The Camino San Salvador.....continued.

As I mentioned in the first description of the Camino San Salvador, arriving to Campomanes, it was necessary to take a hotel.  The bonus of a pilgrim discount was nice, great food always appreciated, spending an evening with the cyclists was unforgettable but another thing that I remember very fondly is having a full size towel!!!
After weeks of my teeny tiny hair towel and barely larger body towel, I luxuriated in the full size bath towel.
See my watch in this photo for perspective....

 I contemplated having a second shower before leaving next morning just to enjoy the feeling a second time.  But my conserving the environment nature along with knowing that some parts of Spain have a severe water shortage, although not this area, changed that thought.
Although, I did enjoy the super king sized bed and started a little later than my usual very early morning get up and on the road schedule.
After such a challenging day previously, this day was a joy walking along a river and mostly on a pathway shared by other local walkers, runners and cyclists.  Arriving to Mieres was a bit of a shock...a large, thriving, mining city of over 40,000 people.  Fortunately the albergue was located in the old part of town which is also famous for its 'Siderias'.  This word refers to an establishment that serves a very potent apple cider...but the interesting part is that it must be poured into a glass from a height of about a meter or the farthest distance between the bottom hand holding the glass and the bottle in the upper hand creating bubbles or foam that wake up the taste of the cider.

This is a long standing tradition and the city of Mieres has a statue to commemorate it.  I would not be at all surprised to find out that this is one of those traditions protected under the UNESCO list of 'Intangible Cultural Heritage'.

Well, of course I am going to try the cider....the next two photos show my own personal bottle of cider and having it poured by the waiter who is holding the glass inside a special barrel which helps keep the restaurant a little dryer.  As you can imagine...there is a whole lot of splashing going on.  However, outside on the terrace or patio, the pouring is done without this special protection.  Another curious aspect to this tradition is that the cider comes in quite a large bottle (for sharing) and you also share the glass.  It is important to drink the cider while the foam produced from pouring from the high altitude is still present....but leave just a mouthful which you then throw on the ground as a way of cleaning the part of the glass your mouth has touched before a serving is poured for the next person.  Hence, walking anywhere near these establishments means walking over a very wet and a bit sticky surface.

Did I like it???  Well, I only had to summon the waiter the one time and hoped they might gift the almost full bottle to another customer.

Returning to the albergue after enjoying this unique Austurian tradition, I was met by a trio of hikers from Portugal; Jesus, Rosa and Maripalma.  I thought that my walking the distance between Leon and Oviedo in 5 days was an accomplishment but they were doing it in 4 days!  And this was a very special day for Maripalma as it was her birthday.  She mentioned that some friends asked why she would spend her birthday doing this, but we both understood what a perfect way it is to celebrate yourself!

We walked together off an on over the next 20 km to Oviedo where, with our credentials stamped to prove we had made the trek, we were allowed to visit the beautiful Cathedral of San Salvador for free and also qualified for the Salvadorana or certificate of completion.

Having reached the city of Oviedo I was now ready to change gears and be a tourist and enjoy a few days of hiking without the backpack.  I had decided to take 3 days to visit the beautiful hiking area known as the Picos of Europa, then continue again on yet a different camino....the Camino Primitivo.  This route is about another 320 km before it connects with the French route where I oringinally started in France.
After checking the bus schedule, I had an hour an a half to spare and spent it enjoying a typical Austurian feast of Fabada; a thick bean stew flavored by 3 to 4 different kinds of embutidos or sausages; lacon, tocino, chorizo and morcilla.  All the flavor of the garlic and smokey paprika is joined by a touch of saffron in the broth. This was followed by a hearty leg of pork....flavoured and cooked to perfection.

Do I eat to walk or walk to eat.....both I think!!!!

Here is a link to the Picos de Europa...enjoy!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picos_de_Europa#Geography