After yesterday’s gruelling ups and downs, we knew we had to get an earlier start when it was still cool. Our burst of morning energy drains away quickly after 11 o’clock when the temperatures skyrocket. Today it reached a high of  29° but it felt hotter. We must have looked like something the cat dragged in when we finally reached Pola de la Gordon at 2 o’clock.

Back to our early morning… We left the municipal albergue in Cabanillas almost an hour before sunrise. The full moon was sinking behind the hills as we set out through an oak forest, finding our way by the light of my cellphone. As soon as the sky began to lighten, the birds started chirping like someone had flipped a switch. The sounds of the birds and the rushing river below were idyllic and added to the already beautiful atmosphere of the morning glow.

Because we were walking in a valley, the sun didn’t hit us until 9 o’clock when we arrived in La Robla, a big town with a fossil-fired power plant. This is where we finally had breakfast and got our first sello (stamp) for the day in our pilgrim passports. We are supposed to get two stamps a day in order to receive our Salvadorana (proof of completion) when we reach Oviedo.

We have a great little room here with bathroom at Pension Cinco de Mayo in Pola. Now that we’ve showered, done the laundry, and had our cervezas we can relax before dinner. Ciao!