40. Villaviciosa to Gijón

Dear friends, contrary to rumours (spread by moi) the township of Villaviciosa was reasonably quiet last night. Apple celebrations seemed to move to a nearby square and were really quite sedate. Maybe tonight things will be wilder, but not to worry, I am now thirty kilometres away in the city of Gijón/Xixón, pronounced something like ‘she-shone’, elevation 3m, population 270,000, founded in the 5th century BC, largest city in Asturias, though not the capital, which is Oviedo.

And speaking of the Asturian capital, that’s where Matthieu is headed after diverging from the Camino del Norte earlier today. As you can see from their very helpful pointing in this photo, Matthieu is going to join the Camino Primitivo (that way, while David and I continue on the Camino del Norte (this way).

I’m not sure if this sign is any more helpful, Gijón seemingly in the sky!! Mind you we did hit a steep ascent a kilometre or so after the two paths diverged! 

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Half way up that climb we met Jack taking a breather. Jack is 82 and comes from California. He is walking his second Camino and he said he is finding this route a bit lonely. He asked if he could walk with us for a while, so once more I find myself in a little trio.

Jack, is a real goer. He struggled a bit with the hills at 82 but he kept a pretty good pace on the flat. In the past he has climbed Kilimanjaro, Everest bass camp, the Inca trail, and various other enormous peaks in Bolivia, Russia, and other places.

Over the hill, a beautiful valley opened before us. The was the promise of a cafe in a little village half way across that valley but alas, it was closed( which seemed like a bad business model as numerous pilgrims, walkers and bikers were wandering up and down that valley.

Gijón in the distance.

And close up.

It turns out the Gijón half marathon is being run today. These guys were well ahead of thousands of others. I was staggered at the speed they ran!

Gijón was the domain of the Romans back in the late ventures BC, in fact it was the starting/end point of a significant ancient Roman Road, the Via de la Plata which runs north, south across Spain. Much of this route is now part of the Camino vis de la Plata. I walked a large slab of that route when I joined it at Merida from the Camino Mozárabe in 2023. 

Underneath this section of plaza, (right in front of the church in earlier photos) is a carefully excavated Termus Romanus- Roman Baths.

So much history in this place!

Tonight, I have been kindly offered a spare bed in the pension that David is staying in. I’m grateful as I had been unsuccessful in securing anywhere else to stay. It turns out it is a long weekend in Spain and accommodation in Gijón is at a premium. Once more, ‘the Camino’ has provided.

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