The first autumn day and getting to Oviedo |Camino del Norte from Villaviciosa to Cudillero – Day 22

On the Day 22 of our Camino de Santiago del Norte we got from the village Villaviciosa to Oviedo and then to the town Cudillero in Asturias.

We woke up absolutely broken apart even though we slept well that night. All the muscles were sore and the shoulders and back were aching. Everything was telling us to stop that day but we couldn’t. We had to move forward because in that town we didn’t have what we needed for cooking. And plus it was Sunday when everything was closed and we had no chance to find even some small shop where they could be selling camping gas. So we had to survive one day more without cooking hot food and eating as we’re used to.

So we decided to continue the Camino in direction to Villaviciosa and probably find a spot there to camp cause there was no official camping whatsoever. Also we started to think about the big cities that we were getting close to – Gijon and Oviedo and we needed to skip them somehow as usual. So probably the next day we would have to take public transport.

So it was hard but we started walking. The weather was working in our favour – the sky was completely covered in clouds and we enjoyed it a lot after yesterday’s extreme heat.

The Camino was boring that day going on the car road that always feels worse then forest paths. We passed by few villages with old churches and the route was going through the beautiful green valley with eucalyptus forest on the sides. Soon the sky cleared up and all the clouds disappeared and we were walking in the heat again.

Looking at the map we saw that we have to stop halfway to the town Vilaviciosa at the village Priesca and search for the camp spot there because after the route was going extremely close to the highway and there was even less chances to find a quiet place. Plus we felt really tired and started late and even this 10 kms took us about 4 hours to complete. So it was a good decision at that point.

And so we went deeper down in the fields to escape the cow pastures and found a nice calm place between the trees and bushes close to the forest. The slope was there but it wasn’t as dramatic because the places around were very hard ground for camping overall and not suitable for the most part. So we had a bit of rest there laying down on the ground and setting up the tent. All we did was just trying to relax and have powers for the next stressful day when we had to find different spots at unknown places in order to get where we wanted. In the evening it started to rain and we had our small modest dinner with cereals and milk – that’s all we had that day. And called it a day. We went to sleep early to wake up at the first hour the next day.

The next morning…

We had an extremely rainy night in a tent at a place in the fields that we found yesterday evening. The drops of water were quite loud and so we were listening to them all night. And the cows pasturing were ringing with their bells.

The rain was going on all the morning and we had to wrap everything up in extremely wet conditions. And especially the soaked tent that was weighing a ton. So we ate our modest breakfast – cereals with milk that we had already eaten enough yesterday but as we had nothing else we had to have it again. After this sweet day we couldn’t even look at any sweet things or chocolate we got so sick and tired of it.

And so we headed to Villaviciosa to take the bus to Oviedo. It was only 10 kms to the town and the Camino was going in a very peaceful paths in the forest and water streams till the moment it crossed with the highway and then the noise from it was very annoying and spoiled it all.

The bus station was very easy to find as there is the only one in the town. So we hoped on a bus and in probably like 40 minutes we were in the city Oviedo. It was a bit nauseous trip cause the road was curvy and constantly going uphill. The day was very gloomy so the clouds were pressuring from above as well and we felt sleepy.

We knew that in Oviedo the other Saint James Way starts – the Camino Primitivo. It goes all the way to Lugo to then join the French Way up to Santiago de Compostela. But we wanted to follow the North Way as long as possible because as you already now we are absolutely in love with the ocean.

In Oviedo we managed to put a stamp in the main cathedral which was very similar to the Santiago one but probably a bit smaller. We walked through the city a little bit, saw the statue of Woody Allen in its real height and overall could gaze at the architecture and old town surrounded by the modern one. We probably spent there 2 or 3 hours cause we had to do some shopping as well. We finally bought the camping gas at Decathlon – it seems like in the region it’s the only shop where you can buy it. And also we could find the little sized shampoo and shower gel only in the big cosmetics store. And that is all could be available in any camping but it’s just not there and it’s impossible to find anywhere.

Then we took the 25 min train to Aviles to hop on the last bus to Cudillero. We were glad that we didn’t stop at Aviles cause we saw that the area is still very populated and contaminated with traffic. And overall we saw the Camino signs while moving by train and bus and most of it was going on the asphalt car roads so we didn’t feel like we missed much. We knew it already that it was for the good sake. So we skipped probably 3 to 4 days of Camino if we would do it as it forethought.

When we were getting close to Cudillero we realized that there were quite big mountains in the sight when we thought that we already left the most mountains region behind. We did our shopping and headed to the camping in hope that it will be open. And fortunately for us it was – when we knew that most of the campings were already closing and there were the last days for this one as well.

This camping was fine, situated higher up on the hill, quite far from the oceanside. It was all clean with quite a lot of space to choose from. There weren’t much people most probably because it was the work day and also because it was the final of the season.

The wind was very cold and so the temperature got lower but we hoped it was temporare and tomorrow will be a warmer day. We felt like we got more tired from the public transport than from walking and also the tireness from the other days was getting at us. Our back, shoulders and legs were sore and aching. So with the thoughts of taking a day off we went to sleep that day.

Here is the link to Google map to follow the hike: