18 September 2022 – Heading for the hills

Miles driven today = 53

Total Miles to date = 1,134

Beach or mountains?  Well the jury have come to a verdict and the decision is – Mountains… but with a little bit of beach first.  Our friend Martin challenged us on facebook to visit the Playa de Poo, so how could we resist. 

We had worn ourselves out a bit yesterday and so had a bit of a lie in given it was the day of rest.  When we finally fired up the van we decided to follow the N634 trunk road rather than more of the A8 motorway.  It bimbled along through numerous small villages with the foothills of the Picos de Europa constantly filling our windows to the left.  On reaching Llanes we headed for the coast and I giggled like a schoolgirl as Moaning Minnie (Google Maps) urgently instructed me to “turn right to Poo”.

The car park at the beach had a strict no motorhomes sign but there didn’t seem to be anybody there to enforce it.  “Poo Beach” sounds like it could be pretty much anywhere back in the UK these days but I have to say it was a real find.  An absolutely delightful cove with completely calm, azure water and golden sands.  Lisa was very keen on staying in Poo forever!

We heard the clanking of cowbells and tried to follow the path up to the headland to see where it was coming from.  We found it was blocked by a young calf which had somehow managed to get itself under the fence and its mother was looking a tad concerned so we didn’t approach but it did make a thoroughly bucolic scene.

It was time to head inland so we took the AS 115 which followed the steep sided gorge of the Rio de las Cabras O Bedon, and then west on the AS 114 following the Rio Guena. 

We stopped for lunch in a large carpark at Villar, only realising once we had done so that we were outside a biodiversity and sustainability information centre.  So once we had scoffed our sarnies we popped inside.  Unfortunately most of it was closed for the weekend but the girl on the desk explained what the place was all about and we had a quick peep at a few maps of walking and cycling routes and some displays on the wildlife in the area, including some sodding great vultures, some of which we are pretty sure we saw circling nearby.

At Soto de Cangas we took a left turn up a dead end road and followed it for several kilometres to Covadonga.  There are 4 huge car parks here.  I had a plan to stay in carpark 4, the one closest to the settlement, but that was full and has a height barrier, so we had to backtrack to carpark 3 where we are now parked up with about a dozen other vans including a British family.  We were expecting to pay €2 for the privilege but the ticket machine was covered over so we are on another freebie.

Covadonga serves as a jumping off point for trekking and viewpoints further up the valley, which can only be accessed via bus during the summer months, so that is what we shall be doing tomorrow, when there aren’t so many people around. 

The other reason people come here is for religious reasons.  There is a Basilica 2km uphill from where we are parked, so we decided to walk it.  Only thing was I didn’t appreciate quite how steeply up hill it was.  We had already walked a little way when I took the photo above.  There’s the Basilica in the top left corner!  Still a way to go then.

We’ve seen a number of these buildings on stilts today and I’m not altogether sure what they are for.  Maybe to keep things safe from wild animals?  There are bears around apparently but I don’t think this would perturb one of them particularly.

There is a small chapel in a cave as you approach the Basilica which sits above a pool.  You can enter it via a tunnel to the right.  We didn’t go in as it was Sunday and there were lots of people going about their solemn Catholic duties but we had to chuckle at the prayer candle vending machine at the entrance.

Not much further to go.

Lisa on the final few steps.

We made it!  Now my poor old knees have just got to get me back down again!

This is the view looking on up the valley, where we will be headed tomorrow.

A quick beer at one of the bars to revive ourselves and it was back to the van.  I mentioned yesterday what a magician Lisa is with the old camp cooking.  Well here’s the evidence.  How about this for a veggie miso with oyster mushrooms cooked up in a mountainside car park.  I love that woman!

19 September 2022 - Picos de Europa