Camino del Norte Day 25: La Isla to Villaviciosa

We left early this morning, intending to do an easy 15 km to the Sebrayu albergue. The weather was beautiful and the rural scenes idyllic. We arrived at the Sebrayu albergue around 12:30pm. It is a little former schoolhouse in a tiny tiny hamlet in the middle of nowhere. There are signs by the door for a restaurant that will deliver dinner since there is nothing closeby. Apparently there is also a “ambulatory store” (small shop in a van) that comes by in the afternoon.  Arriving so early, we didn’t feel ready to stop and spend the rest of the day in the tiny albergue so we decided to press on to Villaviciosa, another 6km. Villaviciosa does not have any albergue, but several hotels and hostales advertise special rates for pilgrims. We looked at Hostal del Sol (€24 for a dbl room with shared bathroom) and Hotel Carlos I (€30 for a double room with private bathroom and breakfast).

We went with the hotel and were very glad we did. It was a luxurious, quirky little place, lavishly decorated with rich brocade fabrics. Our room even had a little loveseat (we are always excited to have something soft to sit on, a rare treat on the Camino).  We both took hot bubble baths and caught up on emails with the wifi.

I went out to the shop and got fixin’s to have a taco salad for dinner (ham and cheese sandwiches are wearing thin…)  There was a knock on the door in the evening, and our breakfast was delivered (with hot coffee in a thermos) so that we could enjoy an early breakfast the next morning (most cafes don’t open until 9 or 10am.) We slept amazingly well in the dark, quiet room and our thermos of coffee was piping hot in the morning, as promised. Considering that many youth hostels cost €15 per person, this hotel was a phenomenal deal and a great way to catch up on rest.