Hospitales
At 9 in the morning on the dot, I leave Campiello. The morning is very cold, so I set off with all my clothes on. But before leaving I go to say goodbye to the hostel owners, and I tell them a white lie so they won’t worry.
Don’t worry, I’m going down to Pola de Allande and up the Palo pass, I’m not going over HospitalesA lie. I’ve heard great things about the Hospitales route, named after the old pilgrim hospices along it, and I intend to take it. There’s no snow, no fog... and the climb will help me warm up. In Borres I turn right and take this beautiful route. It spares me going down to Pola de Allande and having to climb the Palo pass; instead I stay up high and reach the top from above. But staying high doesn’t make it any easier. The climbs are hard, so hard in fact that some are impossible with the panniers. At one point I can’t even get up pushing the bike, so I have to take the panniers off, push the bike up without them and, once at the top, go back down for them. Still, the route is worth it. The views are stunning.
Once over the Palo pass, the descent begins. The fog is thick, so I wrap up well and let myself roll. I soon reach Berducedo, where I can get something to eat. I order a ham pincho and they bring me an enormous sandwich; I reckon filling my belly will do me good. Berducedo is a small village right at the start of the descent to the Grandas de Salime dam. From here a path goes down to the dam, but I can see time is running out on me. The Hospitales route has taken me a long time and I still have to climb up to Fonsagrada, so I decide to stay on the road. I go down to the dam and start the climb.
The climb is hard and long. It looks as if it ends in Grandas de Salime, but no. I keep gaining height and clocking up kilometres on the road, and finally reach Fonsagrada. I’ve earned a good plate of octopus, haven’t I?