Day 14 – Workers’ Rights Day

Comillas to Unquera, 25Km

It’s Labour Day today in Spain, a great celebration of workers’ rights. A better name would be Workers’ Rights day except for the inevitable confusion around the apostrophe.

As a consequence of the holiday, all the breakfast bars in Comillas were closed until 10:00. Breakfast at the hotel was not available until 8:00 because they were feeding a large group on a coach tour. I paid for a cafe con leche in reception then merged in with the tourists and grabbed a couple of mini croissants.

Today was another typical day on the Camino del Norte. The weather was fine and the scenery was beautiful: coastline, woodlands, hills and the snow capped Picos de Europa mountains. After awhile, Michael from Australia caught up with me and we walked for a few kilometres until I made a pit stop and he marched on. Then Hermann from Germany appeared but he soon decided to stop for a coffee. Then I stopped for a coffee at a busy little bar and chatted to three British pilgrims, presumably a mother and two daughters but they were just leaving. They are taking a different trail to Santiago, the Camino Primitivo which diverts in a few days at Gijon.

I’m now in Unquera having lunch and celebrating workers’ rights until I can check in to the little Hotel Canal opposite.