Day 102 – Tineo to Borres (27,5 km) – Thuesday 10.10.2023
Today I had a good night’s sleep and left the hotel at 9:30 feeling rested. It went straight uphill and I could soon see the city in the morning sunshine. In addition to the city, I could also see the first mountains in the distance, although they were still covered in clouds.
After the longer climb, during which I had to overtake a few pilgrims, I was treated to a beautiful view on the other side of the mountain.
Then I quickly got down and sat down at a bench with a table to take my breakfast break. I immediately started talking to two pilgrims from Sweden who were on their second day today and were very happy with my little gas stove. They were happy that they finally met someone who could speak English. At first they were amazed at my 3 3-month journey and then asked me quite a bit about it. Later they said goodbye and I finished my coffee.
Afterwards it went further downhill and then slowly uphill again along a road. At some point I turned off along a dirt road into a village that was supposed to be the last for the next 20 km. In the only bar in town I ate a sandwich and drank a cold cola. Since I wanted to camp higher up today and there was no water for the next 20 km, I filled up my reserves again in the bar. With 3.5 liters of water, which is 3.5 kg, I continue my journey.
After about 5 km I passed an expected intersection. Here I had to decide whether I wanted to take the slightly longer but flatter tour, which had a town to stop off after 14 km, or whether I wanted to do the more demanding tour, which would take me directly over the mountain in front of me. Before the junction I had already decided on the more demanding of the two tours, the so-called hospital route, on which, in addition to beautiful landscapes, you can also find old hospital ruins.
After I turned off at the junction, it continued straight uphill. First we went through the forest and later it became more and more light. I quickly noticed the extra kilos I had on the climb and I was already sweating after just a few meters. The path led through an area that was recently hit by a forest fire. The trees were still charred, but the first plants were already growing below, which were currently blooming yellow and therefore offered an impressive sight.
Soon the dead trees stopped and I continued walking uphill, directly in the sun. In between I kept passing cows and horses.
After quite a long time I finally reached the first ruins and so I was pretty much at the top. I looked at the first ruins, but continued walking.
Only at the last ruin do I use a flat spot to set up my tent. Since I didn’t have to expect any people up here, far away from the nearest town, I set up my tent straight away and only then cooked myself something to eat. After the 27.5 km and over 1100 meters of climbing, I was a little exhausted from today’s tour.
Later I enjoyed the sunset in solitude and when it got dark I went to my tent to sleep.
Day 103 – Borres to A Mesa (25 km) – Wednesday 11.10.2023
The night on the mountain was very quiet overall. Only around half past midnight I was woken up by one of the horses grazing right next to my head, which was very loud. Otherwise I had a very restful night, in which it was almost completely silent and it was less cold than expected. Around 7:30 I started to take down my tent. Afterwards I made myself breakfast and enjoyed the rising sun.
When I started running again, I was able to marvel at the beautiful landscape in the morning sun. I kept taking pictures of the surroundings and so progress was slow. Both the view back and the view to the other side of the mountain were very impressive and beautiful.
After a few kilometers I reached a road and met the other route there, which had largely snaked around the mountain. From there it went steeply downhill on a gravel road and I more or less slid down the mountain. But soon the path got better again and I was able to walk faster through the area. I passed an old farm and walked through a small forest for a while.
Unfortunately, since there was no shop or fountain in the first smaller town, I was only able to fill up my water at lunchtime after 15 km. At the first bar I could find, I bought a sandwich, drank a cold beer and filled up my water. Both the cold beer and the food were a real treat after such a long time. Then I continued running again.
Since I didn’t have too much distance left to go, after another 4 km I took a short nap in a meadow. Afterwards we went briefly to the next town. There I drank some iced tea in a pilgrim accommodation. After the town another climb came my way. I continued up a road and was able to look back at the route I had completed today.
Once at the top I passed another farm before heading back down the other side. I walked past an empty pasture that was ideal as a place to sleep. However, since I had spotted a nice viewpoint a kilometer away, I continued down the mountain. The view was actually beautiful, but unfortunately I couldn’t find a place to put my tent there. There was no place for my tent on the stone floor.
Since I didn’t want to descend another 850 meters, I walked back uphill for another kilometer and made myself comfortable on the previously identified meadow. I later set up my tent there and enjoyed the view until sunset.
Day 104 – A Mesa to Castro (19,4 km) – Thursday 12.10.2023
Unfortunately, since it was very windy (who would have thought with all the wind turbines?), I couldn’t really sleep well. My tent kept shaking during the night. Nevertheless, I packed up my tent at sunrise and set off. While I was packing my things into my backpack, the first pilgrims walked past my place and waved to me in a friendly manner.
Then I climbed back down the mountain to the place where I had already stood yesterday. There I sat on a stone and made myself breakfast. While I was enjoying my coffee there, other pilgrims kept coming, taking pictures of the view or sitting right next to me to enjoy the view of the lake in silence.
After the break, things went downhill for me for a long time, although I always had a beautiful view of the lake and its surroundings.
Despite the steep descent, I made good progress and soon reached the lake’s dam. In addition to the intact complex, some dilapidated buildings could also be seen in the area. I crossed the dam and then passed a small hotel.
Like many other pilgrims, I bought a coffee at the hotel. I quickly struck up a conversation with a pilgrim from Russia. The first thing he told me was that he was against the war and was rather liberal. He then described to me in great detail what effort he would now have to make his dream of the Camino come true. Since a direct flight from Moscow to Oviedo was not possible, he entered via three countries. He also couldn’t book accommodation because his credit card doesn’t work in the EU and so he could only pay with cash, which wasn’t always easy. Despite these adversities, he set out to walk his two-week Camino and thus fulfill a long-held dream. Even though he had only been out for three days, he found running to be very soul-cleansing and it seemed to help him cope better with the problems he had at home.
When I told him about my trip, he mentioned a Swiss man who, like me, had set off from home and was currently traveling here. A few minutes later, Christopher, the Swiss in question, arrived and we talked directly about our previous routes. As it turned out, we had actually both started running on the same day, July 1st, meaning we had both been on the trail for exactly 103 days. In contrast to me, he set off from St. Gallen in Switzerland and therefore has a few hundred kilometers less on his account than me. Nevertheless, we got along very well and were quickly labeled as twins by the other pilgrims. After a detailed conversation with him and a few other pilgrims who had joined us, I continued my journey after a break of almost an hour.
We continued along a road with little traffic up into the next town, always keeping an eye on the reservoir.
After almost an hour I reached the small town and since it was just time for a lunch break, I sat down in a bar to have a little something to eat and drink. Soon other pilgrims joined us and so I sat at a table again with the Russian and the Swiss and we drank a beer together. Since all the pilgrims wanted to stay in accommodation about 5 kilometers away and you could even camp there, I decided to join them and spend my night there too.
After a while I set off alone again to complete the last kilometers of the day.
I soon arrived in the next town and settled down in the pilgrims’ accommodation there. Since I had my tent with me, I still got a spot in the garden, even though the accommodation was actually already fully booked. So I set up my own accommodation there, took a shower again for 3 days and then washed my clothes. When I was finished, I sat down with a few pilgrims and we chatted for a while. Later I wrote in my diary and briefly worked on my blog before the long-awaited dinner was served.
We pilgrims sat together at a long table and were first served soup and then pasta with tuna. We exchanged ideas about our previous experiences and the way forward. After a piece of cake for dessert, I sat down with a few pilgrims and we chatted for some time over a beer. When it was already dark we went to sleep. The other pilgrims all ran up the stairs to the dormitory and I went into my tent.
Day 105 – Castro to A Fonsagrada (21,3 km) – Friday 13.10.2023
Unfortunately, I hardly slept at all last night. Contrary to the weather forecast, the predicted storm started early in the night and my tent shook almost constantly. I still got up around 8 a.m. and tried to pack up my tent, which wasn’t so easy given the strong wind. After filling up my water reserves again, I set off around 9:30.
For the first few meters I walked through the area more in the dark than in the light. But the little light was enough to be able to hike without a headlamp. The wind, on the other hand, just didn’t let up all day today and made hiking very strenuous in some places.
After a few minutes it started to rain so I was out with a rain jacket again. After 4 kilometers I passed a bus stop with a dry bench, I sat down and made my morning coffee. While I was drinking this, pilgrims kept walking past me. Most of them were familiar faces from the last few days. After my short break, things continued to go uphill. Unfortunately, due to the bad weather, there wasn’t a particularly nice view and since it was raining constantly, I hardly stopped.
Only after almost 17 km did I pass a bar. Since I was completely soaked and needed a little break, I went to the bar and bought something to drink. Most pilgrims probably did the same as me, as the bar was almost exclusively occupied by pilgrims. After I finished my drink, I had a quick chat with a German couple who had a few questions about my experience camping on the Camino. Then I swapped the dry, warm bar for wet nature again.
Unfortunately the weather hadn’t gotten any better. Meanwhile, the clouds were right at the level of the path and so I couldn’t see 50 meters away at times. So I walked through the silence in the pouring rain. Since I didn’t have many kilometers left to complete, it didn’t bother me much and I enjoyed running even in bad weather.
I soon met the Russian from yesterday again and went on a pilgrimage with him for a while. As he told me, he was very happy about the rain. It was a completely new experience for him to hike in the pouring rain and he was happy that it still went so well and was fun. Although I enjoyed hiking in the rain, my enthusiasm wasn’t quite as strong, which was perhaps due to the fact that I only had a pair of shorts with me and both the trousers and my socks were now very wet It wasn’t all that pleasant at 15 degrees and strong winds. It wasn’t until the last steep climb to today’s destination that I said goodbye to him so I could get up the mountain a little faster and get my long-awaited warm shower.
After the shower and a short break in my room, I went to the nearby supermarket and bought myself some food for the next few days. Afterwards I went back to my room and wrote my blog there.
Later I went looking for something to eat. Unfortunately, the local pizzeria was on holiday and the first restaurant I went to was closed due to a lack of staff. The other restaurant didn’t open until 7 p.m. Luckily I met a few other pilgrims beforehand, some of whom I knew from the last few days. I accompanied them to a bar for a beer and chatted with them a bit. Shortly after 7 p.m. I left and went to the restaurant opposite to eat. When I arrived there, I was immediately greeted by other pilgrims. I sat down with them and we had dinner together. After an entertaining meal, everyone went back to their accommodation to rest for the next stage.
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