I was pretty much out of the mountains at this point, and my sixth day on this Camino was generally a slow downhill, with a 2 mile climb about 11 miles into the day. The route starts out following the A-66 Spanish Interstate-level highway and the Lena River. It was much more pleasant when the river came between the Camino and the A-66. Overall, however, this was the ugliest scenery that I encountered on any Camino. Very industrial and loud.
It was ugly enough that I pondered continuing all the way to the end of this Camino, in Oviedo. Ultimately, I decided to stay at a hostel before Oviedo and waited in Mieres about a half hour for Lies to catch up so we could have lunch together. We ate lunch under on a street turned into a pedestrian walkway, then enjoyed a photo op with the sculpture of the barista pouring cider. After Mieres, our route was prettier as it climbed up and away from the A-66 highway.
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| A mining town is seen tucked into a river valley. It reminded me of West Virginia. |
Lies and I stayed in the Albergue Luz past Mieres. Though Mieres is a large town, the only albergue is a dormitory in a university there. My friend Mauro from my Camino Lebaniego stayed there a few days before I passed through and did not recommend it. (He didn't recomend Mieres, either, and I agreed - it was the last in a line of somewhat tired old mining towns.) Mieres has lost about half of its population over the past 60 years, as mining became less prevelant in the region.
Staying further on at the Albergue Luz would give us a short hike the following day into Oviedo. Mauro recommended Luz, though I'd already decided that was where I would overnight.
Luz had some rather tepid reviews online, but I thought it was one of the best places I stayed at during my entire journey. No doubt that was in part because Lies and I were the only two overnight guests - so she bunked downstairs and I was upstairs with a balcony. Being the only person upstairs meant that I had my own bathroom! The albergue is set up so that accessing the kitchen requires you to go outside to get to it. I didn't see that as a problem, though some reviewers complained. It was a clean, modern facility and we never saw the owner - she texted us a pin code to open the door lock.
Luz is also a relatively new hostel. Looking at Google Streetview from April 2024 shows an ediface without a balcony and with a garage where the kitchen now stands.
I enjoyed sitting on the new balcony with a supermarket-bought beer and watching activities at the bar next door! We both obtained provisions for the next day at the supermarket. Luz proved to be a much better choice to stay than if we stopped in Mieres and was one of the most delightful places I stayed at on my trip. I felt lucky that I had an entire room to myself.
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