Sept 20 – Tineo

“Blisters fade, aches ease, but the resilience you carry forward from each step endures.”

We were cheered onward as we left the comfort of the Albergue in Bodenaya this morning, with the owners standing outside and waving as we went on to our next adventure. Todays destination is the city of Tineo.

Tineo’s history stretches back to prehistoric and Roman times, when the area was notable for gold mining, and it gained importance in the Middle Ages after King Alfonso IX granted it a charter in 1222. Today you find it surrounded by cattle farming, especially dairy production. Livestock has traditionally been one of the main pillars of its economy.

The trail out of Bodenaya started with an upward steep climb, as though testing my resolve right from the start. I could feel my legs burn.. but with each step the world opened to velvety green hills and meadows filled with cows lifting their heads, meeting my eyes with a calm that felt like quiet encouragement. I felt deeply connected to it. The earth alive under my feet, its scent rising with every stride: damp soil, crushed grass, a whisper of wildflowers. When the rain began to fall, soft and scattered, we all stopped to put on our ponchos. Instead of feeling burdened, I felt welcomed. The drops released that tender fragrance I love…sweet like moss, wild herbs, and the clean bite of wet stone. It filled me with both nostalgia and renewal, leaving only the simple joy of being here, now, on this path.

The beauty here is almost overwhelming…hills rolling away in endless shades of green, valleys opening like secrets just revealed. You almost forget your continuously climbing. The air so crisp and cool, the kind that wakes every sense, and as the rain sprinkled down it felt as if the world itself had brightened, as though someone had turned on a hidden light to unveil the valley in all its clarity and grace.

Along the trail we came across a small chapel: Parroquia de Santos Justo y Pastor in El Pedregal. We all stopped to get a stamp in our pilgrim passports and get out of the rain for a moment. I lit a candle for Tiffany, my mom and dad.

Continuing on, led into more forested canopies with ferns and moss cooling the trail.

As we grew closer to Tineo, stone building led its way to more civilization, with Tineo in our sights.

Finally arriving in Tineo, the town was larger than I anticipated. But yet its European charm just welcomed us in.

My thoughts:

Today left me both tired and deeply alive. Walking the Camino Primitivo isn’t always easy..the climbs test my body, and the descents demand my focus..but somehow the beauty makes every challenge feel small. I kept catching myself pausing, just to take it in..the rolling countryside, the play of shadows on the hills, the quiet that feels almost sacred. Pictures can’t hold what it feels like to actually be here, breathing it in, step by step.

As I walked, I felt gratitude welling up..gratitude for the strength to walk, for the chance to be in this place with my friend Kathleen, for the reminder that even when the road is hard, it can also be filled with wonder. Today wasn’t just about distance covered..it was about being present, about letting the landscape speak to me in ways I didn’t expect.