…or another title: Asturias take three. This time was to be a fairly short trip based around the seaside town of Ribadesella. It’s a five hour drive so we decided to stop for lunch half way in Ribadeo, at a previous favourite restaurant, the Marinero.

Another couple of hours and we were settling into our cottage, Casa Cantero.

It is situated just outside Ribadesella but a short walk brought us to an attractive little park with a bar and a great view over the town and beach.

The next day, we headed south, past Cangas de Onis following the Sella river, up one of the steep sided valleys that permeate the Picos de Europa. We were going to do a walk in the area called the Ruta del Peyo Pen. It features in quite a few websites but we were following a route from Wikiloc. However, things don’t always go to plan and not far from the beginning there was tape across the path suggesting it was closed. It was pretty difficult to follow anyway as the GPS signal was very poor. So we ended up following another path following the Sella river so it turned out pretty well in the end. I think the original route might have been a bit tough for Betty anyway.

Here is our wikiloc walk:

Afterwards we had a great Menu del dia at the Restaurant del Ruta in the village of Santillan.

Then it was a short drive up another narrow forested valley to Covadonga, a place famous all over Spain as the start of the Reconquista. Pelagius, the first king of Asturias is buried in the cave and there is a very impressive Basilica.

The following day another walk. This time along the coast starting at the Playa de La Griega. The first stop was to see some dinosaur footprints. Then some glorious views down the coast until we turned inland pausing at the impressive Iglesia de San Juan de Duz before returning to the beach.

 

And here’s our wikiloc walk from here:

From here we took a short drive to the nearby Dinosaur Museum

Then lunch at the excellent La Bolera restaurant not far from where we were staying.

But the day didn’t end there. We had booked tickets to the Tito Bustillo cave in Ribadesella. A World Heritage site it contains cave paintings 30,000 years old. It was an amazing experience, not just the paintings but the cave itself which went some distance into the ground. We had to book well in advance as only 14 people are allowed in at any one time and there is strictly no photography. However, we could take photos in the nearby Rock Art Center of Tito Bustillo which contains a lot of information about the cave.

 

And then we had time for a quick wander into Ribadesella and sample some of the local cider, pouring it the modern way:

The next day we were off again, this time down the coast. First stop the Bufones de Pria (Blowholes). They weren’t blowing today but you could certainly hear the water through them, many metres below the rocks. We were also joined by a flock of inquisitive goats.

From here onto the pretty seaside town of Llanes.

On the way back we stopped for another meal and were lucky enough to find La Terraza de Laura by the side of the road.

Back in Ribadesella that evening time for a beer on the beach before a quick selfie!

The following day we were off home. This time we stopped at the Roman walled city of Lugo, a place we’d been before, but always worth another visit.

More photos from the trip here

These are the places mentioned in the text: