Roady's Roamings

Time for a campsite, charge batteries, a bit of clothes washing and a spread out before the final push through France to the ferry terminal and home. This will be out third stay in Erromardie and our second time at this campsite, the first site being closed this time of year. It is a very convenient stop going to and from northern Spain. The site take the ACSI card and so makes it good value at this time of year. The pitches are a good size although not level requiring ramps for the "princesses" amongst up, needless to say we don't have any, and never need them. There is a cycle path into Saint Jean de Luz,  a very pleasant seaside resort town that at this time of the year is very quiet, but still plenty of shops and bars open and a beautiful sheltered beach. Day one was arrival day, sorting ot washing etc. Day two we cycle into SJ de L and continued round the bay to Ciboure and on to Socoa where the is an old fort and good views of the sea and back towards S J de L. Alon...

Once again just an overnight stopover to break the journey. The aire was a bit disappointing, just a large car park on an industrial estate, with a few old caravans dotted around. We assume the locals use the area for storage. No facilities, we didn't need any anyway.  There is a good cyclepath into town along the river and around the harbour, so that gave us some exercise for the day.  Pleasant town and port with a large ship called the Norwegian Gannett. It looked like a fishing vessel of some sort, and the name would suggest the same but what was it doing in a dock in Zumaia? I had to Google it. It turns out it is a fishing vessel but it is designed for  the salmon farms of the Norwegian Fjords, and it was built in the shipyard here. First launched in May 2018. She is still being fitted out.

We tried to stop here on our way heading West, but the parking was full, we had better luck this time and parked on the sea front. It was a little busy during the day but once it was dark, everything was very peaceful. We took a walk around the old town with it castle and church with a very good view of the town and harbour from the top. Excellent stopover.

Just an overnight stop with the basic facilities. Showers in the van and an early night. Nice quite aire in a residential area near a sports complex.

We had and extremely pleasant day with an old work friend, catching up on 26 years of life, a lot has happened but little has changed, maybe the hair is a little greyer and the knees creak more, but it we if that time was only a few weeks. He has made Taramundi his home and made his home in Taramundi,  literally, he has rebuilt a house from what  was a derelict shell, and what a wonderful job he has made of it, but that was always his style.  Just by chance there was a fiesta in Pontenova with a firework display at the old iron kilns, so at 1130 pm we headed back there for a spectacular show including a portable stage with entertainment. A wonderful end to the day. Back to the van for an overnight in his driveway. Thank you N and R.

At Foz we also had WiFi, so we did a little more planning and found a Via Verde nearby at Pontenova. Via Verde are literally green ways, in most cases, old railway track open to walkers and cyclist. The motorhome aire and service point was at near the start of the VV so very convenient. We cycled the length of the VV a total of 11 km, 22 km return, almost level with 4 tunnels and a viaduct, very interesting. Three of the tunnels had automatic lighting that turned on as we entered. The 4th tunnel was short and didn't need it. We decided not to stop at the aire for the night and moved on to Taramundi for the night. An old work college lives near Taramundi so it is our intention to visit him in the morning.

Camper Parks are half way between a Aire de service, Area de Autocaravanas in Spain, and a campsite. There are the usual basic services plus electric hookup toilets and in this case washing up area, showers and, the main reason for stopping here, washing machines. We were running short of clean clothes so we booked in for 2 nights for washing and get the batteries fully charged. We were camped next to a couple from Manchester, so it was also a good chance to practice our English. The weather also took a turn for the worse with very strong gusts especially overnight, next door lost their table, we were more fortunate. We intended to cycle to Foz, but the wind was still a problem so we walked it. Foz is a seaside holiday town with one of the large beach of golden sands, but as is to be expected, very quite at this time of year. Found an ATM for some money and back along the beautiful footpath back to the van, most enjoyable.

A pleasant aire with the basic facilities.  We set of on aborted cyclemtrip to Foz. The going was a little hilly at first, that wasnt much of a problem, but the river crossing was over a busy main road bridge with no cycle path. Foz will have to wait. The following morning was a walk on the beach before heading for  Camperpark Atalaia the other side of Foz.

Very good aire on the cliffs tops overlooking a sandy cove, a number of surfers of several nationalities came and went during the time we were there. No facilities so just a good place for one quiet night.

Arrived middle of the afternoon. The parking was on a bit of a slope so we pick the best bit as we were the only ones there. A very nice beach but at that time of the day was in shadow and the tide was comming in so after a leg stretch it was back to the van to tea. A Swiss lady arrived a little later so we didnt spend the night alone.

After breakfast we headed of north down the Senda del Oso allong the river Quiròs. The trip began trough the woods with very little to see, a gentle downslope required very little pedaling and more freewheeling, not a good sign for the ruturn trip. The morning was quite cold and without internal heating from pedaling we both got cold, especially the hands. After about 5 km the view opened out and we passed and crossed the  Reservoir Valdemurio. From then on it was more lije the other branch of the Senda with tunnels and bridges. After 11.4 km we arrived at the junction of the Entrago route of the Senda, the one we completed last year. We retraced out path back to the resevoir forma quick lunch and back to the van. As it was only 2 pm we decided to move on to Play de Aguilar.

We arrived at the aire Parking area de Bazana at lunch time. After lunch it looked a bit brighter and the rain had stopped so we decided to get a feel for the cyclepath and headed up to Santa Maria, to the end of this  branch of the Senda. It was just 2.5  km but it got us out. The other direction tomorrow.

After visiting the aire with facilities,  we stopped for the night Parking de el Rinconin once again mixed parking and no facilities.  It is now raining so its a couple of games of Rummikub and catching up on New Scientist for me and a novel for Jeannette. The following morning it is still raining but looking brighter so we headed off for a quick walk along the sea front, with a hasty walk back as another shower came in off the sea. Tomorrow weather is looking better so we are off to Bazana and the Senda del Oso Quiròs branch.

Time again for some shopping so that was included in the trip from Cangas de Onis. The next planned activity is the Senda del Oso, but the weather is not looking good for a couple of days so we decided to stick to the coast where it is a bit warmer. Playa de Rondiles aire is just mixed parking with an area just for campers, no facilities but is right next to an excellent beach where we walked and watched the  surfers. The following day the weather was starting to get worse and we needed to empty toilets and tanks and get more water on board as it is shower night. So we headed to Gijon to an aire with facilities.

Cangas de Onis was chosen as an overnight stop in thr aire by the bus station, just a mixed parking area with motorhome facilities. The town itself is very nice, lots of bars and restaurants,  an impressive church, a old covered in market and a Roman bridge. All worth visiting.

The road from P de V to Cain is not for the faint hearted, hairpin bends, 1 in 10 hills and narrow, but take your time and its OK, but don't expect to do any more the 2nd gear and 30 kph. In Cain there are a great number of parking places and resturants, lets face it there is only on reason to be here, the Cares Gorge walk. After parking up we headed into the gorge, the firt part goes through a number of tunnels hewn out of the rock with handrails on the open parts, a contrast to the rest of the walk, no handrails an vertical drops. The whole walk is 11 km to Poncebos, we did not intend to do it all as there is only a 135 km road journey or walk back and 22 km is a bit much for us. After about 4 km we decided to head back, the scenery, although stunning at first, becomes the norm and the precipitous edges to the path cause a constant stress and it is very tiring. Retracing our steps we arrive back at the van for a quick lunck before heading back down the road to P de V and then on ...

After Bulnes and Fuente De walks we decided to rest our old knees for a day before heading to Cain to walk the Cares Gorge. Posada de Valdeon is at the end of the only road to Cain.  The motorhome aire is very good, usual services and hookup for €10 a night and the use of the adjoining sports hall toilet facilities. P de V is a small village with only a few bars and no shops but stunning views and after 2 nights there we headed for Cain and the Cares Gorge.

We were here last year just to do the cable car ride. It left us with a desire to return to do more walking in the area. We arrived too late to do any walking that day and besides the top cablecar station was in the clouds. The following day's weather forecast looked good so we stopped the night in the campsite El Redondo, a quirky little site, but very welcoming. We met a young couple from Bristol with a young girl toddler, we were to bump into them on several occasions the following day. Up reasonable early in the morning to move the van off the campsite and onto the carpark for the Cable Car, Telefèrico in Spanish. We decided to travel up the cable car and walk the PN PR 24 route back the the carpark. We survived the cable car trip without having to climb out and use a belt to slide down the cable to safety or jump from one car to the next. The walk was spectacular, the views of the rugged mountain peaks contrasting with the lush meadows with grazing cattle and snow left over fr...