Day 3 (May 8) Warming Up For The Show — 16 Miles

The walk from Salas to Tineo was the easiest of the three days comparatively. The length was the shortest but the temperature went up into the mid70’s with full sun and no wind. It was still hard but as a veteran of the CP said, “Wait until tomorrow. The next few days will be the most challenging of the CP.”

Rather than dwell on the future, the walk out of Salas reacquainted me with the couple from the Canary Islands whom I met on the first day. We took a selfie before we left town — Cristina, 47, and Jamie, 32. I also photographed them while they were ahead of me. They are strong walkers.

Like Day 2 out of Grado, the first quarter of the walk was uphill, a 500 meter climb. Although the elevation map shows the rest of this leg as relatively flat, my fellow hikers can attest that the short 100 meter climbs and descents can take a lot of energy. Off the roads, the paths are very uneven and are tricky because of the long muddy ruts on the unpaved dirt roads. Below is an image of an uphill dirt path.

A few times on every walk, I miss a sign or two and end off trail. Outside of El Espin, I ended up walking on the highway with no Camino signs to be seen. I decided to turn into the next village. I found a couple and asked them where the CP was. After trying to explain several times, Luis walked me to the CP. I thanked him and went on my way. After climbing more hills, I had second thoughts about leaving the smooth highway that was closer to Tineo than the winding route of the CP. But then again, one must follow the prescribed route.

I finally started downhill into Tineo. Wouldn’t you know — there was Cristina and Jamie at a sidewalk cafe enjoying what else, cerveza cana, draft beer). I ran into more people on the CP than I had anticipated — Mick from Cincinnati, Ilya from Miami, Ms Okikawa from Tokyo, two French women from Bordeaux, a pack of five Spanish women who glided along, and two Dutch women (Wendy and Netti) whom I met at the sidewalk cafe. The less traveled route?

About 200 meters downhill was my hotel, the Palacio de Meras. My room was spacious and the towels were some of the fluffiest I had ever experienced. Dinner was superb. The salad was ample and so fresh; the fish was firm and the sauce had the right touch of garlic (note the fish knife); and the waiter poured me a glass of Albariño and the local Asturian white. What more can one ask to end the day.