Sunday Oct 23. Soto del Barco to El Pito. 3hrs, 12km. We took a bus from Aviles to Soto del Barco.
We decided to take the bus to Soto del Barco. This easy morning allowed us to view Niemeyer’s buildings in the morning sun and catch the rainbow ending in our hotel.
We made our way to the 12th century Romanesque Iglesia de Los Padres Franciscanos, where we enjoyed some spiritual time.
We had cafe solo, before making our way to the bus depot. We met Jerry & Phoebe, who were taking the bus to Ribadeo. Jerry shared that he had to take in his belt by three notches since the start of his Camino! Yikes, I do not ‘pass Go’ and may have to return to Irun! Nope, not on the cards.
The bus driver understood our plans. Seems that he had ferried others on the same leg. After disembarking, we started our walk. Essentially via inner roads, through dirt paths and through residential areas. We were able to catch some great surrounding scenery.
We walked our way to Muros de Nalon. Our adventure begun as we started the final 5km to El Pito, where we would spend the night. The overcast skies were about to rain. And rained it did.
Fortunately, the route took us through a forest where the trees gave us some shelter. It was very windy too. That sort of howling wind through the trees. This forest path was probably 1.5km. We were lucky that nothing fell on us as we saw a relatively large fallen branch later on smack in the path. And amazingly, as we turned a corner, the wind and rain stopped. Quite an unforgettable experience.
The final stretch into El Pito was on paved roads. We reached our lodging in good shape and spirits.
The story of the rainbow is about a promise that the world will never experience another civilization ending flood. For us, the rainbow delivered a day that was better than it would have been otherwise.
Journey Within 