Spring into summer in Spain

[jumartoo]

We travelled further north yesterday and parked overnight in a small village between Oviedo and Grado. It's a grey morning and lovely and cool. We're hoping to do a bike ride and then drive to Grado.

But before we do any of that, some photos of the river beach from the campsite we stayed at near Bejar.

It was very busy at the weekend. Deserted on Monday morning.

 

[jumar]

We travelled further north yesterday and parked overnight in a small village between Oviedo and Grado. It's a grey morning and lovely and cool. We're hoping to do a bike ride and then drive to Grado.

But before we do any of that, some photos of the river beach from the campsite we stayed at near Bejar.

View attachment 1069684View attachment 1069687View attachment 1069688View attachment 1069685View attachment 1069686

It was very busy at the weekend. Deserted on Monday morning.

So,so glad to get out of that heat and get into a more suitable place for mountain biking....and general day to day van touring...now we are in Asturias it's going to be a mixed bag of weather...but that suits us fine...

 

[Peavy]

the campsite we stayed at near Bejar.

What an interesting name, "Vega de Francia". I wonder what's the story behind ...if any.

 

[jumartoo]

So,so glad to get out of that heat and get into a more suitable place for mountain biking....and general day to day van touring...now we are in Asturias it's going to be a mixed bag of weather...but that suits us fine...

Suitable 3.4 mm in and Martin's replanning. Lots of mud and vegetation.

 

[jumartoo]

3.4 mm

Obviously km!

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[jumartoo]

Our ride didn't go to plan. It was far too rough, wet, muddy and nettley/brambley so, after managing the 3.4km in 25 minutes we aborted and Martin replanned a route for us using small roads. It was very pleasant, even though we had some steep uphill to do. Even on an ebike it was a good workout.

We're now on the official motorhome area of Grado/Grau (Road signs have been defaced to spell it the latter way). We came through here when we walked the Camino Primitivo some years ago. Tomorrow's ride, if its not raining, will have some steep uphill climbs as well.

Just before we aborted.

And replanning outside a pharmacy.

A local guy turned up to go into the pharmacy. He mentioned the bikes (not sure exactly what he said but something about a good way to travel) and Martin told him there was mucho barro (a lot of mud). His answer was hace calor (it's hot). Quite a bizarre exchange

 

[SMB]

I'm at the fishing village of Espasante tonight having left Nerja on 5th June and travelled up via Cabra, Magacela, Villanueva de la Serena, Bejar, Zamora and Ordes. The heat has been a killer and there was a tremendous thunderstorm around 3.30am this morning , it lasted nearly an hour and it was pretty loud!
I thought I'd have a few weeks in the north to take advantage of the cooler weather, that didn't quite go to plan but it's been great today. I've managed a few bike rides, mad dogs and Englishmen springs to mind.
Heading for the ferry to Newhaven at the end of June for a couple of months of cool weather compared to Spain!
Might bump into you at some stage, I've got a route planned for the next few days heading west to east .
Here's my current park up for tonight:

 

[jumar]

I'm at the fishing village of Espasante tonight having left Nerja on 5th June and travelled up via Cabra, Magacela, Villanueva de la Serena, Bejar, Zamora and Ordes. The heat has been a killer and there was a tremendous thunderstorm around 3.30am this morning , it lasted nearly an hour and it was pretty loud!
I thought I'd have a few weeks in the north to take advantage of the cooler weather, that didn't quite go to plan but it's been great today. I've managed a few bike rides, mad dogs and Englishmen springs to mind.
Heading for the ferry to Newhaven at the end of June for a couple of months of cool weather compared to Spain!
Might bump into you at some stage, I've got a route planned for the next few days heading west to east .
Here's my current park up for tonight:

View attachment 1070150View attachment 1070152

Espasante is a regular place we visit in July/August....there are always the same long stay Fishermen there in a caravan and others in a MH..
The fish restaurant was always a bonus, but for the past couple of years it has been closed..

 

[SMB]

Espasante is a regular place we visit in July/August....there are always the same long stay Fishermen there in a caravan and others in a MH..
The fish restaurant was always a bonus, but for the past couple of years it has been closed..

I haven't explored the north coast much and it will be a relatively short visit this time but definitely one for future trips. The town itself looks nice and I had the best nights sleep, not a barking dog or scooter to be heard!

 

[jumartoo]

I haven't explored the north coast much and it will be a relatively short visit this time but definitely one for future trips. The town itself looks nice and I had the best nights sleep, not a barking dog or scooter to be heard!

The coast north around there is spectacular. You can ride to the "best bank" or park up on the cliffs. "Bank" in this case is a bench.

Further along is a nice area at San Román de Vale.

Most of these places are on my previous threads.

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[jumartoo]

We had some heavy rain yesterday so today Martin planned a ride mainly on small roads. Some of them were extremely narrow, one even had centre lines painted on a road only a small car could drive on. It took us through a tiny hamlet of about three properties. It had a name, Villa!

Villa

We almost had an ooops when the route took us down a very slippery, moss covered track, we had to walk down a water washed section. We could have ridden the main road! We popped out at the bridge on the photo. The river was lovely, with lots of fish.

When we walked the Camino Primitivo in October we saw Kiwi fruits growing. They are just beginning to grow now and are about the size of a small walnut.

A few more minor roads brought us, eventually, back to Grado.

This small road went straight through someone's property.

We're now at the tidy motorhome area at Salas. It has a bench and a picnic table and a pleasant view. We're thinking we may stay here for two nights.

 

[SMB]

It looks nice there, I've added it to my s4s list! Have you been to the area Parking at Proaza (probably a stupid question)? I'm planning two nights there over the weekend to use the via verde and wondered what you thought of it.

 

[jumartoo]

It looks nice there, I've added it to my s4s list! Have you been to the area Parking at Proaza (probably a stupid question)? I'm planning two nights there over the weekend to use the via verde and wondered what you thought of it.

Do you know, we can't remember whether we've been there or not. We've been to the motorhome area further up the valley at San Martin and that often gets very full at weekends.

Sorry not to be of any help.

 

[SMB]

No problem, I'll head there and try it out, thanks anyway

 

[jumar]

No problem, I'll head there and try it out, thanks anyway

Please report back how you find it, Via Verdes are popular with Spanish families at weekends and summer holidays.
The weather is set fair in this region, about 24°c that should bring out a few vans.
As Judith has written, we will stay here as the area is very calm and nice for riding..other than a little mud in places..

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[SMB]

Please report back how you find it, Via Verdes are popular with Spanish families at weekends and summer holidays.
The weather is set fair in this region, about 24°c that should bring out a few vans.
As Judith has written, we will stay here as the area is very calm and nice for riding..other than a little mud in places..

Arrived a short while ago at Proaza, I was going to stay overnight at Foz and drive here tomorrow but the weather wasn't great there and I thought I'd get here before the weekend started after what you mentioned about it probably being busy. It's very scenic here, probably about six vans here at the moment, think I'll be having three nights here. I'm off out on the bike to explore, I'll attach pics to see if it jogs your memory!

 

[jumartoo]

Martin planned today's route and had a problem with how much climb we'd have to do. We ended up riding 39.45 km with 1,029m of climb. It seemed easier than the ride we did two days ago. We began on the Camino Primitivo track from Salas and it turned out to be the most difficult part with a very steep uphill section with wall to wall loose rocks. We had to walk a short distance.

The rest was through some lovely mountain terrain.

if you have to keep the trees

you build round one

 

[Peavy]

Villa Alicia is impressive from that picture
That's clearly an "indiano" house.
A house someone built (beginning of 20th century) once returned from America, as a rich person.

 

[DBK]

Looks a great area. Best wishes for the rest of the trip.

 

[jumartoo]

Villa Alicia is impressive from that picture
That's clearly an "indiano" house.
A house someone built (beginning of 20th century) once returned from America, as a rich person.

We couldn't get closer because all around seemed to be private gardens of a hotel complex in a palace, the Palacio Conde de Toreno which we couldnt see. The plaque says 1918 to 1923 and Google maps call it Villa Alicia la Perla Indiana, and has this photo.

Someone got closer

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[jumar]

AND...we wake to a little rain this morning and a considerable chill in the air...

 

[SMB]

AND...we wake to a little rain this morning and a considerable chill in the air...

And here, very misty over the hills. I prefer it to the mini heatwave we had though! Looked at the weather maps, there doesn't seem to be an obvious chase for the sun but I'll do the other bit of the via verde today and plan the rest of my journey up to the French border.

 

[jumar]

And here, very misty over the hills. I prefer it to the mini heatwave we had though! Looked at the weather maps, there doesn't seem to be an obvious chase for the sun but I'll do the other bit of the via verde today and plan the rest of my journey up to the French border.

We will enjoy the stand down time, this is only the end of our second week of a 4 month trip, we've done many Kms and daily climbs of over 1200m..

 

[jumar]

Lazy day was had yesterday...bit of shopping and lunch out, good home cooked food, basic Asturian style but quite pricey....I'm sure it's pricing is based on
1.Family.
2.Locals.
3.Tourists. (Suppose that's us)

But to compensate we had 3 free nights on the towns Camperstop..we don't eat out too often, but know the score when it comes to eating in these places, 14/15€ would be max...but 20€ per head..a tad OTT..

 

[Peavy]

The first time I had the pleasure to be in Asturias for my work (and I was there for quite a while) I was surprised how in the restaurant they would bring to the table not only the plate but also the casserole or pot so you could help yourself to as much as you wanted.

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[jumartoo]

The first time I had the pleasure to be in Asturias for my work (and I was there for quite a while) I was surprised how in the restaurant they would bring to the table not only the plate but also the casserole or pot so you could help yourself to as much as you wanted.

We had a big bowl of soup and the same size bowl of ribs and potatoes. We could only eat a portion of each though, knowing we still had pork and chips to come. Most of the pork is in our fridge to be eaten for lunch tomorrow. Pork and mushrooms in Oyster or Teriyaki sauce with noodles, maybe.

 

[jumartoo]

It was cool and slightly damp when we woke this morning. The scents outside were lovely. We drove 40 minutes or so to the village of Oviñana where we parked near the church to go for a walk. It was a nice walk, but we're definitely not walking fit, and the uphill sections made us breathe a bit more than normal.

The scenery more than made up for the ups and downs. The best bank in Asturias was taken so we walked on by. The van was surrounded when we returned, so many people arriving to eat their Sunday lunch.

We're now a kilometer further along, on the coast road to the lighthouse of Cabo Vidio, which can be seen in the distance on some of the photos. We hope to spend the night here. There's a stunning (allegedly) cave below the lighthouse, accessed at low tide down a steep and rocky path with a rope at the final section. We MAY have a look at going down there sometime, when the sea goes back out. A ride, in the morning, may be on the cards.

 

[jumartoo]

Our park up and view from just in front.

The cave is down there, somewhere under the lighthouse.

 

[jumar]

I've counted 15 so far....Judith will tell more later..

 

[jumartoo]

We had a convoy. 15 French motorhomes in an organised group drove all the way through the village at 8.30, milled around near the lighthouse and by 9.30 they'd all left again.

Where they're spending the night is of more concern to us

We've now driven back near the church to go for a ride and, wouldn't you know, it's market day! We're parked furthest away from the parking for the locals, hopefully. Martin's gone for a look around, without telling me . I expect the fruit stall is calling him.

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