Camino del Norte Day 16: Ribadasella to Colunga

I said goodbye to the sea today and I didn’t even know it. 

Leave it to me. As I left Ribadasella this morning blue skies reigned. Convinced that my finish town for today was on the water I dreamed of spending a lazy afternoon chilling on a nice sandy beach. I’ve wanted to do this since I started walking the Camino del Norte and it just never happened.

I always knew Northern Spain was on the cooler side, but I never realized how cool. As far as hiking goes, the weather has been gorgeous. With the sun out it will on occasion even feel warm. But the evenings are always on the chilly side. Not beach weather in the least. Today would be my day. I was convinced. Sure Michelle. Sure.

Within a couple of hours of leaving Ribadasella I could see the Camino del Norte rain gods were not with me. Ominous clouds above me it was just a matter of time. 

A last day walking along the sea on the Camino del Norte

The route itself was beautiful with lots of sea and beach views. The way out of town was really pretty. The sea was on one side with large Casas Indianas on the other. But it did, at some point begin to rain. It was not the drenching of two days ago. And certainly not the drenching of my day from Castro Urdiales into Laredo, but enough. Knowing it was a short day I simply powered. At some point, faced with a gorgeous stretch of deserted beach I decided, what the heck. I’m just going to go down there and spend some time with myself there, rain or no rain. It was perfect.

I’m glad I did. A short time later I would—unbeknownst to me— say goodbye to the sea for good on this Camino del Norte. I do have to add, this is one of the few stages where there is A LOT of Camino spirit along the way. From the murals, to the water fountains and the signs of encouragement placed by residents along the trail.

I always thought my finishing town of Colunga was on the sea. Maybe it was my hotel’s name, “Mar del Sueve.” I just didn’t look at the map close enough. No sea. 

What I did get was a beautiful little hotel. It’s a converted Casa Indiana and it’s the cutest thing. The town is small. After lunch I walked around town a bit, then retired to the garden where I’m sitting now enjoying a nice glass of Ribera del Duero. Tomorrow with only around 11 miles to walk I’m sleeping in!!

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Today’s Stats

Distance: 13 miles (20.9K)

Elevation Gain: 1,316 ft (401m)

Total walking time: 5:06 hrs

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Food and Accommodation

Breakfast: Cafe La Villa. Because my pensión didn’t have breakfast my alternatives were to go to a grocery store or find a place open early. This spot is one of the few that does and was already quite busy at 7:30am. Highly recommended for a quick something something before hitting the trail.

Hotel Mar del Sueve. This was without a doubt my favorite stay on the Camino del Norte. It’s a family-owned bed and breakfast located in a former Casa Indiana. The renovations are amazing truly preserving the character of the place. The owners are lovely people. The garden is gorgeous and the breakfast the next morning was fantastic with lots of freshly baked goods.

Dinner: Restaurante Bar Loreto. For a change I arrived in town at the back end of the lunch hour. This place was not even a block from my Pension. I went there on their recommendation. It was just OK. I once again tried the cachopo, but this time without all that gravy. Definitely much better that way, but it was still not my favorite dish.