Day 87 – Santander to Oruna (27,8 km) – Monday 25.09.2023
I got up at half past seven and got ready for the day. At 8 a.m. sharp I went downstairs for breakfast. Since I wanted to buy new shoes today and the shoe store didn’t open until around 10:30, I thoroughly enjoyed breakfast. I kept ordering something to eat and only left the hotel shortly after 9 a.m.
I made my way to an outdoor shop that I found online and apparently had good hiking boots. When I got there, I took a closer look at the shoes there. In fact, the store had a lot of high-quality shoes in its range. Unfortunately, most of them were more suitable for mountaineering than for the Way of St. James. I actually wanted to buy the same Lowa shoes that I already had. However, these were not available in the range. Unfortunately, since the saleswoman only spoke Spanish, she couldn’t really help me. I researched some of the existing shoes and finally found one from Scarpa that seemed suitable for my planned route. I tried on the shoe in two different sizes and then bought the smaller one. Afterwards I left the store with my new shoes. I then swapped my old shoes for new ones on a park bench. For the first few minutes it felt very strange to walk in the new shoes.
I then made my way to a shipping station to send my old shoes back to Germany with a few other things. I tried my luck in a shady cell phone shop. Since the seller couldn’t speak English there either, communication wasn’t exactly easy. After a short time we sat together at his PC and filled out the form for shipping. After a few more minutes everything was done and while my old shoes made their way back to Germany, I continued walking towards the west.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to really start running until around 12 p.m. today. With my new shoes on my feet, I walked around the city for a long time. After a while I asked myself whether I should have taken a size smaller. But overall they fit quite well and so I just kept walking through the crowded streets. Later I moved to the suburbs before heading through an unsightly industrial area.
I was happy when the surroundings at least became a little greener.
After about 20 km I started looking for a place to sleep. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very easy today either. My search continued for another 7 km before I found what I was looking for in a small meadow. A few people could see me from one side, but they didn’t seem to care. On the other side, my spot was protected from the road by trees. I set up my tent there, cooked my dinner and then soon went to sleep. I was happy that despite my late start I had still managed 27 km and my feet didn’t have any blisters from the new shoes.
Day 88 – Oruna to Caborredondo (25,3 km) – Thuesday 26.09.2023
I slept very well in the tent last night. Well rested, I packed up my things and set off.
At the beginning we went through hilly landscapes and I could already see high mountains in the distance.
Unfortunately we once again went through a city with a lot of industry. I walked along a railway line for a long time. I took my breakfast break at a bank on the way and watched the trains move. Then I continued along the tracks until I crossed them with a bridge. Then there was more industry and then I finally made it out of the city and returned to greener areas.
I walked for a long time through the beautiful hilly landscape and then passed a small town that had both a beautiful church and a beautiful old town center. I bought my lunch and dinner at the local supermarket.
Then I continued running through meadows again. My shoes slowly started to pinch in different places. When I took off my shoes at a small picnic area, I actually had a small blister on my left foot. My feet probably hadn’t gotten used to the new shoes that well yet and once again I realized that hiking with unbroken shoes wasn’t a good idea. But since I didn’t have time to break in my shoes properly, I had to continue hiking with the new shoes and accept the blisters. I quickly stuck a blister plaster on the blister and then applied a large area of tape around the area. Then I put my shoes back on and continued walking.
I actually wanted to look for a place to sleep with a sea view today. Due to the bladder, I decided to shorten my tour and look for a place to sleep in the immediate area.
When I saw a small, high plateau in a pasture, I ran up there briefly and decided to stay here. Even though the site was right next to the path, you couldn’t see my tent from below. I then rested there for the rest of the day and used the time to read a bit again. In the evening I cooked myself something to eat and then quickly fell asleep in my tent.
Day 89 – Caborredondo to San Vicente de la Barquera (23,9 km) – Wednesday 27.09.2023
Due to the proximity to the forest, it was loud again tonight. Many birds could be heard. Nevertheless, I was able to sleep well and started to take down my tent in the morning. While I was packing the things into my backpack, I could already see the first pilgrims walking past me down below. Thanks to my good position, none of the pilgrims could see me.
My tour today took me directly through a small town. Then I walked along a small road for a few kilometers before I arrived at a small beach after almost 5 kilometers. There I sat on the terrace of a closed bar and made my morning coffee while looking at the sea.
Then there was a short climb and from the top I once again had a beautiful view of the surrounding area and its coast. With the beautiful landscape I completely forgot about my blister on my foot and somehow I was still able to walk well and made quick progress.
In a small town I once again met many tourists who had come by bus. There were also some German pensioners who always checked to see whether the pilgrims had a shell on their backpacks, which I found somehow strange. Since there was too much going on in the city, I decided to continue walking and take my lunch break outside.
I then sat down on a bench in a small park and ate some salami bread. The small bay in front of my eyes was more relaxing than eating in one of the city’s crowded restaurants.
The path then led along the coast for a long time. Most of the time I saw the coast with beaches on the right side and the mountains with some higher mountains on the left side.
I had a lot of fun hiking by the sea despite my bladder. In order to give my body enough rest, I called it a day after less than 24 km. I ran to a campsite and set up my tent there. After washing my clothes, I went straight to one of the nearby beaches and went for a swim in the cold waves. While I was just splashing in the water, a number of people were surfing the bigger waves next to me. After a while I returned to the campsite. I first took a short nap there and then wrote briefly on my blog. Later I had dinner and then went back to my beloved tent to sleep there.
Day 90 – San Vicente de la Barquera to Pendueles (32,4 km) – Thursday 28.09.2023
Today I didn’t really get going. First I stayed in my sleeping bag for a few minutes longer and then the poles got tangled when I was taking the tent down, which is why the whole thing took a little longer. I didn’t really get going until around half past nine.
I left the campsite and walked over a bridge to the nearest town. But I didn’t stay there long. I use the first intersection to leave the small town over a hill. In addition to the city, I also left the sea behind me and continued towards the mountains.
After almost an hour I passed a bench. I use this to prepare my coffee there. I enjoyed my breakfast break while looking at the mountains in front of me.
Then I continue my hike. Despite my bladder, I was able to walk well and made quick progress.
Around midday I passed by a small town. I bought a new gas cartridge at a hardware store. Unfortunately there were only big ones, so I continued walking with a pound of gas in my backpack. That will at least be enough for a while.
Immediately afterwards I walked through a small park. I sat down on a bench and took a lunch break. I made myself another coffee and ate the rest of the cereal. Shortly afterwards I used a supermarket in the city to replenish my food supplies and then quickly left the city again.
I walked up and down through green landscapes for a long time again. In between we went under motorway bridges and continued through a tunnel.
Later the path changed into the forest. I apparently missed a turn-off there and when I noticed it, I didn’t feel like turning back. So I looked at where the current path would lead and decided to just keep walking. Instead of going around the mountain in front of me, as the actual Way of St. James would have done, I went directly over it. I walked through the forest for almost 5km before it thinned out at the summit and was replaced by cow pastures. After a sweaty climb, I at least got a nice view of the sea at the top, which I hadn’t seen since this morning.
This was followed by a long descent on small paths through the forest, which I was able to use again to break in my shoes on difficult terrain.
After I reached the bottom and left the forest, I briefly ran under a highway again and then made my way to the coast. There I had chosen a campsite right by the water for this evening. As it turns out, that was a good choice. I set up my tent on the terraced campsite and had a beautiful view of the sea from my spot.
I jumped in the shower, washed my clothes and hung them up in the sun. Afterwards I wrote my diary and today’s report in my blog. I enjoyed the sound of the sea hitting the cliffs of the coast here. Later I ate in the Campinglatz restaurant and enjoyed the wonderful view of the sea while I ate my delicious octopus with potatoes and drank a regional beer.
For the rest of the evening I just sat there and enjoyed the spectacle as the sun slowly set and the 90th day of my travels came to an end.
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