El Camino del Norte : Soto de Luiña to Ribadeo

Kilometres this section : 92

Kilometres completed : 653

Pico Paradiella summit.

I make a late start from Soto de Luiña, it is 9am before I am on the trail, and it's a long day, too.  There are two options, a coastal route or a longer inland alternative involving a large hill, I choose the latter of course.  Up I climb, to find a lovely ridge walk, although a section or two seem very seldom used, most pilgrims follow the coast no doubt.  Up to a 720m summit, worth it for a great view, though of course it is raining, then a long walk down, lots of mud, the path is more like a stream, I don't know about England, this could be Scotland - indeed there's gorse, peat, even thistles!  Back to the sea again, to Luarca, a lovely place nestled in a steep sided gorge, and I find a pilgrim menu!  Scorpion fish mousse, escalope, flan de queso, and some Germans give me most of their wine...

Luarca.

There is of course a steep climb out of Luarca, and this proves to be a pattern, up, a flat bit, then down to a river or estuary.  The never far away motorway crosses these on gargantuan viaducts, then often dives into a tunnel, whereas I have to climb.  I get lunch at a large town on one estuary, Navia, then carry on, there's some rain of course, but it's not too bad today, not that muddy.  And, an easy day, I get to A Caridá before 4pm, and check into a basic albergue, probably the cheapest of the trip at €8.  I decide against getting another pilgrim menu, given the option of artisan pizza with chorizo and local Cabrales blue cheese, this turns out to be a good choice as it is awesome.

Ponte dos Santos.

Another easy day, 26km, I am so lazy.  OK, there's some more up and down, but then back to the sea, a lovely bit of walking along a cliff, then some boardwalk past a beach, with great views all the way.  However, another really big estuary is coming up, and this time the route heads back to that motorway, and then crosses alongside it on a narrow strip of paving, some 600m in length, and a long way above the water, this is the Ponte dos Santos apparently.  I can't honestly say I enjoy the experience much, still I suppose having crossed the Bridge of the Gods in America, I might as well do the bridge of the saints in Spain.  On the other side is Galicia, and the substantial town of Ribadeo, and not far to an albergue, named A Ponte of course.  Whisper it, it has not rained all day.  I am not feeling hungry after yesterday's huge pizza, so once again pinxos suffice.

The Cargadero.

I take a day off in Ribadeo, the last I will have time for before Santiago.  It's not that big a place, but there are some things to see, although the most impressive building in town, the Edificio dos Irmans Moreno, is being renovated.  Still, there are the usual chapels, a marina, and the near the scary bridge is the 'cargadero', a pier that back in the day allowed a small train to deliver iron ore to waiting cargo ships.  There's a fort too, though of course it is locked up.  Well, I have another albergue to get to, some movement west has to be good, though it seems I overdid it, the place is a km out of town in retail park, ah well.  It seems empty when I arrive, well it is not on the trail I guess.  Back into town then, for more excellent pizza, so much meat!

Photos to go with this post can be found here and here.