5 August - Day 11 - La Isla to Villavicosa 22km

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It’s an overcast and misty morning so not keen on an early morning swim. The water is just too chilly.

Check out at 8am. Walk back to the main road to return to the Camino route.  Immediately bump into Alfonso. What timing! We exchange stories of our afternoon, evening and where we stayed.
4km on a country trail of rocks, grass and dirt. We arrive into Colunga for breakfast. We like the feel of the town. Not sure what it is but we like it. 
Fueled for the morning we hit the road again.  Lots of hills and road walking. Soon we are drenched in sweat. Rain starts at about 11am. It’s not cold so put our cover on our packs and again enjoy the rain on our skin. It’s washes away the morning sweat. 
Arrive in the village of Sebrayo at 12pm. Our  albergue is closed and doesn’t open until 3pm. There is nothing else around to idly wait in the rain.  No cafe or bar, nowhere to get food, and no toilet. We push on. 

We have now walked through 5 villages with no amenities at all with the exception of a single vending machine, containing nothing particularly appealing.

Rain gets harder. Kim walks faster. It's tough walking. Lots of long steep hills, all on bitumen or concrete. It has no give and is brutal on the soles of your feet.

We start talking to another pilgrim. Olivia is from France and heading to Villaviciosa and it looks like we are now too. We walk the remaining 5km together on a track similar to this morning. The conversation makes the time pass quick, and helps us forget about our sore feet. The rain starts to subside. Clock up a trip total of 200kms. Kim does a soggy happy dance. 

Arrive in Villaviciosa at 1:30pm and get the last double room at the albergue - yay, another happy dance. Our room exceeds expectations and even has a tv and a balcony. 
Scrub the day away and then head for food. Next door to the albergue they have a menu of the day. As we sit down we spot Olivia with her friend Chavi from Barcelona and they join us. Once the menu is discussed in Spanish and English we order. It’s 3pm and breakfast was at 8:30am. We are famished. Gazpacho, salad, local bean soup, swordfish in cider, crumbed pork, white chocolate cheesecake, bread, wine and beer. Delicious and great company. 
Nap time. Kim has a solid 2 hours. The rain has stopped so we go out for a wander. 
Daz is done so heads back to the albergue and I find a panderia (bakery and tea room) for tea and cake. Hits the spot. 
Back to the albergue, update blog and bed by 10pm.

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