I kept waking up all night. I just could not unwind. I did breath work to no avail. I felt jazzed up and shut down. I felt like I did not sleep at all, even though I'm sure I did. I awoke hoping that it was still early enough to sleep some more. Just then, the church bells rang 7 times.
We had planned to try to wake up at 8am, grab breakfast, and be on the road by 9 am. Well, best laid plans...
Cat refused get up until 8:30am, then we tried to get breakfast at our hotel restaurant, but the host at the hotel in the morning said no, we had to go downtown. We found Bar Centro, just next to the tourist office. We were sipping our coffees and watching the farmers market vendors set up their booths, when Carlos walked up. He pounded back an espresso, claimed his knees felt great, and headed out.
Just as we finished our tortillas in bocadillas, and I did my daily energy clearings, Sophie sauntered up with a smile.
We handed her her tobacco that we had found between Salas and La Espina. Lol. She said she also lost her muscle cream down a cliff and had to buy more. We laughed, "Some things you lose, and some things you get back!"
We all noticed there was something "off" about the energy of the town. I fell shut down, Cat felt angry and irritated, Sophie felt unwelcomed. This despite the hotel and restaurant staff being wonderful to us.
I wanted get a sello at the tourist office, but it was closed until 11am, so I could not get a sello for here or Borres. We settled for the café's stamp.
We finally got out of the café by 10am. Two hours to get going was a new record. Lol. We laughed that by that point, the sky was blue and the sun had come out full force! So much for thunderstorms!
We went up the hill to the church and palacio, I got a sello, and couldn't resist a croissant from the bakery opposite the church. ;) The whole town had turned into a street market! Cat admired the sun dresses, and noticed that some of the vendors were the same from the last market we visited, in Salas.
Once we got out of Tineo, our path for the day was about 14 km over mountains to Campiello. As you'll see, I added on an extra couple kilometres or so, walking into Obona and back.
There were no services between Tineo and Campiello, so we had pack our food with us. Yay for havung my hands full! Lolololololol.
The path out of town reminded me of Chamelet, the town in France where I lived last summer: steep stairs and small paved winding alleys.
The views of the town from above were amazing. It reminded me of what Cat posted on her Facebook in response to people's assumptions about her trip: sometimes the photos don't reflect the reality.
One corner had a treasure trove of delights: a cat family on a bench, a friendly dog, several disgruntled pigs, and a handful of sheep, all mustered around a fountain.
The views continued to enthrall me, but then, just past a plaque engraved with the famous quote about visiting the servant but not the Lord, we dove into the forest. Mercifully, there was little mud, so I blogged while walking the ongoing incline.
Just as we reached the crest of the mountain, Sophie cought up with us. The landscape opened up and the views were spectacular: wind turbines over green hills; mountaintops reaching above the clouds.
As they took the lead on the path, I again occupied myself with various tasks to slow myself down. It has been very striking how often I've felt the need to do this on this trip.
As the hot sun beat down on us, we were desperate for a rest stop, but there were none. No shelters, no fountains. I asked Sophie if she had seen the arrow we left for her after Cornellana, and if she had made the stone arrow for us after La Espina. Yes to both!! We laughed that we were walking together even when walking apart!
We ended up in (not "on") an overgrown grassy path beside the highway. I was happy I had doused everything in permethrin, but redoused myself in DEET anyway.
Sophie sat down for a rest where the path left the highway. I could see Cathleen approaching asking the highway. So I continued on into the forest. Soon I had to leave another arrow for them.
When the path split off for Obona, I had no idea how far behind me they were, so I made another arrow and spelled "CAT." beside it. I considered writing "BAR," but decided I would need too many sticks.
The path quickly became a river. It ended at the Monastery of Obona, outside of which a film crew was assembled. The door was locked, but I could see through a hole in the door. A cool breeze wafted out, and I wished I could go in. I walked around the outside and was rewarded with access to the courtyard. It was an impressive building.
https://www.turismoasturias.es/en/descubre/cultura/patrimonio-religioso/santa-maria-la-real-de-obona
Cat and Sophie still had not arrived, so I tackled the hill up to Obona, where there would be the only bar of the day. I turned a yellow rope into a make-shift arrow.
Just as the road hit town, I saw some people assembled in a stoop. Yes! It was a bar!! I ordered a beer and a lemonade... ok two lemonades, and the hostess gave me a free platter of olives. I waited there quite a while, and Cat and Sophie never showed up. I wondered whether they decided to skip Obono after all. In the last few minutes before I left, the hostess asked me where I was from, and when I answered Canada, she asked if I spoke French. Surprise: she did too! I had spent over half an hour struggling in stilted Spanish, when we could have been conversing in French. ;p
I announced I was heading for Campiello, and a man the bar offered to drive me. I declined, and he said, "It's tough-- you'll see!"
I headed back down the hill to the church and met Benjamin from France, who was laying on a bench. I said Hola and he answered Bonjour. I told him there was a bar up the hill, but he was ready to head out on the Camino.
We walked together, chatting in French. He had also been separated from his friends, and so every group pilgrims we passed, we'd ask each other: are those your friends? There were a surprising number of pilgrims along that stretch, more than either of had seen in previous days. At one point, a car stopped, and the man from the bar in Obona called out to see if I had changed my mind about the ride. Even though I was dripping in sweat under the hot sun, I declined again. Laughing, he called out, "Buen Camino!" and sped off.
As we arrived in Campiello, I could see Cat and Sophie sitting in the bar. They saw me and waved. They had arrived at the monastery, then turned around and left. Apparently, I was the only one who had obtained the gorgeous Obona monastery sello. Benjamin joined us for a beer, then found his friends.
The bar cranked out cheesy American music: Le Freak C'est Chic, Prince's Purple Rain, Wham's Wake me up before you go go, Sting's Englishman in New York, some Micheal Jackson, and the theme from Friends...
We laughed and crooned out U2: "I stiiiiiilll haven't fooooound what I'm looking for..."
After only hour, the weather started turn. The misty clouds rolled in, and the wind picked up. We beat it! We beat the storm! We were the champions!!
We shared several tapas and made our own supper; we didn't want to wait nearly three hours for dinner service to start.
Our hotel was the OTHER hotel in town (there are only two, side by side), so i walked over to check in. It was a really cool hotel! Very picturesque, clean, and with full facilities, including a kitchen, washer AND dryer, and even a rainshower shower head in our private washroom.
The host practiced her English with us, telling us that our room was actually inside the panera, a typical Asturian raised grainary. She described the differences in styles we would see, between Asturias (square with 6 support posts), and Galicia (longer and more rectangular). There was yet another smaller type with only 4 posts, called a horreo. We mentioned a miniature one we had seen in someone's yard, complete with miniature corn hanging from it, and she laughed, "Yes, I know that guy!" It was actually very interesting to learn about the granaries, because I had been fascinated with them since we had arrived in Spain.
http://www.asturianus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2875
We do all of our laundry, and I picked up a cool Camino pin at the store.
Then we wasted most of our evening trying (and failing) to upload photos (me to my blog, Cathleen to Facebook). The wifi was so weak here! And my cell service was intermittent. I hoped I'd have better luck tomorrow in Pola de Allende.
I did some Reiki, and was about to offer Cathleen some, when she started asking about what time we would want to get up the next day. It was still a sore spot for me, and something I wanted to resolve.
I checked my email, and my message of the day said: "Someone is extending love to you this day, and hoping so dearly that you will receive it. You have asked for someone to love you right now... Look. Listen. That loving person is right in your world. Open the door for them to come in."
I thought again about Sophie, Cat, and I leaving messages for each other, finding each others' lost items, translating for each other. Oh darn it, did I just end up with a Camino family???
https://youtu.be/3-ZUDtaGf3I
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