The albergue at Buelna has its good and bad points. It was clean, comfortable and quiet, which was exactly what I needed. No church bells disturbed my sleep, and I slept well. But the internet was not working well, and there was no one around to let me out when I wanted to leave, and so neither could I get a proper breakfast. As a result, it was after 08:30 when I finally got on the trail again. I soon made it to Pendueles just a couple of kilometres from Buelna, and went straight on.
After Pendueles, the trail goes out into the open country close to the shore. The surroundings seem somewhat barren, though beautiful in their own way, and once again, I was reminded of parts of the west of Ireland. The mountains of the Picos de Europa, distant on the horizon a couple of days ago, were now everpresent, dominating the view to the south. This area is noted for “bufones”, cavities in the limestone that in the right sea conditions, allow eruptions of seawater out of the rocks. But they were quiet today, so I kept going.
The trail continues through this kind of countryside for almost 10km until it reaches the village of Andrin. I stopped at a bar there for refreshments. By now, the day was warm, and between the heat, the heavy pack, and the distance through the wilder areas, I needed rehydration.
From Andrin, the route ascended to higher ground, with great views of the coast and the immediate destination of Llanes (pronounced Yanes). The trail winds its way along the high ground for several kilometres until it comes almost due south of the town, and only then descends. It passed the church of Ermita del Cristo del Camino, closed like so many others. Llanes is a substantial town, and it seemed like a good place to stop and have lunch.
After Llanes, the trail follows the road westward, through the village of Poo. Then it goes back out to the coast and follows the shore for a while. I came across a farmer spreading seaweed on a field. Again, that used to be common in the west of Ireland. Seaweed would be harvested and piled along the shore to allow the wind and rain to wash out the salt, and for the seaweed itself to rot just a little. The resulting compost could be used to put organic matter back into the soil. It seemed like this was something similar here in Spain.
The trail continues on, close to the shore. I passed the Eremita de San Martin, now a ruin on the shoreline. I passed beaches, that even on this warm sunny day had only a handful of people enjoying them. And I came to others that were crowded. The Playa de San Antonio was one, but the compensation for it being crowded was that it had a bar where I could get refreshments.
Eventually, the route leaves the shore, though it is never far away. It goes inland a little, through the village of Naves, and just a little further on I came to the village of Villahormes, which was my destination for the day. I stayed at the Albergue, which is quite a good one, though once again, I will have to leave early and get breakfast on the road.
Finally, the step count for the day was 47,857
Walkingman 