Day 25 – Long way to La Caridad

Luarca to La Caridad, 33Km

Today was less hilly than usual but went on for a little longer. I met Joyce in the Cafe Julia at 7am because it was the only bar that was open in sleepy Luarca. There were no croissants so we downed a cafe con leche and set off for the steep climb out of town and onto the normal high ground. It felt like winter, quite cool and a lot of moisture in the air. We were walking above the cloud line. In the fields, the first crops were germinating and the pastures were ready for grazing.

We walked along country lanes and around fields and occasionally gazed up at the motorway, high above us. When we pass through a hamlet it’s normal to see derelict houses. It’s a common sight in Spain but almost unknown in Britain. There’s also a narrow gauge railway which runs along the Camino del Norte. I keep coming to the track and I’m tempted to take it back to Bilbao after I finish.

After 20Km we reached the first town, Navia which greeted us with a fine bakery. It was midday by now and I was torn between having a late breakfast or an early lunch but they had the perfect solution: a giant croissant filled with egg, ham, cheese and salad.

In La Caridad I stopped in the only bar for lunch. They had no salad. In fact they only had meat and potatoes. “What kind of meat? Chicken?” “No, pork”. It was that or nothing so I ordered it. Soon, a couple of fellow pilgrims arrived and they had the same conversation. One of them spotted a takeaway chicken hut outside and they took that option. We chatted and they said they were from Israel and were walking the Norte in stages of a few days at a time.