As is the way with so many long-awaited journeys, things don’t happen in the way we project…and that sense of optimism and adventure that we strive to embrace is put to its test.

Today is the day we were supposed to set off on our Camino… but we have had a few setbacks in the past couple of days since we left Edinburgh.

The main one to speak of is that one of our rucksacks was lost in transit and didn’t arrive with us.

It didn’t arrive the next day either, despite chasing up the case.

So by yesterday evening, when we were told “it hasn’t been found”, we had booked another night in our hotel and we started calling travel insurance companies and researching outdoor sports shops around Oviedo in order to replace our equipment.

Then there’s the small matter of medication. Our decision to check in one of our rucksacks came at the last minute. We decided (due to multiple flights that day) that carrying walking sticks could prove problematic at different airports, so we put both sets of sticks plus toiletries into one bag, and checked it in.

Bad decision.

I forgot about my medications in my toiletry bag.

So there have been phone calls to my travel medical insurance company and I have been looking up various options of obtaining prescriptions abroad.

But news just in today is that it appears the bag has now been found! It is apparently on a flight to Oviedo this morning. No delivery time available, though there is a promise of a phone call from the couriers. So we are primed for a later Camino departure today, or perhaps just staying one more night here and starting at crack of dawn. We are still embracing that spirit of adventure.

Another concern around the arrival in Asturias is that there have been several major wildfires in the area…the worst cases in decades… A local Asturias friend said it’s the result of a perfect storm of prolonged dry weather and climate change, poor forestry management, and an increase in tourism and, in this case, possible political arson. Some sections of the other Caminos leading to Santiago de Compostela have been closed.

On the day before departure, I picked up some precautionary FFP3 masks in case of noticeable wildfire smoke. But thankfully, so far, the air just seems full of opportunity.

Oviedo itself is a very beautiful town, absolutely buzzing with activity and vibrant with culture… there are museums of art, of archaeology, theatres, concert halls, ancient buildings, pre-Romanesque churches, parks, and endless bars and cafés spilling out onto the small backstreets and squares… such an inviting sight to see waiters constantly swirling in and out between tables, carrying enticing pinchos (small tapas spiked with a wooden pick) for anyone holding a drink!

Impossible to resist…