A day just as yesterday, just as rainy, so I’ll have to travel carefully on the roads. Today I can hardly see anything due to the fog, but thanks to the GPS I can travel without getting lost, and I will pedal a few kilometres more than yesterday.
Most part of the trip is on not very busy roads. I went up to Castañedo again and got inland and took village roads. This is not the Way but runs parallel to it and is suitable for cycling, while the forest trails are in poor conditions. When I come back to the coastal perimeter, the route is by general roads, but they are not very busy because most motor vehicles take the freeway parallel to the coastline.
The whole trip is quite even and attainable, but for a pass between Argallana and Ballota, on the first half of the trip, and in inland mountains areas. If we have time, it is worth devoting two or three hours to visiting Luarca, when we have already completed two thirds of our trip today, because it has many attractions, such as the museum of Cepesma, with the greatest collection of giant squids in the world, or the route of indianos’ houses.
I spend the night in Piñera’s pilgrim hostel, a place where I meet people I have met in other hostels.
Stage 34 in Wikiloc: http://en.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=4973611
GPS Track for Stage 34 download: http://goo.gl/Q6Ug9s
Distances: Pilgrim hostel of Soto de Luiña – Pilgrim hostel of Piñera 62 km
List of villages:
Download track 34 with QR BIDI
Soto de Luiña
Castañedo
San Martín de Luiña
Argatón
Argallana
Ballota
Ribón
Cadavedo
Villa de Moros
Queruás
Canero
Caroyas
Barcellina
Luarca
Ribadebajo
Otero
La Corripia
Taborcias
Villuir
Pontigas
Las Barqueras
Puerto de Vega
Piñera
Price of accommodation: 5 euros.
Today, it is raining and there is a lot of fog, particularly thick in mountain roads, so it will be a stage with half the trip I planned.
This is a short stage, but it is intense since it gets away from the Way of St. James and gets into an area of gastronomy and leisure for Asturian people, but not very well-known to tourists. It goes along large part of the strip of land of Cape Peñas, not reaching the cape, and passes by San Juan de Avilés lighthouse, along a not very urban route, and mostly by road.
Today’s stage is as long as yesterday’s, but there are more mountain trails and tracks, and it is nicer to travel. Except one road pass with a steep slope, the rest of the trip has smooth slopes up and down inland, since we will only see the beach in Duesps, when we get away from road N-632.
After staying a whole day in Colombres, half of today’s stage will be by general roads, and the second half will be by secondary roads near the coastline, without remarkable difficulties and with smooth slopes. A highlight here can be the San Antolín viewpoint, about halfway to the end of the stage, from which you can see some of the best-known beaches in Asturias, such as Ballota and Andrín.
This is a very short stage. I was delayed and left San Vicente de la Barquera late, but I stop to have something to eat at midday in Unquera, the last town in Cantabria, and the cradle of a unique type of pasta called Corbatas. After eating, I cross the bridge of river Deva, bordering Asturias, and I go to the next town centre: Colombres.
This is a very long stage, but without relevant slopes, so it can be followed easily and patiently. This stage will end our route along Cantabria, since it is a small province. Today’s stage can be divided into two if someone is interested in exploring more deeply some of the best-known towns of Cantabria, such as Santander, Comillas, or Santillana.
First stage only via Cantabria. The first section is about 15 km long, along tracks that follow the coastline and are not very suitable for cycling, so it is difficult to ride the bike although there are no steep slopes.
I go from Gernika to Castro Urdiales, that is to say, the last third of Euskadi to the first town in Cantabria.
At first, you have to travel by road because the way is in very poor conditions and the weather is unstable. My incipient tendinitis gets worse and I have to stop in Gernika to rest all day and take specific medication.