First Phase: Oviedo to what we thought it was Grado 22.5 KM

Saturday, May 24th, 2014

We took a plane from Frankfurt to Madrid to then took the Sunday morning train to Oviedo.

In Madrid, my Aunt Susy received us with all the "Credenciales", including one for the little one.

Madrid metro

It was a short stay with not enough sleep hours since the flight was delayed in Frankfurt and we arrived to Madrid at midnight. The next day we got up full of expectations to go to the Chamartin train station to take our train to Oviedo.

Sunday, May 25th, 2014

Once in Oviedo, we headed to the cathedral to put the first seal in our Pilgrim Credential and with it officially start our adventure.

In the picture below you can see the stroller we took and also the little push bike so the little one can have some fune while going at our pace (or faster!).

We had several discussions about whether the bike/stroller combination was the right one. We also own a special backpack for hiking, but looking back I think we took the best decision bringing the bike and the stroller. 

Oviedo main station

Emilia had enough comfort when she was tired without adding more weight to our backs.  She also had a lot of fun while going on the bike, helping us keep the needed pace to reach our destination every day.

The cathedral was closed so we got the first seal in a souvenir shop across the street, and headed to get some lunch/dinner to the "Sidreria" street. There we had a good sample of the food of Asturias and then visited the cathedral.

Monday, May 26th, 2014

We woke up at 5am and prepared everything to start walking at 6am while Emilia was still asleep. It ended being a very successful routine because on the hours where Emilia slept we were pretty fast. 

Usually in the first 3 hours of the morning we reached 10 - 12 kilometers of the path, leaving us enough time to walk and enjoy with Emilia before lunch.

First shell we found in Oviedo at 6h00

After Lunch she always has a nap, opportunity that we used to accelerate the pace again and reach our final destination for the day.

When leaving Oviedo we were nervous about not finding the path. There was a detour shield showing some construction work that made us even more nervous but it was no problem getting back to the Camino.

Very quick after starting walking you feel the peace of the woods and start enjoying nature. Some kilometers before Escamplero there is an extremely steep uphill stretch that burnt all our energy and we had to make a break in the middle of it to have breakfast and get some calories to burn. Emilia woke up then but she was complaining about it being too cold to get out of the stroller.

We found a Cafe to get something warm and started feeling what everyone was describing about doing the Camino... how much peace inside.

Breakfast at Escamplero

After the break, Emilia took the bike and started going, at the begining she was careful about going too fast.  After some hours, however, she got used to the freedom and started going faster even downhill.

There were many uphills and downhills but nothing so dramatic like the one at Escamplero and the views were so beautiful, the air so clean... what a wonderful adventure!

First day log:

05h00 - Wake up

06h00 - Start walking with Emilia still sleeping

09h00 - Emilia woke up at the middle of the uphill just before Escamplero 11.72 kilometers

09h00 - 09h30 - Small breakfast pause in the woods to gather energy to finish going up

10h00 - 10h40 - Break at the Escamplero Bar to have some hot coffee, a seal for our Credential and some rest

10h40 - 14h00 - Walking with Emilia and enjoying the wonderful views until Paladin 18,8 kilometers

14h00 - 16h00 - Emilia's nap, reached finally the entrance of Grado, we made a stop at the JoyJo Bar to realize that the hotel we chose (we were not sure whether it was a good idea to stay at albergues with Emilia) was in Sestiello, 1.5 kilometers in another direction and 8 kilometers before the albergue so we had to compensate all those kilometers on the next day.
Hotel we stayed at: Lacayo de Sestiello - very cute, very good service - not on the Camino

And one piece of advice: there are enough places to stay that are on the Camino, making reservations is a good idea but just one or 2 days in advance knowing how far and how tired you are. Once you reach a destination ask on the albergue, hostel or casa rural for advice about the next stop, that is the best way of enjoying the Camino and not killing yourself to reach a place when you are already too tired.

 
If you are not taking a kid with you then allow yourself to decide on the way where you would like to stay.  

All the albergues we saw were well kept and the ones we stayed at offered enough things to make the stay a comfortable one.

Next Stop Salas.....