Ribadesella, Asturias

 Ribadesella, Asturias 

Breakfast in the posada del rey in Llanes was a do-it-yourself affair with coffee tea, milk, cereal and fruit provided in the room. Leslir had also said earlier that she wouldn’t walk in the dark but wait until sunrise. I was wide awake and eager to get moving and left before dawn.

It was only around Playa de Poo that it was getting light and easier to see the yellow arrows. I forgot the name where Myilla was camping but since I had started so early, I might have got ahead of her before she had started and I didn't see her again. I passed several monasteries and interesting churches but was focused on a 30 kilometre stretch that day, the longest so far and whilst I didn’t have any blisters, I did have a few hotspots.

I had seen that the railway was not far away from El Camino, so as I neared Nueva, I checked the timetable and peeled away from the official route and waited for the afternoon train.

I forgot to take any photos in the morning, partly as I suspect that my camera didn't like working in the cool of the morning. But it decided to work when I was crossing the bridge across the river in Ribadesella. A view downriver. 

A view upriver towards los Picos de Europa (Peaks of Europe) which are a mountain range extending for about 20 km, forming part of the Cantabrian Mountains in northern Spain. The range is situated in the Autonomous Communities of Asturias, Cantabria and Castile and León. The highest peak is Torre de Cerredo, at an elevation of 2650 m.

Most of the region is now protected as a single Picos de Europa National Park in Cantabria, Asturias and León provinces of Spain. The Asturian part was Spain's first National Park.

The Picos de Europa contain many of world's deepest caves, including Torca del Cerro (−1,589 m), Sima de la Cornisa (−1,507 m), Torca los Rebecos (−1,255 m) and Pozo del Madejuno (−1,252 m). Discovery of new caves and their exploration still continues.

A view of the marina in Ribadesella.

The sandy beach in front of my hotel, lunchtime and empty...the few black specks in the water are surfers, paddling out to catch a wave to ride. 

My hotel for the evening, a former palace although the number of rooms has been extended by adding the modern extension to the left of the photo. My rooms were at the base of the tower with the wrap around balcony. 

The stairs inside the former palace half of the hotel.