Day 6 Stats:
Distance = 55.61 km
Elev Gain = 1.254 m
Time = 3h 40m
I left Aviles at 6:51am to have a bit of a quiet start to the day out of the city. I prefer early starts just because there is less traffic and I don’t have to be so stressed about it. Speaking of traffic; for the most part drivers give you a ton of leeway. In cities they will NOT pass unless the oncoming lane is clear for them to overtake and on the bigger roads there was perhaps 1 or 2 times where it felt like a car or bus passed me a little too closely. Being back home, now as I type, this all of that consideration is mostly gone.
Getting to Cadavedo feels like it was quite uneventful, however the amount of climbing for the distance I rode felt like a lot and there were 2 intense hike-a-bike sections as well. Both, if memory serves, were rather frustrating and I am pretty sure I shouted into the sky at some point. All the brambles and slipping just got to me.
There were some nice downhill sections and curving roads and I THINK this was also the coldest morning maybe? I recall a morning where my teeth were chattering as I went down the descents. I digress. I arrived at the small tucked away municipal Albergue, no one there yet, so I proceeded to again wash the clothes I had ridden in. Luckily it was quite sunny at this point so I was confident my clothes would dry by evening (which they all did).
Eventually the young nurse who opens and operates the Albergue arrived, I paid the going rate and selected a bunk. I was alone and lonely for about 4 hours (including waiting for her to arrive). This was quite boring, but sometimes boredom is a good thing. A van somehow got stuck in the mud outside the Albergue, so I had to help drive it out while the two passengers wedged wood underneath the wheels and pushed from behind. We struggled a little bit, but after about 10 minutes managed to get it out. Maybe the universe giving me a way to give back for the kindness that had been forwarded to me a few days prior?
An Aussie man named David eventually checked in at about 15:30, so I finally had some company. We had some good conversation before he took a shower and went to find lunch. The hospitalera (host) had left me in charge to let her know when other people arrived so she could come back and sign them in and receive payment. At 5pm a German gentleman arrived and I told him the situation. He was expecting two more friends that were trailing him.
It ended up just being the 5 of us in the Albergue. Myself and David sharing the one room with 4 beds an the 3 German folks sharing the other. David told me this story that resonated quite deeply with me and here is my recollection of it. He was walking and a good ways in front of him was a Korean man; I believe he said. The man stopped and reached into a ditch on the side of the road. He had found an old gentleman who had fallen into said ditch.
So, he helped him out and took his pack, strapped it to the front of his chest and walked the rest of the way carrying both their packs and helping the old man along as well. I thought about this a lot in the coming days and because of the help that was given to me. Sometimes we’re the Korean man, helping someone out and sometimes we’re the old man, being helped out.
I thought this to be quite poetic in a sense and I found an even deeper appreciation for the help I had received in La Isla and Gijon. Now, I have no way of knowing if the story is true, but I don’t think that is the point. It’s almost like a parable for life, so the truth of it almost doesn’t matter all that much.