Getting Better All the Time

When Sharon and I walked the Camino del Norte in 2023, sometimes we would walk for awhile without seeing one of the yellow arrows that marks the route. That prompted Sharon to ask, “Are we still on the camino?” She still asks me that when we are walking somewhere and may be off track.

When she asked the question, I would take out my phone and look at a mapping app that shows the camino route. The answer usually was, “Yes, we are on the camino.” But occasionally I realized we had missed a yellow arrow marking a turn and we would have to retrace our route and find the trail.

Here’s where it gets geeky. As we contemplated other caminos, I asked myself “What if I can answer ‘Are we still on the camino?’ without having to fish out my phone?” That led me on a search for an app that would let me glance at my Apple Watch and find out if we were still on the route. I finally found one last week. Wristtopo lets you load a hiking route and it downloads localized maps that let you follow the trail whether or not you have an online connection.

The Camino Primitivo is unusually well marked (except in cities) so the app has served mostly to confirm that all is well. But this morning for the first time I lifted my wrist to discover I had missed a turn. Fortunately, I was only a block or two beyond it.

Just as I turned back onto the camino, a large tour bus had unloaded dozens of day hikers going the same direction I was. Suddenly my silent solo camino had turned into a parade of chattering tourists.

Though I am by no means a fast walker, I was faster than the gaggle and I quickly moved in front. I couldn’t help but turn around and take a picture.

That tickled their leader; she’s the smiling one in the front. We started talking and I discovered she had lived in the U.S. for quite some time. In fact, she lived in Tampa, where she earned a doctorate in environmental studies from the University of South Florida. Today she was leading a hiking group from Oviedo out for a morning stroll.

Another Tampa connection: Later a family passed by as I was eating lunch at the side of the trail. The one who spoke English said he was from Venezuela originally, but has lived in Spain for 10 years. He was walking with a Spanish friend whose in-laws were originally from Tampa. I told him I worked for many years for a boss who grew up in Tampa and whose family roots were in Asturias, the region of Spain I am now traveling in. (Looking at you, Skip.)

Another pilgrim

At the end of my second day of walking, I finally encountered another pilgrim. Michael, who is from southern Spain, is my roommate tonight in a 1,002-year-old monastery in a town called Cornellana. He recently completed the Camino San Salvador and said he saw only one other pilgrim on the 75-mile trail that ends in Oviedo. Must be the time of year, he mused.

Getting easier

The second day of hiking was a bit shorter than the first but the ascents and descents were far higher and steeper. I’m not saying it was easy, but my body and being were much more in tune with the walk today.

Tatiana, the co-owner of last night’s albergue, gave the “truth talk” I mentioned yesterday. (By the way, four other lovely individuals who are on shorter local hikes also stayed there last night.)

Tatiana encouraged us (me, I guess) to keep the first few days under 20 kilometers. After a few days, she said, our bodies will adjust and we will want to go farther. Based on today’s walk, I believe her.

I had been walking 10-15 minutes before I remembered to turn on the tracking app, so the video is missing the first half mile or so of my walk.