Your today is my tomorrow. Very deep and thought provoking, huh?! Probably should be a country song.

I write this on Th. You will read on Friday. My tomorrow/your today happens to be the 33rd wedding anniversary for Kris and I. Happy anniversary. I even remembered flowers. Love you!

Today was mostly cloudy and about 60 degrees. Good walking weather.

This is the jumping off point for the Camino Primitivo. I’ll be heading straight toward Gijon.

We started out the day walking through the valley. I’ve seen lots of farm animals but there is virtually zero wildlife. Saw 4 small rabbits today and had seen 1 deer while on train from Madrid to Pamplona. Guess that’s what thousands of years of civilization does to the wildlife.

We eventually began heading up out of the valley.

The people here seem to be exceptional gardeners. So many beautiful yards.

The climb up out of the valley went on and on… and on. The most ups and downs since the day I did equivalent of 300 something flights of stairs. Had to stop and catch my breath a few times!

Right at the top…trail magic. Muy perfecto. Even chairs with backs! Guy said he’s up here every day from 9 until 3. Most of the “magic stations” around here have donation boxes. I had a coke and some trail mix. Wanted to give him a couple Euros. Only had a little over one in change and then large bills. Gave him the Euros plus a US $1 bill. He was excited. Had never seen a dollar bill before.

What goes up… must come down. Heading back down to the small village below.

My “Hola” smile of the day. He was out surveying his sheep. He had a bigger smile until I got the camera on him!

I first saw these little buildings set up off the ground a few days ago near the coast. Thought they looked like cool little beach bungalows. Have seen quite a few more today. Think they’re storage bins for their crops. A lot of apple orchards around here. That’s my theory. If I find someone who speaks good English, I’ll confirm. Too complicated a question for my Spanish vocabulary.

After that valley we headed up…again. Going over another range of hills. I am declaring this 3rd most difficult day of hiking yet after 300 flight day and Pyrenees climb on day 1.

My plan was to stop after 14 miles at a campground in Deva. That will leave me a short walk (5 miles) into Gijon tomorrow.

After the second range, I could see the coast again. That’s Gijon in the distance.

The campground at Deva also has an alburque for pilgrims. I chose to stay in my tent. They charged people $7 for a bunk in the alburque and $17 for me to pitch my tent. Whaaat? Feeling a little foolish but I won’t be listening to any snoring.

Happy trails and buen Camino!