Fog City Boy on the Camino del Norte
San Francisco, April 24, 2025
20 September 2024 – Ribadesella to La Vega
Continuing the chronicle of the Fog City Boy’s pursuit on the Camino de Santiago del Norte. . .
After a suitable breakfast at his vintage hotel in Ribadesella, The Fog City Boy set out on a causeway across the Rio Sella which affords a view of the town.
The Way follows along a lengthy and charming beach side promenade,
eventually turning inland. After several short climbs, The Way reaches a resting place thoughtfully provided by a local hamlet, Abeu. Shortly thereafter, political graffiti.
And a mural celebrating the Camino on the way down.
The Boy’s destination for the day was the beach town of Vega.
A friendly restauranteur summoned a taxi that returned the Boy to Ribadesella.
21 September 2024 – La Vega to Colunga
The Boy was up timely and had a good breakfast at his hotel. The hotel staff called for a taxi and The Boy was on his way back to Playa de Vega. The Boy picked up where he had left off the day before.
It had rained the night before. The Way from the beachfront end of the road was narrow, rocky, wet, slippery, occasionally steep, and somewhat menacing. But the Boy persevered and eventually emerged from the trail.
The Way passes through several small towns including Berbes . . .
. . . and Caravia, providing yet another lovely vista.
The Boy overnighted at a comfortable hotel in Colunga. Hotel Los Caspios was formerly a manor house built in the early twentieth century. Though only rated as a three-star hotel (perhaps because it did not have full restaurant service), the accommodation was certainly four-star in quality and amenity. Dinner was a short walk back into town. The town folk had gathered at a local bar/restaurant to cheer on their favorite soccer team.
22 September 2024 – Colunga to Priesca
Notwithstanding the absence of a full service restaurant, the Fog City Boy and all other guests enjoyed a satisfying breakfast and made our separate ways forward.
The Way traverses country roads with vehicular and other traffic.
The Way passes through Beldredo where a family had built and continues to maintain a small shrine.
The Way encounters challenging elevation as it climbs to Priesca, a small town with an albergue maintained by a nearby rectory. La Iglesia de San Salvador de Priesca was built in 921 is one of the oldest churches on the Camino.
The Boy determined that continuing on to Villaviciosa was not practical that afternoon. He stood down for the day and awaited the hospitalera to arrive at the alberque. She summoned a taxi which deposited the Boy at his hotel in Villaviciosa which would be his base of operations for three nights.
The Boy checked into his hotel and walked through the town. The Municipal coat of arms, City Hall:
In front of the Teatro Riera stands a statue of a woman with a basket and a smile.
23 September 2024 – Priesca to Villaviciosa
After two cafes con leche and a small sandwich of undetermined content, the Boy returned by taxi to Priesca. The Way continues on small country roads and occasionally traverses trails through the woods.
And as previously reported, some graffiti art is better than others.
The Boy again overnighted in Villaviciosa.
24 September 2024 – Villaviciosa to Casquita and Beyond
The Boy again enjoyed two cafes con leche but this time with a sandwich of determined content, and set out again. He set out to reach Casquita, where The Way splits with the Camino Primitivo (which the Boy walked in 2016 and 2017) and the Camino del Norte divulge.
On the way out of town, The Way passes La Iglesia de Santa Maria de la Oliva, built between the 13th and 14th centuries.
And then a pleasant walk through a local park.
In time, The Way, and the Boy pursuing it, reached Casquita. A small chapel welcomes the peregrino, and this peregrino captured a sella in his Credential del Peregrino.
The Boy had been here before. The earlier launching point for the Camino Primitivo looked familiar, but that was years ago. Before, there was less guidance. Now it was quite explicit.
The Boy decided to press on, actually following the route of the Primitivo, eventually arriving at Monasterio de Valdedios where a kindly hospitalera tried to find me a taxi to return to Villaviciosa.
She had no luck, but since she lived in Villaviciosa and was headed home for the evening, she offered me a ride. And I accepted. Acts of kindness from people encountered along the Way are not an uncommon experience for peregrinos.
24 – 29 Villaviciosa to Oviedo
The Fog City Boy had determined that it was important to return home to Fog City and eventually North Carolina, but that required a return to Oviedo, where he began this iteration of the Camino. The Boy settled into a comfortable seat on an intercity bus departing Villaviciosa and several hours later arrived at the Oviedo bus terminal. He donned his mochila and walked the mile to his hotel. It was a comfortable venue.
In the days before his flight, the Boy explored Oviedo.
The Oviedo public market was not the first such that the Fog City Boy had encountered, but it was the most spectacular.
A town square in the Old Town.
Local folks enjoying a late afternoon walk through the Old Town.
A soprano sang for passersby. Stripes are still in! Please excuse the jumbled first few seconds.
Public art in the old town, and in the modern city.
The Boy found his way to the Plaza de Alfonso II and the Cathedral de San Salvador which traces its roots to the year 781. Alfonso II was instrumental in establishing the basilica that formed the first element of the cathedral. A statue of Alfonso graces the plaza adjacent to the entrance to the cathedral.
On the afternoon before his departure, the Boy hired a taxi to take him to a hotel adjacent to the airport. It was an occasion to bid goodbye to his faithful hiking boots that had essentially disintegrated along The Way.
In the wee hours of September 29th, the Boy made his way from the hotel to Aeropuerto Oviedo and bade goodbye to the Camino del Norte. The flight to San Francisco by way of Munich was comfortable. It was good to be home.
With that, my ruminations and this blog installment are concluded. Where to next? Time will tell.
Buen Camino!
And with that, I’m off.
Knute Michael
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The Fog City Boy had a reservation at a small pension in the Bayonne’s old town, just two blocks from the Cathedral where, on the next morning, he would receive his first sella of the perigrenacion. The lodging was clean and comfortable, though hauling my mochila up four flights of stairs was not fun. Hauling it down the next morning wasn’t either.
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Flag of Oxfordshire
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As charming as the English countryside is, and as cheery as the English pubs are, the Fog City Boy was pleased to be back in Spain with a Camino walk awaiting him the next day.
Sadly, the festive atmosphere does not extend to all on the approaches to the Plaza and to the Cathedral. There have been alms seekers each time I have visited Santiago. Generally they are quite passive, but occasionally they walk from cafe to cafe asking for money. I prefer to give them food rather than money.
Shortly thereafter, The Way to Finesterre passes by the home of a local supporter of the Camino who made known his or her affection for peregrinos passing by.
. . . though the gracious, unfinished residence casts an emotional shadow.
My destination for the day was Casa Loncho a casa rural in Olveiroa. I arrived in time for a late lunch, and the opportunity to use Casa Loncho’s laundry facilities. The complex includes a large private albergue and a very large and well preserved horreo, for which the albergue is named.
And a long line of windmills . . .
Here’s the detail showing distances and destinations . . .
Many pilgrims choose at this point to head first to Finisterre and then continue on to Muxia, possibly returning to this point to complete the circuit. Some keep on going and walk back to Santiago! My travel commitments did not permit me to walk the Muxia circuit on this transit. That leaves something for a future perigrenacion!
The Camino Finisterre drops down from the ridge it traverses to the Marco do Couto, an 18th century wayside cross.
The Camino continues on.
The Camino Finisterre generally hugs the coast from Cee to Finisterre. (Spelled and pronounced in the Galician language as “Fisterre”.) It passes through the town of Corcubion.
About an hour later, I reached Finesterre. If you talk to a peregrino who has journeyed to Finesterre, you likely will come away believing that there is nothing there but the lighthouse, an albergue where you receive your Compostela, and other peregrinos.
I located my lodging for the evening, sought and received directions to the lighthouse on Cabo Finisterre. In early afternoon, I began the final stage of this perigrenacion.
Signage provides guidance – just in case you’re lost . . .
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