Celorio | Three Little Birds - Day 102

This abandoned building catches my eye this morning as I walked to Celorio. I love the contrast of colors.

Day 17 takes me from Pendueles to Celorio. The stage is approximately 20 km (12.5 mi). There is one climb that reaches 150 m (500 ft). Two options exist this morning, follow the coastal path or pavement.

I leave the hostel with Lap and Cami, but it doesn't take long before I realize I need help this morning. My knee is a bit tender. So, I stop, pull out my trekking poles, and watch my companions fade into the darkness. I decide to walk the pavement this morning. I think it will be easier for me than walking along the coast. I can't see anything in the darkness anyways. It is cool again this morning, but I am wearing my orange hooded sun shirt today, and the temperature is just right. When the sun finally rises, I stop to admire this little villa with the orchard. I love how it glows in the morning light.

I walk in solitude this morning and haven't seen another Peregrino since I parted ways with Lap and Cami.

I enjoy the beautiful views of the mountains to the south, to my left.

The walk is flat and easy today, and only the occasional car disturbed the silence. I spend the morning reflecting on conversations I've had over the past few days. The importance of following your heart.  Trusting that Camino will always provide in times of need. And I reflect on how grateful I am to share this journey with this great group of people.

Around 10 am, I climb the only hill of the morning and find this little church. This part of Spain has an abundance of little churches. Some are in well-defined towns, and others are on the outskirts near tiny homes. Unfortunately, all the ones I have passed thus far are closed and locked.

As I descend into the city of Llanes, the magnificent views of the mountains continue.

I arrive in the city of Llanes around 1015 am and am surprised I still haven't seen any other Peregrinos. It is a bit unusual but not uncommon when routes divide.

What is even more unusual, is that I don't see any Peregrinos at the cafes this morning. Typically, when Peregrinos arrive in town, the diners begin to fill up with Peregrinos who stop to eat and drink coffee. So I decide to stop at a cafe that is serving breakfast. My table faces the Camino. I order a Chocolaté. This is my first one, and many Peregrinos have told me I need to experience it. What an experience it is! A proper Chocolaté in Spain is like thick and rich, warm chocolate pudding.

About 15 minutes later, a young Korean Peregrino from the Albergue I stayed at last night passes by. I invite him to sit and grab a coffee. Sung joins me, and we chat for a bit before he picks up his bag and heads off. Soon after, Ivo and Cami appear. "Where is Celine?" asks Cami. Dunno thought she was with you. Then my WhatsApp pings, and Celine is still 45 minutes away. She took the coast, while Cami and Ivo took the traditional route. I chose the pavement, but didn't realize it was so much shorter. 

After a brief chat, Cami decides to stop and join me while Ivo heads down the road. Then Lena appears. She is, another young lady from the Netherlands and joins us. Then we all head down the road together.

As we head out of town, we pass this donkey. Cami is always joking that she needs some animals along with her new walking stick. Go ahead, cross the street. Go stand by it, and I'll take your picture. I think the picture is perfect and I send it to her!

The kilometers pass by quickly as the trail returns near the ocean. I love these two trees along the trail. The tree trunks look huge from this distance, but only because they are covered in ivy.

As I reach the town of Celorio, I notice Cami is stopped in the shade and swapping out her hot boots for her cooler Tevas. She begins to sing, "Hey don't worry, 'bout a thing. Cause every little thing is gonna be alright. Singing, don't worry, 'bout a thing." I smile and give her a high five when I reach her. My energy level was here as I hold my hand up near my waist. You brought it up here as I hold my hand over my head." I load the song on Spotify, Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds," and we sing our way to the Albergue.

A friendly Spanish woman greets us when we arrive, "Hola." Something doesn't feel right. I hesitate with Cami before entering. The feeling passes when I hear Lena's voice, and she tells me that Ivo and Lap are here too. We proceed with checking in. Then the lady shows us to our rooms. Lap and Ivo are down the hall, Cami and Lena have a space to themselves, and I have a private room. I check the bed, and everything looks clean. Then I hear Lena asking for another room in Spanish. The lady shows them to another room. "This one has it too," she says as she walks down the hall after the lady. Cami and I check the next room. Yep, it has bed bugs too. Small little critters in the corners of the mattress covers.

That's three rooms and 6 beds. I find Ivo and Lap, who are comfortably lying on their beds, and bring them up to speed. Ivo jumps off the bed. Let's check your beds. Sure enough, 3 of 4 beds in this room have them. Grab your things. We aren't staying here. I head down the hall to grab my pack. As I go downstairs, Lena has arranged with the Albergue to put us in rooms on the 1st floor, rooms for tourists, not Peregrinos. Before I can enter the first floor, the owner insists on spraying my rucksack. I hesitate, but before I can do much else, my rucksack is engulfed in a sticky cloud of bug killer.

This room looks clean. Lena disappears, and I am waiting for Céline to arrive to fill her in. Lena returns in tears. The owner yelled at her and told her she was not welcome here. Then, the owner enters the hallway and tells us we all must leave. He agrees to give us our money back. I ask Cami to take Lena to the beach and then send Ivo and Lap after them. Céline and I will handle this. The two of us wait for Lena's laundry to be finished. I am confused that I have to wait for her laundry. We were only there for 10 minutes. The irritated gentleman finally brings the laundry and asks for 5 euros. Céline and I split it without any fuss, agreeing not to mention it to Lena. I am glad to be out of there.

After we leave, we find a bed and breakfast in town. We book rooms for the 6 of us. The best part is the cost is only 3 euros more per person. It is a lovely place, and everyone is at peace with the difficulties of today. 

Céline and I piece together what happened as we walk to the beach. The owner kicked us out because he refused to admit he had a bug problem. Even worse, he believed that Lena and the rest of us brought the pests with us. However, Lena contributed to the mess too. She had a bed bug problem before. So when she saw bed bugs on the mattress protectors, she insisted that all the stuff inside her backpack be washed immediately. No wonder why he thought we brought those pests with us! There is no way they could have entered Lena's back so fast. It all makes sense now. 

Today turned out alright. We found an awesome place to sleep. However, it is a reminder that things can get messy very quickly when you don't approach conversations with others with an open heart and clear mind. It is also a reminder to listen to my intuition. The Albergue didn't feel right, but I went in anyways because my friends were there. I'll be more careful next time and will listen to my intuition.