October 6, 2022. It’s not wise to bring your expectations to the Camino. Today we had read that by taking the mountain route starting at Soto Luiña, we would see the most scenic section of the entire Camino, but in fact it was the most difficult, dangerous and wet hike so far.
Our morning started in a very humble motel in Soto Luiña that consisted of a small room and bathroom with a drying rack. Due to the intermittent rain overnight our washing did not dry, which necessitated strapping it on the outside of our packs, and due to the expected rain during the day, all is covered with a waterproof pack cover. We had some left over groceries for breakfast and dropped in to the one decent hotel restaurant for a nice strong cup of cafe con leche. This let a little daylight appear so that we didn’t have to head out into the dark.
Our path started out rather civilized and we ran into Mark, from London, who was doing the coastal route today. We chatted a little until we came to the split where we would ascend onto the Cantabrian range and follow the ridge. His knee was painful so had chosen the coastal route, and it was reasonable for anyone as it looked like the mist, light rain and fog might just hang on the whole day.
We started climbing some nice wide paths and then were turned off onto very narrow paths that were almost overgrown with tall grass and thorn bushes. The rain came and went. The fog was dense and we could only see 100 feet in front of us. I decided to wear a poncho and Alice decided to just wear her Smartwool top and tolerate the wetness.
After two hours we stopped for a short break, but there was no cover or dry place to sit, so we just stood and had an orange and granola bar. Thankfully we had plenty of groceries.
Onward we trekked. Now the path took a very muddy turn. It looked like a staging ground for 4×4 mud racing. Our boots became waterlogged and slushed with every step.
It seemed moderate so far, but then the path became more seriously mountainous, heading upwards towards a dark hulking mountain barely visible in the distance. At 650 meters we seemed to be near a top, and crossed cattle grazing ground across a field in which the path seemed to disappear.
Then our path turned decidedly less friendly. We started to go downward on a very rocky path, but the path was a river! At this point, the choice between stepping on an uncertain angle with risk of ankle sprain versus just sloshing along in the water seemed to tip towards staying in the middle of the path.
We took a final break, realizing that if we just became exhausted and careless we were likely to encourage an injury.
After 4 hours, the rocky river path started to normalize into switchbacks to get out of the mountain, and ever so slowly we approached our little town. We were thankful for the on modest restaurant open and ordered their menu of the day, which cost $11 each. After saying hello to Klara the young German girl we had met earlier, we headed straight for our hotel to start the process of washing and drying enough things to have something dry to wear tomorrow.
It was an exhausting day, with views only of fog and clouds. We are thankful to be healthy, have a dry place to stay tonight, and start over tomorrow.
Sounds hugely challenging. Despite the miseries, there is the feeling of satisfaction from successfully navigating the route and having your bodies respond to what you asked of them. Onward!