3.07.14 Thursday Villaviciosa to Deva (nearly Xixon).
Farewell to the Carlos1 with a good breakfast plenty toast and coffee etc. This is a recomended stop for anyone on this route.And off out of VillaV towards the little church on the outskirts in Amandi. It is a nice little church with a big porch in which a fellow pilgrim is sleeping. Even those sleeping rough get supiperior accomodation in VillaV .
Onward and upward we say hello and goodbye to Rachael an Australian who has given up a job in the UK and is walking the world. We may meet in Santiago she is off up the Primitivo so may arrive before us.
On the way to the parting of the caminos we meet a man collecting caracoles (snails to eat) he is wearing clogs, they appear to be specially made to fit his slippers and have rubber knobs on the bottoms!
There are two significant hills today to return to the coast, VillaV being at the head of a long estuary. We start to climb and everyone goes at their own pace. Geof and Ray are lollygagging at the rear and miss a vital turn, 300m up later we stop and wait. And text and wait and text they are off route and will catch us up. This happens just as a bar comes in view down the hillside. Typical. But it is closed with a drinks machine outside we don’t stay long. Soon we are off up the second hill and then together down to the coastal plain outside Xixon or Gijon depending on political view. The campsite appears on the lrft and we roll through the gate having found an open village shop (sort of a bar with customers and owners older than us) that sold beer. We also spotted a cooperage presumably making barrels for the local cider makers.
23km or 25 for Ray and Geof with 960m of measured ascent which we feel may be believable.