Camino Primitivo IV, Berducedo to A Fonsagrada

May 14, 2024, Berducedo to Grandas de Salime.
It was still dark outside at 6:30. The upstairs was closed and there was nowhere to get breakfast, or even coffee. There was no shared kitchen in this Albergue.
It was raining when we set off. After about 5 km we arrived in the town of La Mesa and stopped at the pleasant Albergue Miguelin for coffees.
After crossing the Rio Navia we stopped at Hotel Las Grandas for our second café con leches of the day. Here we enjoyed some of the best coffee so far in Spain.
We checked into Albergue Porta de Grandas, the best Albergue to date. The staff recommended we go to nearby Hotel Reigarda for "menu del dia”, €13 each. We're getting used to this routine. Patsy and I would have shared a meal but the menu said no sharing and half portions were €10.
The coffee was really good but I especially liked the cups advertising their coffee, "Cafés el Globo", that were decorated with coffee beans in their different stages of roasting development.
Patsy and I have become obsessed with coffee since I bought a La Spaziale machine last December. We buy green beans from coffee farms worldwide, but mainly from Ethiopian farms (coffee originated in Ethiopia), and roast them ourselves.
Not long after Ken arrived back at the Albergue he said, "I have a surprise for you". He'd gone back to Hotel Reigarda and asked the guy behind the bar, who'd served us the coffees, if he could buy two cups and saucers. He was given two cups and saucers gratis!
13 miles
May 15, 2024, Grandas de Salime to A Fonsagrada
Last night's Albergue was the best so far. It had been raining during the night but was dry when we set off although this didn’t last long.
Only when we got our stamps at this halfway restaurant did we realize we'd crossed from Asturias into Galicia.
In places, the path was really muddy. At one point we crossed over an electrified fence to avoid a section of path that was a muddy swamp. Crossing back I used my pole to hold the electrified wire down but got a shock that made my toes tingle.
In the afternoon, Patsy was lagging a bit and said her right leg was sore. It was like a shin splint pain, she said, but higher up the leg. Coupled with the rain, this made us arrive at our lodging for the night at 4 pm.
This Albergue, Casa Castrelo, was €15 each and the bunk beds were really crammed into the dorm. I thought I would tip the entire bed over when I first tried to climb into the upper bed. A British-Thai couple, Andrew and Oi, was sleeping opposite Patsy and me. Andrew also had the upper bed so he was almost next to me. He got up to close the window. I told him it was going to get too stuffy but he complained he was freezing.
I woke up around midnight feeling way too hot, so opened the window.
I woke again at 4 am feeling a bit cold so I closed the window. In the morning Andrew couldn't understand why their clothes hadn't dried.
17 miles