I sat in a cool metal chair of a sunlit cafe table in Ribadesella. I was eating lunch with the Annies, Aiden, and Maddie. Once again, I made the decision to walk ahead, reluctantly leaving the Annies behind, but this time with the company of Aiden and Maddie. After we cleared our coffee dishes and packed up our assortment of oranges and trail mix we, said our goodbyes before turning back towards the Camino.
As we walked away, we heard a pair of women beckoning for attention. They sat in similar sunlit chairs puffing on hand rolled cigarettes. One young, the other old with greying hair and a large lump on her forehead. The older woman had an aura of an old hippie.
“The Camino is that way” she said, pointing in the opposite direction, “but you can just follow the beach, it connects with the Camino.” We thanked them and took the suggestion, walking along the long sandy white beach bordered by jagged black rocks along the coastal hillsides.
After enjoying a hike filled with rugged rocky coastlines, we rolled into yet another small Spanish town. It was pretty. Small buildings with bright colored paints of reds, blues, and yellows laid scattered across cobblestone streets leading to the coast, all nestled within rolling green hills. The occasional palm tree added a tropical feel, only accentuated by the heat and sunlight.
Walking down the cobblestone hill, we approached a group of 6 women, some middle aged some older, standing in the street. Their dog, a golden retriever, loped up to us and proceeded to absorb all of my attention. Without asking for help, the women went on to direct us to the supermarket, the beach, and a nice albergue right up the road. I pulled my attention away from the dog as we thanked them and headed off for a break on the beach.
We sat on soft rounded rocks that laid above the wet sand. Sunny but windy, we watched blue waves capped with white rushing water support the weights of surfers crashing into the surf. We ran into a couple of Camino friends, Julie from Berlin and Elena from St. Petersburg, sprawled out along the rocks. They were wrapped in leggings and windbreakers to fight the whipping sea breeze. The five of us enjoyed ourselves, eating ham and cheese sandwiches we shared vegetables, cream cheese, hummus and drinks.