Berducedo -
Grandas de Salime
- San Julián

We set off with toast and coffee in the local bar, and started off uphill past old homesteads, continuing with the extensive views over the surrounding countryside. At a little stone chapel we found a bag someone had left behind, and although Sue carried it with her all day, we never found its owner. At the top of the hill, we had a good view of the reservoir that we had to walk down to, but it seemed a long way away!

The way down was long and winding, but not too steep, and eventually we made our way across the dam and up to a restaurant, where we regaled ourselves with fish, potatoes and salad. From there it was uphill on roads and then old tracks into the town of Grandas de Salime, where we had hoped to stay, but found no free beds.

There, we spent some time looking around the Ethnographic Museum of traditional Asturian culture. which had a lot of fascinating exhibits, including beehives protected by bear-proof walls, which we realised we had seen in real life earlier that day!

It was late and starting to rain, so we took a taxi, driven by the mother of the lady in the grocery store, to apartments run by a south African and a northern Irishman who knew the town Angus grew up in. We were joined by six other pilgrims who also had not been able to find beds in the previous town.  We chatted with Manfred in German about nutrition, and with our hosts in English about food, gardening and everything in between, so we got late to bed!