Walking in Portugal and Spain 2025: The Camino, Stage 10 — June 7, 2025: Asturianos to Requejo (28 km)

10 - 25°C — Blue skies

By Jim

Last night we shared a small dormitory with two new pilgrims: Holger, an aged German wanderer who, after his 34 km stage, wondered if “this Camino was just too hard,” and Jesus, a Spaniard whom we had served in Zamora a week ago. Although both were sound asleep when Laurel and I snuck out this morning, neither had slept well and were restless most of the night.

We quietly ate our breakfast, including backpack cafe con leche (Nescafé with milk), and packed up in the kitchen before exiting the albergue at 5:30. We nearly tripped over a cyclist sleeping on the floor in the porch. I’m not sure why he was there, as there were several empty beds available in the three dorms.

We had another long (for us) stage today and needed a headlamp for the first thirty minutes to keep us on the trail and out of the mud. The route to our midpoint, Puebla de Sanabria, was how we imagined this Camino would be: a combination of shady wooded trails and meadow paths. Set on the Rio Tera, at the foot of the 15th century hilltop castle, it was easy to see why this town has a designation as one of Spain’s most beautiful villages.

The second half of our trek soon become what we hate about the Camino: highway walking. For nearly an hour we endured the heat and walked single file on a narrow shoulder of tarmac. It zapped our strength and urged us to forego the albergue and consider staying at the hotel next door instead.

Luckily, the beautiful forested Camino returned along with our strength and spirit. When we arrived at Requejo, we walked up to the albergue and kept going; the forest bathing we had just experienced had not washed away the idea of a private room with shower!