Where Is Everybody?

I did not see a single other pilgrim today in the 13.3 miles I walked from Oviedo to Paládin. There are a couple of possible reasons:

• I got a late start. After traveling for nearly 22 hours from home to my no-frills hotel in Oviedo and after changing six time zones, my sleep was uneven last night.
• A more likely reason is that this is near the end of “the season” for the Camino Primitivo. Some of the albergues (hostels) close for the winter on Nov. 1. One of the well-loved albergues where I hoped to stay shut down for the season last week.

When I arrived at tonight’s albergue just before 4, I was the only traveler here. Two more arrived two hours later. I think this will truly be a solo camino.

After dinner tonight, Pablo — the friendly albergue host — will give me and the two others some truth talk about the challenges of the days to come and the need to book ahead in the face of late-season closures.

Today’s walk was mildly difficult for me. Around half of it was on pavement; that will change soon as the surroundings become even more rural.

The climbs and descents were a lot longer than the ones Sharon and I experienced on the Hadrian’s Wall Path in England in August. And today was supposed to be an easy day with a lot more descents than ascents. The bigger climbs start tomorrow, as you can see in the chart below. Let’s hope this Florida flat-lander gets his legs attuned to hills quickly.

Oviedo

Countryside scenes