Camino del Norte part 10

As usual, before getting to my story of the Camino del Norte, I present my weekly logic puzzle.

Logic Puzzle

There is a jewel in exactly one of three boxes. Each has a statement inscribed on the outside of the box. At least one box has a true statement and at least one has a false statement.

Red: “The jewel is not in the yellow box.”

Yellow: “The jewel is not in this box.”

Green: “The jewel is in this box.”

Which box has the jewel?

Camino del Norte part 10

In parts 1 to 9 I went one day at a time. However, I plan to write my last newsletter on August 13, 2026. To finish the story by then, I plan to cover the rest of my adventure over this and the next three newsletters. This one will cover days 10 to 13, in which I traveled from Celorio to Muros de Nalón.

Day 10 (Mar. 27)

There was nothing open in Celorio when I was ready to leave, so just left on an empty stomach. Fortunately, as I approached the small beach city of Naves I ran into Steph, Torben and Lena enjoying breakfast. I sat down and joined their breakfast, kindly provided by a nice lady on a donation basis. It was good to catch up with them. None of them had seen Rahel since Steph and I shared an Albergue with her in La Franca two days earlier.

After breakfast, we walked together for a while, but I let my younger companions go ahead. It was at this point that I last saw Torben.

My guidebook indicated an Albergue in Ribadesalla. However, it was unlike any Albergue I had stayed at before on either of my Caminos. It was the European version of an RV campground with a few tents set aside for pilgrims of the Camino. Not only did I get a tent to myself, but I was the only pilgrim in all three tents. In the restaurant, I met a German who was riding his motorcycle across Europe to celebrate his retirement. He was very eager to learn about my adventures as a pilgrim. I recall we had an arm-wrestling match to determine who would pay for the next round of drinks, which I won, and chose to pay for them anyway. Later he let me sign his notebook of his journey. He was a quirky guy, much like my German cousin. I was sorry not to see him the following morning, but he was still sleeping. Distance covered = 27.2 kilometers.

Day 11 (Mar. 28)

This was one of the toughest days on my Camino. The morning was pleasant as it went along or near the coast. However, after La Isla, it turned inland as well as started raining. It was my goal for the day to get to a hotel in Pernús or the Albergue in Priesca.

Said hotel in Pernús was apparently closed for remodeling. I marched on through the rain by myself to Priesca. The Albergue there had a closed door with no indication whether it was open or closed. I knocked on the door and the lady who answered it said they would not open until April 1. After being rebuffed twice that afternoon, I didn’t want to take my chances walking in the rain to Albergues that would probably be closed in the next two small towns of Sebrayo and Muslera. So, I asked the lady who invited me in to call me a cab to take me to the next town that would certainly be large enough to have a place to stay, which was Villaviciosa. She kindly did and offered me a beer and snacks while I waited half an hour for the cab to arrive. The cab arrived and took me to Villaviciosa as requested. This would be the second time I cheated by using motorized transportation. In Villaviciosa, I stayed in a rather large and corporate Albergue that was about half full of people I didn’t know. I tend to suspect many of the so-called pilgrims in the Albergues in larger cities are people traveling on a small budget. Anyone can pay the two Euros to get a pilgrim’s credential.

Day 12 (Mar. 29)

When I went downstairs for a simple breakfast, I ran into Steph and Lena, who I met back on day 6. I had no idea they were there. Large urban Albergues usually have multiple rooms, each with about 12 beds in racks. Each room will have a door and you’re not supposed to go into rooms unless your own bed is in it. They were already finishing breakfast when we met, so we didn’t have much time to chat. The conversation was a bit chilly and I could tell they were trying to get going and didn’t want the company of an old man like me. This would be the last time I ever saw Steph.

This day I believe had the most elevation gain of the entire trip. From nearly sea level I climbed to an altitude of 437 meters to Alto La Cruz. After descending from that, I climbed another hill about half as high. The climbing, especially the first hill, was steep, muddy and brushy. The day was cloudy but fortunately it didn’t rain, although it seemed close to that point.

My stopping point was another RV campground called Camping Deva. This one was much larger and luxurious than the previous one in Ribadesalla two days earlier. It had a swimming pool, sports fields, store, bar and restaurant. It also offered Albergue-style lodging for pilgrims in a small room. Once again, I was the only pilgrim in the Albergue. Aside from the brief chat at breakfast, it was a lonely day without seeing any other pilgrims, much like the beginning of my Camino. The day rated poorly in terms of both scenery and socializing.

Day 13 (Mar. 30)

Day 13 began with a short walk into the large city of Gijón, with a population of 300,000. Not counting my starting point of Bilbao, it was the largest city I saw on the Camino del Norte and that includes Santander and Santiago. I spent about four hours looking about the city. By noon, I had run out of things to do.

Just west of Gijón is another large city, Avilés. As mentioned in my newsletter about Santander, I’m not big on walking through large urban cities. Yes, the downtown areas are fun, but they tend to be surrounded by big boring industrial areas and low-income apartments. So, as in Santander, I took a local train past the greater metro area of both Gijón and Avilés to the small town of Soto del Barco. This took longer than expected as I missed my intended train due to Spain’s daylight savings time, which takes effect much later than in the US. Nobody told me.

From there, I walked a short 3.5 kilometers to Muros de Nalón. There was not another Albergue for another 16.4 kilometers and I was worried it would rain, so I stayed at the La Naranja Peregrina Albergue there. I will save the story of my stay there for my next newsletter.

Logic Puzzle Answer

The jewel is in the red box.

Logic Puzzle Solution

Let’s assume the jewel is in each box, one at a time, and see which statements would be true.

If the jewel were in the red box:

Red: “The jewel is not in the yellow box.” — True

Yellow: “The jewel is not in this box.” — True

Green: “The jewel is in this box.” — False

If the jewel were in the yellow box:

Red: “The jewel is not in the yellow box.” — False

Yellow: “The jewel is not in this box.” — False

Green: “The jewel is in this box.” — False

If the jewel were in the green box:

Red: “The jewel is not in the yellow box.” — True

Yellow: “The jewel is not in this box.” — True

Green: “The jewel is in this box.” — True

We are told at least one statement is true and at least one is false. The only scenario where that is the case is if the jewel was in the red box, in which case the red and yellow boxes have a true statement and the green box has a false statement.