Salas - Tineo - Borres - Berducedo - Grandas de Salime

The albergue here in Grandas de Salime has functional WiFi. Mordac apparently has not gotten here yet.

We have had a good few days of walking. The weather has not been good but the walking has been very good.

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Today’s Prayer

Celtic Prayer

The Path

God bless the path on which you go God bless the earth beneath your feet God bless your destination.

God be a smooth way before you A guiding star above you, A keen eye behind you, This day, this night, and forever.

God be with you whatever you pass, Jesus be with you whatever you climb, Spirit be with you wherever you stay.

God be with you at each stop and each sea, At each lying down and each rising up, In the trough of the waves, on the crest of the billows.

Each step of the journey you take.

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Hospitales Route

The preferred launch point for the Hospitales is Borres. Borres has a municipal albergue which is best described as austere. The lady who runs the albergue was very nice and prepared a very enjoyable peregrino meal the evening before the Hospitales route.

The Hospitales route was physically challenging. The weather permitted walking the Hospitales route but definitely did not encourage it. For most of the day we walked in a cold rain with high winds. The high route through the Hospitales is about 16 miles and about 3,800 feet of elevation gain:

Here’s a video of our day on the Hospitales

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Berducedo to Grandas de Salime

The Hospitales route finishes in Berducedo. Berducedo is a nice little town and the albergue was very nice.

The route from Berducedo to Grandas de Salime is the steepest part of the walk so far. It was 3,550 feet of vertical gain and more than 4,600 feet of vertical loss. After the climb out of Berducedo, the walk downhill to the lake was steep and long.

Here is a video of the route from Berducedo to Grandas de Salime:

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A Cautionary Note on Equipment

When preparing for the Camino, I watched quite a few videos. Many (almost all) of them specifically recommended not having waterproof shoes. Their rationale was that you could “walk them dry” the next day. We have had several days of rain with very wet and muddy trails. I’ve been very glad to have high-top Goretex boots. My feet are dry, the inside of my boots are dry, and my socks are dry. If my shoes were not waterproof, I’d be having problems. If you do the Camino, wear waterproof shoes.

We’ve seen quite a few walkers in ponchos. Ponchos are minimally sufficient in the rain until the wind blows. Then, they are not adequate. A good quality rain suit beats a poncho every time. You’ll perspire a little bit and you’ll be a bit clammy but you will remain dry and the rain suit will shed the wind. Every walker that I saw with a poncho would have been better off with a decent rain suit (jacket and pants).

The videos are made by content creators, not by actual outdoors experts … nuff said.

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