Day 95 – La Isla to Villaviciosa (21,9 km) – Thuesday 03.10.2023
Unfortunately, I was still not fit and didn’t sleep well that night. Still, I went for breakfast at 9am. When I got back to my room, I saw that it was raining outside. Since I didn’t have a really long tour ahead of me today, I decided to wait a bit. Hoping that the rain would soon be over, I rested a bit. Around 10 a.m. things gradually got better and so I left the hotel dry around 11:30.
I ran up and down small mountains through pastures and orchards. In between I kept passing small towns, which often consisted of fewer than 10 houses. These small clusters of houses in particular looked particularly beautiful in the wide grasslands.
Unfortunately, while I was walking around, it started to rain again and as time went on it got heavier and heavier. Soon I was walking around in the pouring rain again and my rain jacket was my constant companion.
Instead of running through pastures, I now ran more and more often through the forest and the paths became more slippery again.
Since I didn’t want to sleep in a tent, I booked accommodation for the night. Shortly before I arrived at my destination, the accommodation contacted me saying that they had already accidentally given my room to another pilgrim. At least they offered me a room in another hotel of theirs, which I should get for the same price. So I walked to the second hotel in the continuing rain and actually got a room there that was a little better than the one I had actually booked. When I got there I took a warm shower and went to the supermarket to buy something for the evening. Although there was a good restaurant right next to my hotel, I didn’t dare try the fatty dishes because of my stomach ache. So instead we just had food from the supermarket. Afterwards I watched a documentary and then it was time for bed.
Day 96 – Villaviciosa to La Pola Siero (27,3 km) – Wednesday 04.10.2023
Today I slept better and at least woke up feeling somewhat rested. So there was improvement in sight and even the weather seemed friendlier today. I left the hotel promptly at 9 a.m. for today’s hike.
The first few meters went through the city until I left it via a street with little traffic. I could see the first higher mountains in the distance early on. After almost 3 km I took my breakfast break. While I was enjoying the view, I made myself some tea for a change today and gave up my beloved coffee for health reasons. Luckily, I had taken the tea with me to a hotel a few weeks ago and had carried it around with me until now. After all, it was now being used.
As I continued walking again, I soon passed an expected junction. Here I had to decide whether I wanted to continue following the Camino del Norte towards Gijon or switch to the Camino Primitvo, which leads first to Oviedo and then over the mountains to Santiago. Of course, I decided on the mountains and turned left, taking the more challenging of the two paths.
It continued straight away with a longer climb. I continued uphill along narrow paths and soon I had a beautiful view of the landscape behind me. At one point I could actually see the sea again.
We then went back down the other side of the mountain. First I walked along the road and later the path changed into the quiet forest. Running was much more fun today, but towards the end of my stage I became more and more exhausted and the number of breaks I took increased drastically.
After the last few strenuous kilometers I still reached my destination for today. For today I had booked a surprisingly cheap holiday apartment, which strangely enough was cheaper than the cheap hotel rooms in the city.
When I got there I met a motorcyclist at the entrance who was also going to spend the night in one of the apartments today and had just come from the mountains. He asked me directly whether I was also one of the pilgrims who wanted to walk the route through the mountains, as he had come across a few pilgrims up there. Afterwards he told me quite enthusiastically about the beautiful landscapes he had seen and wished me a lot of fun on my further journey.
While he continued unloading his things from the motorcycle, I went to my apartment. Exhausted, I sit on the sofa and rest for a few minutes from today’s tour. Later the usual evening program followed before I fell asleep quite exhausted.
Day 97 – La Pola Siero to Oviedo (16,7 km) – Thursday 05.10.2023
Maybe the route was a bit too much yesterday. I didn’t sleep well that night and had a slight stomach ache again. When I got up, I was still tired and not really well rested. But since I had only planned a very short stage for today, I still packed everything up and left my holiday apartment around 10 a.m. and set off for Oviedo.
As I left the city there were still clouds everywhere and I couldn’t see very much. As these rose over time, I got a better view of the surroundings. I was quickly able to see mountains again and soon even my destination Oviedo.
I basically walked along the street all day through small suburbs of Oviedo. Sometimes it went over the highway, sometimes under it. There wasn’t much to see on the route. Because of the bad night and the efforts of the last few days, my progress was very slow. I simply realized that the illness had taken more of a toll on my body than I thought. A few days ago I ran 15 km almost in one go, today I took 4 breaks over the same distance and was happy when I arrived at my hotel in Oviedo at 3 p.m.
I took a long nap there and rested for the rest of the day. Since I was still not completely fit and I had already planned a day off in Oviedo a few weeks ago, I won’t be running again tomorrow and will continue to rest. Nevertheless, I went to bed early again today.
Day 98 – Oviedo to Ovideo (0 km) – Friday 06.10.2023
After a long and restful night, I went to have breakfast at the hotel again today. Afterwards I returned to my room and read a bit. Later I bought something to eat in a supermarket. While I ate this, I wrote on my blog. Otherwise I watched the further stages and rested. I just hoped that I would get fit again soon so that I could run the last few hundred kilometers in normal stages again and finally be able to enjoy the beautiful landscapes from my tent again.
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