June 15, 16 and 17 LLanes>Oviedo>Lugo>Sarria

It’s hard to believe we are wrapping up our third week of the Camino. We’ve pretty much created our own Camino by jumping around on different routes that look the most interesting to us. We’ve walked portions of the Frances, Del Norte, and Primitive Routes. We started on the Frances Route to hike through the Pyrenes; then took a bus from Pamplona to Irun so we could experience the Del Norte route with it’s reported beautiful seascapes and physical rigor – both accurate! We are nearing the final 100k of the walk and decided to rejoin the Frances Route, so we took what turned out to be a beautiful train ride down to Oviedo, followed by a car trip to Lugo. We have to admit, we enjoyed the break from walking, and our feet are much happier after a two-day break. I wore the lugs off the hiking boots I bought for the trip and had started sliding on rocks. I guess 500+ miles will do that. I bought a new pair in Oviedo yesterday.

Views from the train just don’t do the mountains justice. We saw several groups of people white water rafting which we’re guessing would be really fun and COLD!

The Cathedral in Oveido hold the treasure of the Sudarium of Oviedo -the “sweat cloth” thought to be the cloth that was wrapped around Christ’s head after he died. (https://whereisasturias.com/the-holy-shroud-of-oviedo-asturias/ or https://www.ncregister.com/blog/the-sudarium-of-oviedo-the-other-shroud-of-jesus ). The cloth is starting to deteriorate, so it is only brought out for display three times a year -and, alas, yesterday was not one of them. Also, most cathedrals have two towers, and because of some engineering issues, Oviedo was completed with only one.

King Alfonso was recorded as walking the Camino in the 900’s in his region of Asturias on what is called the Primitive Route -one we walked on, too, for a bit. So much history…

(Below) Lugo is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the Roman walls built between 263-276 AD. It is recorded that during the Middle Ages, pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela would pass through the gates of the Lugo walls! The church within the walls existed in its present site since 755 AD. Lots of renovations over the centuries has brought it to its current grandeur and its designation as cathedral and basilica.

It is said that everyone makes their own unique Camino, and we certainly did that! We’re looking forward to launching on the final stage to Santiago de Compostela with fresh legs and hiking boots