Camino del Norte Day 27: Muros de Nalón to Castañares

May 16, 2025

Breakfast at a bakery in Muros de Nalón

When I rounded the bend, a wide, verdant valley spread out before me like a painting. Clouds touched the mountains in the distance with a fresh spring air made everything come alive.

Some of the biggest ferns I had ever seen!

In the town of ____ I met up with Yardena, Ewan, Paul, and several other pilgrims for lunch. Yardena and I walked the rest of the way together as far as Castañares. I was grateful for her company, especially when going through dark tunnels.

Dark tunnels are less scary with a companion

There was a stream crossing, but we rock hopped across it without having to take our boots off.

Yardena rock hopping across a small stream

When I reached Castañares, I checked into the albergue. Luz, the hospitalera, exuded the meaning of her name: light. I was the only woman at the albergue that night, so Luz gave me a private room upstairs.

“You are a woman. You don’t want to sleep with the men. They are smell and they snore,” she said, exaggerating a sonorous snore.

Private room in Albergue Castañares

After showering and repacking, I explored the quiet, home-like upstairs of Albergue Castañares. The hallways and rooms were painted in bright colors, and generous windows let in the golden afternoon light. Everywhere was clean and well cared-for; not the tiniest detail was overlooked.

The upstairs kitchen

I made myself a cup of tea and sat down to write in my journal. It seemed that my pen could not write fast enough to capture the all stories, places, and moments of the past few days.

The dining room and train tracks outside

While the laundry was drying on the line, I walked barefoot through the fresh grass and played with the dog, Audrey. The afternoon was still and clear, as if spring had tasted a cool draught of fall. Audrey responded to my energy with leaps and bounds, darting across the grass and coming to a sliding stop in front of me like a quarter horse.

Audrey, the dog (short for Audrey Hepburn)

In the evening, Luz and her husband prepared a pilgrim dinner for all the travelers. Although there were only seven of us, five countries were represented at the table: England, Germany, Holland, South Korea, and the United States. We talked about cars, the stock market, and how far each of us had walked that day. It was fun to socialize and chat, but I was grateful for my own room that evening.