Day 19: An odd day

For the last two days we have walked nearly 30K per day.  Our first 3 or 4 hours are great and we cover near 16K, we eat lunch and then, the afternoon can become a slog.  The inaccurate directions to the albergue did not make us happy campers.  All the signs pointed to a house, but no one answered the door.  When I called, we heard the phone ring inside.  Finally, a neighbor (remember many of these neighborhoods have a road fit for 1 small car) leaned out her upper floor window and with hand motions directed us onward.  About a K later we come to what looks like a school and we have beds (with 5 women and 4 men) for the night.  We are so tired we simply eat our emergency food (tinned sardines, 1/2 loaf of bread, and an orange each) and fall asleep---until the young german girls arrive shining their lights, clunking into things, and whispering loudly.  Ah life in a room with metal frame bunks and a dozen strangers.
We manage to sleep until nearly 7:00. It rained overnight, so my quick dry clothing, while not in the rain like some unfortunate folks, did not dry overnight.  Luckily, I had one dry shirt on, and as I told Pete, the shorts were like they would be in an hour or so anyway.  So onward.  . .
The morning was beautiful and instead of retracing our steps back to the Camino, we turn west for the next town, and followed some ad hoc markings to Colunga.  A pair of Austrian women (mid 60s?) who had been in the albergue with us also set out in that direction, while the noisy German girls followed the crumb trail back to the marked Camino.  Once again we walked through quiet country lanes, back roads, and small three house clusters.  The highest peaks of the Picos de Europa are behind us now so we no longer hug the coast.  As with everyday in Asturias so far, the air is periodically perfumed with the scent of roses, as wild or in someone's garden, they are everywhere.  Well, Colunga is just 4K from the albergue so it is perfect for morning coffee and tortilla time (especially since we ate our last food--a couple of 1€ packs of sliced cured pork tenderloin, called lomo, and and apple each).  We sit in streetside tables of the same bar as the Austrian women, enjoy our fare, make a little small talk, and as we hoist our on our packs after a leisurely 20 minutes who should struggle into view--the noisy Germans.  The Austrian women go into the motions of an apparently universal expression of minor triumph:  they clench their fists, arms bent, forearms forward, slight pumping motion, and 'yessssss' quietly escapes their lips: a moment of less than compassionate satisfaction with a noisy in the night others minor misfortune that I confess I shared.
We planned to stop in the next town (about 8K) for rest and replenishment.  The Camino passed the albergue for the town, I drank from my water bottle (22 oz in the thing), and we move on expecting to come into town with fountains, supermercado, and bars.  Well, as I said of the vagabond life---you take what you get, because you can't get anything else.  We had planned a 'short' day, 22K total.  We had not planned to do it in one long stretch with no food or water.  None of the very small villages had fountains.  Indeed we walked theough at least 4 hamlets in which we saw only dogs, cats, and beautiful flowers.  Where the people were is a mystery.  Well, I usually pound down the water--all 22 oz at a pop and refill at every fountain.  Luckily I've maintained a bit of Pete's water disciple for there is none to be had for hours.  We walk up (and down) one hill after another.  We keep expecting to find a place to sit take off our boots, drink and nibble.  Nope. We walk 18K without a real break, stumble into Villaviscosia an hour earlier than planned, decide on a pension because frankly, we feel more whipped today than after our 30K days.  The room has a real luxury, a tub.  I indulge as does Pete and we both become Spanish and enjoyn a siesta.  Now at 6:00 we are about to go to the market to get supplies and a bit of dinner.  An odd day on this great adventure.  This pilgrimage of discovery and wonder.