What the heck? Years of hiking and not a twinge in my knee. That is until today. I was the weak link, and everyone knows I do not like to be the weak link!
I was fine climbing but when the downhill came my body let me down. I was in pain most of the day. With 5 km to go, Josh carried both our packs for awhile. It made a difference, so we reloaded part of my pack in his and made it to our Albergue, and not too soon for both of us!
Our day started with a long city hike out of Oviedo. It is a charming town so we enjoyed the walk out.
The scenery on the Primativo is amazing. We wove in and out of road walking and lovely trail walking with lots of climbing and descents, moving from the top of one mountain to the river bottom and then up the next. It was grueling but we were always rewarded with a spectacular view.
The rain was mostly just a drizzle until it wasn’t…
Our Alberge Villa Palentina was a haven. Great food, an entertaining staff, Paulo told me when we wanted to check in, sit down, relax, order a drink. You are on vacation, I am working and busy! He matter if fact statement put things right into perspective.
Josh is amazing to travel with. He stuck by my side the whole last half of the trek when my knee turned against me. I wanted him to walk his own pace, but he stuck by my side. So cheers to our team.
We had a communal dinner. We met some interesting pelegrinos and had great conversations. A man and his 14-year-old sons from Ireland were at our table. They have been walking for 18 days of different Caminos. The young woman from Italy was solo and had a working Camino. She had to continue to service her clients while trekking. Then, the other dinner companion was from Germany or Austria. He has walk a serveral Caminos.
Dinner was delicious. The owners (the chef, her mother, and her father are farmers. They bought and refurbished the building right before COVID. Their menu is true farm-to-table. It is a lovely Albergue and they are so supportive of Pilgrims, giving us their card to call them if ever we have a problem on the Primativo.