Gorges, coast - gorgeous mountains.

After climbing back over the pass to the south of Potes we dropped through cloud and showers before taking the side road to Cains in order to start the Cares Gorge walk from the southern end. Despite the rain it was an impressive experience once more with numerous tunnels, bridges and an exposed walkway that had replaced a collapsed section of tunnel - to increase the experience a section was left open to the river far below with only a grate to stand on.

The adjacent small waterway that also snakes through the gorge was empty and at one point we saw an engineer on a quad following the concrete lined canal through a route every bit as impressive as our walk - an enviable job.
On our return the sun broke through and we headed off in search of a place for the night. This arrived sooner than expected in a nearby village, Posada de Valdeon, where the community had installed an aire with hook up points, water and waste facilities, loos and showers in the sports hall and all for 10 euros paid online.

After a walk round the village with its many old farm houses and elevated grain stores we enjoyed a peaceful night leaving next day for the lakes above Covadonga.
However it was a National Holiday in Spain and the traffic was heavy heading that way so we decided to head for the coast and stopped at popular surfing beach of Rodiles where a largely empty grassy car park was our base for the night. The beach was large enough to swallow the visitors and we enjoyed walking the full length admiring the surfers out on the roaring waves.
Next day we cycled in to Villaviciosa for food before returning for a relaxing day on the beach and a walk to a good vantage point that evening.
Sticking with the coast we visited Llastres with its pretty harbour and maze of streets covering the hill behind the town and felt it to be much nicer than the more popular Cudillero.

Cape Bustio felt very exposed but a good two hour walk rewarded us with excellent views - the 1:25,000 mapping on my GPS proving again very useful.

Puerta de Vega's aire located behind the substantial sea wall was a great place to stay and handy for a walk around the headland with good cliff and coastal views.
The maize harvest was well underway with the large combine devouring great swathes at a time.

Lluarca was another attractive fishing port with plenty of interest around the harbour and good views from the small chapel way above the town after which we headed south inland towards the mountains once more.





Our planned stop on the Sende del Oso had no water or waste working but another mile or so up the road a much nicer alternative was the aire at Teverga from where the following day we began a 60 mile ride following the vias verdes first and then looping over the mountains with a long climb before a fast descent back to a sunny cafe at Tunon by the mediaeval bridge. A meal out that evening was just reward but Mandy was less than pleased after the event to discover we had enjoyed baby eels in one dish.

En route south we passed through the stunning mountains and gorges of the Somiedo National Park and walked a route from a high pass on the Asturian border to the Lago de Cueva and others located high in the hills with cattle grazing the deserted slopes.
After refuelling we stopped overnight in the grounds of a cafe that provided facilities, free if you had a beer or two there and then continued on to Astorga with one of the finest cathedrals I have visited. Gaudi had also had a hand in the proposed Bishop's House and the evening light lit up his remarkable design flair.





We cycled out partly following the Camino de Santiago passing various earnest hikers heading along the famous pilgrimage route before turning off for striking Castrillo de los Polvas with its iron stained stonework looking superb in the bright sunshine.






Puebla de Sanabria had a substantial castle and pretty old town surrounding its solid walls and finally we pulled in to an aire on the slopes of Braganca's castle with easy access up to the main keep, the church, Romanesque town meeting house and the cluster of streets that define 'old town'. The newer centre was a short walk away and worthy of exploration with its paved, traffic free boulevards and fashionable shops.
Quince trees were heavy with fruit alongside our overnight spot and we slept soundly again very grateful for the independence the new van provides with hot water, a shower, loo and, if needed, heating. Despite the mountains and climbs we seemed to be getting a creditable 40 mpg and found eating out etc very reasonably priced.




We are now in Portugal at Miranda De Douro and have stayed on only our second camp site to get laundry done - a medium bike ride this morning took us to a remarkable viewpoint over the Douro where we now intend to take a river cruise before heading a couple of hours south to the Spanish/Portuguese border near Marvao.

Piccies sit here as ever HERE