Once again, I started out early, leaving Villaviciosa early in the morning. The albergue offered free coffee, but not a proper breakfast, so after just two cups of sugary coffee, I was on my way.
At Casquita, the church was open, and I even picked up a stamp on my pilgrim’s passport. The route passes through a succession of small villages, gaining height slowly until it reaches Villabona, and there I was faced with a choice. There is a Monasterio at San Salvador de Valdedios, which the guidebook recommends visiting. However, that would mean losing 50m of height that I sweated to gain in the morning sun, and which I would sweat for again if I took that route. So I decided to take the higher level route, and I gave the Monasterio a miss. This goes on up the hillside, through the village of Arbazal, to come out at Alto de la Campa.
Alto de la Campa is the high point of the day’s walk, with great views back over the valley below. Going over the crest of the ridge, the route emerges from a tunnel of trees to give equally good views of the valley to the south.
As I approached Alto de la Campa, I saw what looked like a petrol station. Perhaps it would have a shop attached where I could get a proper breakfast. But alas, the petrol station is long since closed up, so I kept going until O reached the village of Vega. Yes, there is yet another village of that name. And that is where I stopped to rest and get a real breakfast.
After Vega, the route takes to a maze of small roads and woodland tracks, and I was very glad when eventually Pola de Siero came into view, my destination for the day. I was one of the first to reach the albergue, and was soon signed in.
The church near the albergue was open, with a religious education class in progress. Pola has a sign for the pilgrims, telling them that the distance to Santiago is now just 338km on the Camino Primitivo, which is the route I plan to take. I can remember the signs in Switzerland telling me it was over 2000km from there. I calculate that I have come 177.5km since leaving Barreda, so there is still a good distance to go.
And the step count for the day was 45,058.
Walkingman 
Hi Thurloch, it seems you are making great progress on your journey, really impressive. Many thanks for sharing your experiences and the great pictures. I wish you all the best on the path forward and hopefully continued good weather – although I know this is of second priority for an Irishman 🙂
Matthias
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