Camino Day 1: Oviedo to Escamplero

Our pilgrimage started in Oviedo, where King Alfonso II built a chapel in the Cathedral of San Salvador to hold the Sudarium of Oviedo, or Shroud of Oviedo: a bloodstained cloth that was said to have been wrapped around Jesus's head after he died. Unlike the more famous Shroud of Turin, this one does not show a face.

There is saying: "Quien va a Santiago y no al Salvador, visita al criado pero no a su Señor." Which means, "Those who go to Santiago and not to Salvador (Oviedo), visit the servant (St James Apostle) and not the Lord (Jesus Christ)."

Therefore, the Cathedral seemed the perfect place to start our pilgrimage. We would follow the King as he travelled to Oviedo to confirm the authenticity of the relics of Saint James in Santiago de Compostela.

So in the morning we headed to the Cathedral, for mass.

The Cathedral's mass was at 9:15am, and somehow after spending way too long trying to order a decaf coffee (and croissant! Yay!), and taking a wrong turn, we ended up arriving two minutes too late. The doors to the Cathedral were barred, and we could hear that mass had begun. Disappointed, we stood at the door for a moment, willing it to open. Then it did! A man exited, allowing us in to the small side chapel of the Cathedral.

The mass was in a very small room, maybe twenty people at most, among which we counted many senior citizens and about five pilgrims. Despite the small numbers, about a dozen clergy in full regalia offered a full service, including the Eucharist. I didn't know most of the hymns or the proper call-and-answer prayers, even if I did recognize many of the words. So I listened, and followed the others' actions.

I said a prayer for our Camino, as well as for my adopted grandma Florence, who passed away just days before my departure. At separate times, both Cathleen and I shed a few tears. I suspected that we would cry our way across Spain. What sweet release!

After mass, we got our first sello (Compostela passport stamp) and took the self-guided audio tour to see the Sudarium (the cloth relic of Jesus).

The temple actually held many other historical items as well, dating as far back as the 10th century. Cathleen spent a lot of time examining them, and noting interesting features.  For example, in one carved scene of the apostles, all the other apostles were looking in anger and disgust at a figure in blue who appeared to be teaching. This was the only figure in blue, and the only one whose head had been broken off. "This was Mary," Cathleen pronounced, "people were very upset that a woman would be an apostle -- and that she would teach. Some even denied she was a woman, and called her Simon in any artwork."

After the Cathedral, we checked out of our hotel, bought two bocadillos to-go (for 1€ each!!), and tried anew to get a Spanish SIM card for my phone. We had so many cell phone fails that I almost don't want to talk about it!  At least we got to pass this cool sign that marked our Day 1 on the trail.

We went to the second Vodafone store, the one we were directed to last night, and they had the card I wanted in stock. However, in the end it seems my phone was locked. So we went back to the Orange store we saw last night, and bought the slightly worse plan. My phone was also locked for Orange. They told me to try a kiosk in the mall, as the man there might be able to unlock it. The man there called Koodo and said, yes, he could do it, but I had to come back in a minimum of 6 hours. This really got my goat, because if only Vodafone had advised me of my problem the previous night, I could have had my phone unlocked by the morning!!  As it was, we had to leave town and start our Camino: we were already putting our beds in danger by leaving Oviedo so late in the day, as the first-come-first-served albergue might be full by the time we arrived.

We mollified ourselves with the fact that there were only 5 pilgrims at the mass. The numbers must be really low right now. We bought some cheese and a baguette at the supermarket and headed out towards Naranco (the Naranco route is the top route on the map below, spotted with churches; the lower route is the route of King Alfonso II).

The route to was 3km uphill to Naranco; 3.2km of flat, then downhill, then steeply uphill, so it was nice have an overcast day. As soon as we exited the city, and the countryside spread out before me, my heart leapt in joy and I was renewed. Suddenly my bag didn't even feel heavy!  (Cathleen reported that at 16lbs, hers still did. Lol)

We often walked about 20m apart, in silence except to negotiate directions, or to point out wildlife. It was just as we planned: walking alone together.  I would wait for her at any critical juncture, as I was the one with the map.  I laughed at the trail markers: red and white flags  just like in France. I think I had been really slowly "transitioning" from last year's walks to this year's Camino. We passed cows, horses, donkeys, raptors, cats, and dogs.

Since we left Oviedo so late, we arrived at Naranco during siesta, so we could not enter inside the pre-Romanesque churches. However, we explored the outsides: first, up to the perfectly preserved Church of St Mary, then across to San Miguel de Lillo. We could actually see inside St Mary's. It was plain stone, empty of furniture.

At the less-well-preserved San Miguel de Lillo, we paused to eat some of our bread and cheese.  The church and grounds had a marvelous "feel" to it.

We had heard that it was tough for pilgrims to continue onward to the Camino from this location, but the compass on HERE maps quickly told us which path to take.

This little path... (behind the church)

Not this path... (beside the church) even though this one seems more prominent.

We continued on past the Ermita de San Isidro, to El Llano, when we turned South through Villamorsén to rejoin the Camino. This was another place where HERE maps saved us, as we twisted and turned our way through the streets of the little town.

Here is the marker where we rejoined the Camino route.

At Capilla Carmen in Lampajúa, we got another sello and passed two elderly local men out for a stroll. Several locals wished us "Buenos dias" and "Buen Camino" as we passed.

We passed a few fountains. At the first, in a park, we filled our water bottles. The second, near a stream, was clearly marked "non potable." We both dunked our faces in the third, which was next to a church (Santa Maria de Lloriana), and admired the many tadpoles in its pools. There were also a couple fountains along the way that had run dry.

We passed many dogs, some huge! We found that all those who were off-leash were nice; and it was only those on a short chain who seemed very aggressive. Cause, or effect? I wondered.

After a short stint on the highway, we crossed Roman bridge and I laughed to see a sticker with the Chinese version of the Camino stuck onto the trail map. Then I sobered up when I realized the rest of our path to Escamplero appeared to be all uphill.

Just as HERE maps showed us at about 1km from the Restaurante Tendejon de Fernando, where we were to pick up our key to the albergue, the trail marker pointed us off the highway and onto a dirt path... a steep, rocky downhill path, heading 90 degrees away from our goal.

It took us about 1.2 km downhill to La Vega Sograndio, but just short of the river, it made a hairpin turn back the way we came, but this time uphill.  How do I know it was 1.2 km? I nervously saw us traveling away from where I thought we should be going, and heading downhill when I thought we should be heading uphill, so the moment we U-turned, I used HERE maps to calculate how far off we had gone.

I could barely appreciate the lovely trail of the detour, as I was cursing the stupid, stupid, stupid detour which added more than a kilometer and a half to our "last km." I practiced my Spanish grammar, deciding this was a case for "para qué?" (why: for what purpose) instead of "por que?" (why: for what reason). Except in my head it sounded more like a whiny "paaaaaaara quéééééé???????????????"

In the last 100m or so, a golden lab approached and followed me, nudging at my grocery bag. It reminded me of my dog Rory, mooching at any rustle of a plastic bag. As I got closer to the Restaurante, I gave him a corner of bread. By the time I got to the Restaurante, I was covered in sweat.

At the Restaurante, the owner/waiter signed us in to the albergue, and gave us a sello and a disposable sheet set. He pointed us up the road to the albergue, but we stopped to have a beer, sprite, water, and bocadillos on the patio for 7,20€. At 5:30pm, this Canadian was ready for supper, and had no plans to return at 9-10pm when supper would normally be served.

Cathleen was sure we've walked 18km, but based on my body, I guessed more like 15km. I did a quick calculation:  It was 3km (mostly uphill) to Naranco (we followed HERE maps), then it was 7.5 km from Naranco (on Google maps, but we followed Camino trail markers, which detoured down to the river and back.  The Camino map doesn't show the alternate route through Naranco, but it shows the detour and gives a total of 10.6 km from Oviedo to Escamplero. What none of the maps show is the mornings meanderings to the cathedral and back, then to Vodafone and back, which added another (flat) 2km. ;p So, all told, it was probably 14km.

When it started to mist rain, we paid our bill and headed for the albergue. The yellow lab suddenly reappeared and followed me from the restaurant to albergue.

At the entrance of the albergue, a guy in a car was apparently looking for a room at the hostel, and spotting "my" dog, thought we were locals and tried to ask us about it. I couldn't follow his rapid Spanish, but he called up to a man on the balcony, who told him it's only for pilgrims. I understood his surprised "Ellas son peregrinas!" (They are female pilgrims!) as he drove away disappointed.

At the albergue, most of the bunk beds were taken, but it was really quiet and clean looking. I locked my bag to my bed with the locks I brought, plugged in my phone (my lower bunk in the corner had two outlets in it!), and after one couple finally stopped whisper-chatting, I soon fell fast asleep.

A wise decision, it turned out, since the whispering couple snored and mumbled in their sleep most of the wee hours, then left soon after their alarm went off at 4:30am. It was the beginning of a rush out that ended just before 7am. I dozed off again from 5-7am. At 7am I awoke in alarm at all the empty beds, so I jumped up and asked what time we all had to leave the hostel. The English-speaking men didn't know--they just all wanted to be out on the road early. Only a couple of pilgrims, including us, were still in their bunks. They all spoke French, so I chatted with them a bit before heading out. One was carrying a giant sausage in his pack. He offered some around, commenting "as long as I have sausage and wine, it's all good!"

On a little side note, even though the albergue offered clean blankets, it was warm enough without them, in fact, warm enough to even sleep outside my silk sleep sack, despite the overcast-to-rainy weather.