Camino Primitivo Day 5-Tineo to Campiello 

Looking down on Tineo

Today we were headed to Campiello. Getting out of Tineo was easy since the yellow arrows and shell where right outside our hotel door. Every town we come into requires an uphill climb and Tineo was no different. The exception being that to get out of this little town you had to go downhill and then uphill again.

Tineo was founded by the Romans and there have been people living here since the Bronze era. Almost all the roads we’ve been traveling on date back to the Roman Empire. I’m not just touching history in the masonry of the buildings, I’m literally walking on it.

The walk to Campiello was 14 km and that short walk was a welcome relief on my feet which have now started to suffer from a severe case of plantar fasciitis. From here on out there are very few people along the way and no services until we arrive in Campiello. No water fountains at all. But at least the temps have dropped a little and the day is a bit overcast. We are glad that we are carrying 3 liters of water each since we’re easily drinking 2 liters per day.

Walk to Campiello

Billy walking to Campiello

We arrived in Campiello and were immediately greeted from afar by the folks we’d met on day one at the Escamplero albergue. Yami and Andy were shouting at us to come in their direction. That’s how we ended up choosing the private albergue-Casa Ricardo. We had to wait until they opened to move in but we were able to register at their cafe while eating some bocadillos and drinking a cafe con leche. I didn’t think we’d ever catch up with them after we went off schedule and stopped short in Salas. They arrived here the day before but the weather had been too bad to go over the Hospitales route (lightening was reported) so they, and a bunch of other people, had decided to wait it out.

When we arrived the temperature was comfortable for us in the range of 54F and still a bit drizzling. Funny how we ended up with several of the pilgrims from day one, all because of a little bad weather.  This was the first time I’d actually not felt hot all day. Temps were in the low 50sF and you could see the less hardy pilgrims wearing a lot more clothes. It really wasn’t that cold but I guess if your from Australia or Florida, anything below 70F feels like it’s freezing. I don’t understand how anyone can think that temperatures in the 50s is parka weather, but obviously those people exist 🙂

We finished our lunch and headed across the street to the albergue which was now open. It was cooler inside than I expected but once a couple of us started taking warm showers the place warmed up. They did switch on the heat around 8:30pm and it was just enough to take the edge off and sleep comfortably. They had plenty of thick blankets which very few people took but I used one to elevate my poor swollen feet.

This albergue was very nice. It has a few private rooms as well that can be reserved. The main albergue area is small but roomy. I think I counted 16 beds. You can see our bunks below in the foreground. Behind me and in a corner area are 6 more bunks. It was not full and the middle 4 bunks were empty.

My bunk is the bottom one in the second photo. Billy was convinced that I’d forget I was sleeping in a bunk bed and fall to my death in the middle of night. I think it was just his primal instinct to have the high perch 🙂

Casa Ricardo Albergue

Our bunks-Mine is the one on the bottom

The albergue had a washer and dryer which was convenient considering nothing was going to dry outside with the light rain that was still coming down. It also has a nice sized common area where people can heat up food or make coffee. We opted to go across the street to Herminia’s bar for dinner. She owns the other private albergue in the village and the second grocery store. The food was okay, the typical pilgrim menu choices of chicken, beef, or pork.

This was the only place where I was actually glad to have a sleeping bag. It wasn’t “cold” but it was nice to have a quilt to throw over myself that night. All the albergues have thick blankets but I like my soft nylon sleeping bag to cuddle up in. Tonight we all went to bed early since tomorrow was going to be very long 28km day over some tough terrain at altitude. The weather looked rainy but no lightening in the forecast. We’d all decided we were going for it regardless of the weather. Looking at the predicted temperature and dew point, I knew we wouldn’t have fog. But it was going to be rainy, windy, and cold. We were all asleep by 9:30 I think 🙂