Day 91 – Pendueles to Naves (29,5 km) – Friday 29.09.2023
I set my alarm a little earlier this morning. I got up shortly after 7, quickly brushed my teeth and took down my tent. Then I sat back on the landing in front of my campsite and made breakfast there while I watched the sunrise.
When it was really light and I had finished my coffee, I set off. While I was still at the campsite I met a German who, funnily enough, actually comes from the Palatinate but lives in Karlsruhe. When I explained to him that I also come from near Karlsruhe and was born in the Palatinate, he was very happy and we talked for a few minutes. Then I continue my journey.
It went straight up the mountain and I soon had a beautiful view of the surrounding area again. First I walked through pastures for a while and looked at the mountains in front of me. Later I moved into the forest for a short time. By now I had really gotten used to my new shoes and so I ran around at high speed without feeling any pressure points anywhere.
After a final climb I reached the top of the small mountain. I walked a few extra meters to get to a viewing platform. From there I enjoyed the view of the coast and its beaches. After a few minutes I left the viewing platform and descended from the mountain over a long period of time to the next town.
During the descent I had the mountains in front of me and the sea to my right in view the whole time.
When I arrived in town, I quickly bought something for dinner at a supermarket and then walked straight out of town. I looked at the rest of the route and decided to look for a place to sleep on the coast, which was still a few kilometers away. On the following route we went through the forest for a long time and then under a loud motorway bridge.
I passed an abandoned and dilapidated monastery, which looked interesting right next to the highway and I wondered whether the monastery had been abandoned due to the noise of the highway or whether it had already been abandoned.
I continued running and after almost 28 km I arrived at the sea again. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a suitable spot directly by the water because either bushes or rocks prevented me from setting up the tent.
After some walking back and forth, I finally found a suitable meadow from where I at least had a nice view of the water. Since the site was not visible from any side, I set up my tent in the daylight and made myself dinner. Later I went to sleep in my tent.
Day 92 – Naves to Ribadesella (19,8 km) – Saturday 30.09.2023
Unfortunately I didn’t sleep well last night. Despite the distance, the highway could be heard louder than the sea and the trucks driving by kept waking me up from my sleep. Today I stayed lying down until 8 a.m. and got up more tired than awake. I quickly dismantled my tent and ran to the nearby town.
In a square in front of a church I found both a seat and a water fountain. So I sit there and make myself a relaxing coffee. After just a few minutes, I was joined by a Swiss man who was running almost the same route as me. Although he has been on the road since 2016 and only runs for 2-3 weeks each year, he has traveled the same route since Switzerland. We talked about the most beautiful sections and our future plans. After three quarters of an hour I said goodbye to him and continued walking through the small town.
Today I went through forests and meadows again until I passed a small town, which I left straight away. This was followed by a small climb to a church on a mountain, which was once again closed. I sat down on one of the stone benches outside, looked at the surroundings and ate a banana.
As I descended I somehow became more and more tired, so when I reached the bottom I turned off into a meadow and lay down on the grass to sleep. Unfortunately it wasn’t much better afterwards and I also had a slight stomach ache in the following kilometers, so I decided to get a hotel in the next town. Although I actually wanted to spend the night directly on the coast again today, my body thwarted my plans. I quickly booked a room and headed there. After less than 20 km I finished today’s tour, rested on the soft bed and hoped that I would feel better again tomorrow.
Unfortunately, toward the evening the feeling of unwellness got worse and worse and I asked myself how I was going to walk tomorrow. I went to bed early in the hope that things would get better overnight.
Day 93 – Ribadesella to Ribadesella (0 km) – Sunday 01.10.2023
This morning I felt a little better than last night, but unfortunately the symptoms were still there. I still felt exhausted and although my stomach ache wasn’t as bad as yesterday, I still had it every now and then. So after 45 days of running in a row, I decided to take my third day off today.
I went to breakfast at 9 a.m. and met two Swiss people who were currently traveling on their motorbikes. They asked me about my trip so far and talked about their experiences, which were very similar to mine. So while I ate my breakfast, I chatted with them at length until they got back on their bikes and continued on.
However, I went to the hotel reception and asked if I could extend my stay by one night. The lady said she would sort it out and I then went back to my room to continue healing.
Most of the rest of the day consisted of napping, reading emails, watching movies, etc. I just rested and didn’t do anything. Since I didn’t want to exert myself too much and wanted to give my body enough time to recover, I didn’t go swimming to the beach, even though it was only a few meters away from me, or to the city center. I just lay lazily on my bed and did nothing until I fell asleep at some point in the evening.
Day 94 – Ribadesella to La Isla (18,1 km) – Monday 02.10.2023
After a restful night, I woke up in the hotel room and was immediately hungry, which is always an important sign of improvement for me. So at 9:30 sharp I took the elevator down to the dining room and ate for a long time. Since I was feeling a little better again, I wanted to at least go on a short tour today to get some fresh air and not have to sit in my small room all the time. So after dinner I packed everything up and left the hotel around 10 a.m.
I took it very slowly and strolled relaxed along the promenade.
At the end of the small town I first switched to a country road, which repeatedly led me through small towns and green meadows, some of which were still obscured by low-hanging clouds.
Over time, these clouds rose higher and higher and after almost 6 km I could see the sea again. In general, I made good progress, but I noticed that my body still hadn’t fully recovered and running was a bit difficult. So I use a bench with a nice view to take a break and give my body some time to recover.
Then I continued down to the sea. Shortly before the sea, the path turned off again and led for a long time through grassy landscapes, which alternated with short passages in the forest, small villages or small beaches.
After 17 km I reached my intended destination. This was the last time I met the sea with its beautiful coast for the time being on my journey. From here I will leave the sea, which has been my constant companion in the last few weeks, in the next few days and then walk further inland. I enjoyed the last few meters along the beach all the more before I finally turned and left the small beach. I continued walking to my current accommodation, which was a few minutes outside of the small town.
Despite its relatively low price, the accommodation was quite interesting and classically furnished.
Since the few kilometers today had still worn me out a bit, I was even happier when I discovered that I had a bathtub. So I filled it straight up with warm water and took a long, relaxing bath. I continued to rest for the rest of the evening so that I could hopefully fully recover soon and then be able to go on longer tours again.
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