Day 13: From Viveda to Comillas

Date	July 27 ( Saturday )
Weather	Temperature in the high 70s today with lots of sun. Humidity was less than previous days.
Today's Distance:	19 mi / 28 km
Route and Stats
Total This Camino:	107 miles.
Total 2024 Caminos:	220 miles
Total All Caminos:	2220 miles
Lodging:	AirBnB @ $ 104
Total Lodging:	$ 656
Planes:	$ 1500 (round trip)
Total Planes / Travel Insurance:	$ 2100 / $ 246
Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$
Total Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$ 195
Food:	$ 20
Total Food:	$ 282

On The Road

7:15 a.m. Start

9:15 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. @ 6.0 mi. Santanilla medieval town. Walked around admiring the ambience, then took a coffee and orange juice break.

11:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. @ 8.0 mi. Iglesia de San Pedro rest stop / eat. Chatted with a young man from Finland. Took some rest in the shade.

1:30 - 1:45 p.m. @ 10.5 mi. Iglesia de San Martin, Cigüeña. It was an unexpected treat because the docent was there. She gave us the history of the church in this small town. Construction started 1750s. The founder was born here but went to Peru to seek his fortune and never returned.

2:30 p.m. We came across a fiesta for the local hermita restoration. I didn't want to interrupt because it looked like a private party, but Mary said hello to one of the people and in turn received an invitation to join them. As a result, the people of Novales invited us to eat and drink and participate in their celebration of the restored chapel.

3:30 p.m. Stopped at an ice cream kiosk to discuss final plans of whether to take the highway or stay on the Camino. Also, we need to straighten out some confusion with the owner of our our unit tonight. Apparently the manager can't wait around for us to arrive. After some negotiations, Deb suggested that the manager bring the keys to us, and this was agreed to.

7:00 p.m. Stopped at the supermarket to stock up.

7:30 p.m. 12 hours later we finally made it to the Airbnb.

Random Thought of the Day

It's going to be a long day. Our expectation is approximately 18 Mi.

I can only hope that distances between the towns are as reported in our guidebooks.

Meaningful Moment / Notable Memories

So it's around 10:30 a.m. and we are walking through some really verdant countryside. It's been an excellent walk and we are only about 6 mi in.

We're crossing the foothills of the Cantabrian mountains, which are off to our left.

All day long, it's little ups and downs, ups and downs, ups and downs.

But what is truly impressive, and no camera will ever capture the picture book look of it, is how green and alive the valleys below us look.

There's corn fields on both sides; herds of cattle on both sides. And we are walking through a literal symphony of greens: grass, crops, bushes, trees.

And the weather is really playing an important part. I'd say the temperature right now is in the high 60s and humidity is less than it has been. The sun for pretty significant periods is behind clouds.