion of the walk seemed to take forever. 

At one point we had been climbing up and up and up on a winding paved road and we came to a street sign for Oviedo pointing off to the right, where we could see the town spread out in the valley below us.  At this point our track pointed off to the left and began descending into the fields.  In our current state we found this highly frustrating. 

 

The next stretch of walking offered some really spectacular views out over the mountainous countryside, and we passed some beautiful homes with colourful flower gardens and renovated horreos along the way. However, by this time we were tired, and it was difficult to appreciate the grassy trail bordered by hedges and picturesque moss covered stone walls, with its stunning views when we felt like we were going in the wrong direction. 

We stopped at a rest area with a panoramic view down the lush valley before continuing the climb up to a truly amazing property.  It was absolutely covered in potted flowers that were in full bloom, and it featured several horreos which were decorated with pumpkins, squash, and drying corn. The cluster of buildings were beautiful and they enjoyed a stunning view out over Oviedo. 

We continued the descent down lanes shaded by huge chestnut trees.  Finally we found ourselves at the edge of Oviedo, heading through the suburbs, with the city stretched out below us.  We crossed under the busy ring road, and then began the final climb back into the city centre. 

As we wove our way through downtown streets increasingly menacing storm clouds gathered overhead.  We passed an impressive and very large municipal pilgrim albergue, but it was closed until 4:30 pm, which was still a few hours away.  We continued on towards the cathedral, entering the old town, and making our way down busy winding streets to the central square.  

Finally we reached the courtyard in front of the cathedral.  As we stood there looking up at the fancy, white building we were surrounded by other pilgrims, making us realize we were no longer 2 of 5 pilgrims together on the San Salvador route, but rather 2 in a sea of other pilgrims who had come from the Camino del Norte and were likely heading off on the Camino Primitivo next. 

 

 

As the storm clouds gathered we made our way back to the hotel, checking in only minutes before the deluge began.  We had our showers and did a few chores while it rained, and then just as it cleared up a little we headed back to the Cathedral to get our certificate of completion and the final stamp in our credentials. 

 

While we waited in line at the Cathedral we ran into Mick and arranged to meet again in front of the Cathedral at 7 pm for a celebratory drink.  Two hours later we made our way back to the courtyard outside the Cathedral just as the clouds began to gather again.  When it began to rain we took shelter in the nearest bar, ordering a pint while we continued to wait.  As we sat there Jacques showed up, so we flagged him down and he joined us. 

Although it was nearly 7:30 pm we still hadn't met up with Mick, but we soon learned this was because he and his friend from the Camino del Norte had been waiting in a different bar on the square, and hadn't seen us where we'd been waiting. They soon emerged through the rain looking for us, and we commenced an evening of celebration, which began with a few pints and ended with a huge plate of delicious paella.  

 

 

It was a wonderful evening spent with new friends that we'd just shared a very challenging adventure with.  I wish Fernando could have joined us, because although there were suspicions that he'd taken a taxi for the past two days instead of walking the full stages, he was very much a part of our group, and we do all walk our own Caminos.  I can hardly say I blame him for needing some help on this trail at the age of 78!  In any case, I hope he had his own celebration. After all each of us hikes our own hike!  So tonight we celebrate those we are with, those we trekked with and those who are absent!

So ends our walk along the beautiful, challenging, and rewarding Camino San Salvador. I think to date it is one of my favourite routes. 

Distance: 31.7 km
Accommodations: Hotel Fruela