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Mar 18-21, 2003

Beach Tour

Following the Asturian Coastline

Manfred P.

Keywords: Spain, Asturias, Llanes, Poo, Troenzo, Celorio, Niembro, Torimbia, Beón, Guadamía, Ribadesella, Tereñes, Cobiendes, Colunga, Lastres, Villaviciosa, Tazones, Ñora, Gijón, Candás, Luanco, Cabo Peñas, Nieva, Avilés, tourist, travel trip report, travel log, travelogue.

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It was the start of spring and the sun was beckoning me to be outdoors. I used a few days to visit the Asturian coastline. From Llanes in the east to Avilés in the west it is only 120km (75m), but as I found out there is enough beauty to keep me busy for 3 days. Throughout these 3 days I just hopped from one beach to the next, usually at a distance of less than 10km (6m), parked my camping bus, went for a stroll, hung out in the sun, or strolled through the nearby villages. In other words it was sight seeing the slow way, relaxing, without a hurry, without a destination to reach by nightfall. I had no plan. I didn't know anything about the region, I had no list of things to see, I had no time table and with the camping bus I could sleep anywhere, so there was not even the need to look for a hotel at sunset. Aren't these really good conditions for touring the countryside?

In the sun at daytime it was warm, even hot, but as the sun disappeared it got chilly and cold. To my surprise I found ice on my windshield one morning as I woke up. From 27 degrees C (80F) in the sun to below freezing at night, quite a change.

Somebody smart once said that traveling is the best way of learning. Not surprisingly, I learned something about Asturias. I found out that they have their own language, called "El Bable". It was easy to figure out as the number of street signs that where spray painted ran into the hundreds. For example, on top of Gijón they would paint Xixón, the town's name in Bable. In the towns some signs where bilingual and some neighborhoods had only Bable names. Spanish signs and flags were usually vandalized. Signs of the time. So, with Catalan, Basque, Galician there are at least 4 languages in Spain.

It was the perfect time of the year to travel. The country roads were empty because everyone traveled on the nearby new freeway. The town and village streets were deserted because everyone was at work. The beaches were unpopulated because it was the off season. I had everything to myself, the roads, the villages and the beaches. Add to the general quietness a blue sky, the blue ocean, fresh air and lush green meadows and forests in their first spring day and you get the Asturias that I found.

Llanes

I worked myself westwards, starting in the east and with each hop making it one step closer to the west. My excursion started in the village of Llanes. Llanes is a beautiful village with a well preserved historic center. Big enough to offer some infrastructure like hotels and restaurants, yet small enough to preserve its charm. It offers a couple of beaches and a magnificent park on the coastline overlooking the village. Miles of trails lead from one end of the village, passing the beaches and the fishing harbor to the other end of the village with its camp ground, always following the water front. Agustín Ibarrola is a Basque artist. He generally likes to paint public things. Near the village of Oma in the Basque Country he painted a forest in bright colors. Here in Llanes he painted the large concrete blocks forming the harbor's defense line against the elements to the sea. Again, he chose bright colors, and mixed them in all combinations painting mostly abstract forms onto the concrete blocks. In some instances he painted realistic objects like a lemon tree and flowers onto the grey surface.

Poo

Poo is a tiny spread village that is awakening to a flow of new houses. The beach is a few minutes walking distance from the village. It is a magnificent setting. The beach is inside a tidal inlet, some 200m away from the coastal opening to the ocean. The opening is narrow and with steep cliffs on both sides. The inlet then widens to make room for the nice sandy beach. At the same time this is the mouth of a small river. If you cross a hill you can reach an even more protected and quiet river beach. Horses were grazing on the other side of the beach. Trees with moss gave shade from the sun. Certain a special spot, and one of my favorites of all the beaches I have seen.

Village Celorio, Troenzo Beach, Palombina Beach

Celorio is the next village west of Poo. It is right on the coast. The cemetery overlooks the bay from one side and the fishing port closes the bay on the other. Besides a monastery, a children's playground and a couple of bars there is not much else in the village. Both beaches are within a few minutes of walk from the village center. While these two beaches are not spectacular, they are not bad either.

Village Niembro, Niembro Beach, Torimbia Beach, Toranda Beach

I visited Niembro at 8 am. It was misty and clouds of fog were hovering over the river mouth. In the background was a white church which seemed to be unused. At least from the distance it appeared to be in a questionable state. Within a 5 km radius are three beaches. The sun was just rising as I strolled along Toranda Beach. A fishing boat had left the sandy beach minutes ago and rocked with the waves. The beach was empty and several 100s of meters long.

A nudist beach is around the corner but to get there you have to drive up the hill to the very top. Here you park and after walking 1 km down the dirt road you reach the beach. Of course, if you are a bit more sporty you can make a shortcut through the bushes as there is a small trail. The beach, as you can expect, was empty again. Not a single soul to see. The beach forms a half circle and is a good half kilometer long. This is Torimbia Beach and my girl friend's favorite beach.

Beón Beach

No matter what coastal route you take, road, highway or train, you can't miss Beon Beach. All roads and even the train tracks run right by the beach. The Beon River flows into the ocean here forming a wide and large beach. It is most likely a kilometer long and unfortunately affected by the recent oil spill of the sunken oil tanker Prestige. A dozen of people from an oil spill cleanup crew were on the beach. Each one wore the typical white bunny suite and green rubber gloves.

The oil spill is a major catastrophe. It happened 1000 km (600m) away and still from the approximately 20 beaches I have visited over these 4 days about 18 are affected by the sticky, gooey, black stuff. It is extremely hard to clean, no machines can be used; all has to be done by hand. It basically has to be scrapped off every rock and pebble by hand with a screwdriver, putty knife or spatula. Not only is it sticky, slimy and gooey it also stinks like hell. As you walk down certain segments of the beach where there are rocks you think you are strolling around a gas station as it stinks intensely of fuel oil. Terrible. And even more terrible is that the guilty will neither be sanctioned nor will they pay for the cleanup. It is a small company, they file for bankruptcy, and tomorrow they open another company doing the same thing, but under a different name.

Village Nueva, Cuevas del Mar Beach

The river Ereba carved its way through the rocks towards the ocean here. The road that leads from the quiet, nondescript village Nueva to the coast is beautiful. It is windy and before you get to the beach on the last turn you have to drive through a tiny tunnel. The beach carries the name "Caves of the Sea" (Cuevas del Mar) with reason. Dozens of caves dig into the cliffs forming the frame of the sandy beach.

Guadamía Beach

This beach is another one of my favorites. The tidal inlet is very narrow and shallow. A creek flows into the ocean here. Because the inlet is so shallow and narrow the tide covers half a kilometer of distance as it rises or falls. Upstream, on both sides of the creek is a forest. A lovely place. If you walk to the cliffs you will find blowholes in the ground. In winter time when the tides are strong at high tide water is pushed up and out of these blow holes. Now at low tides one could hear the ocean below but there was no visual spectacle.

Ribadesella

Ribadesella is a mid-size town that despite its newer suburbs has kept its charm in the old part of town. The river Sella flows into the ocean here. Hence the name of the town. A wide bridge spans the town. On one side is the old part of town on the other the new condominiums. The town sports a lighthouse, a chapel overlooking the river mouth, a boardwalk and two beaches. The most pleasant part are the cafes lining the boardwalk in the old part of town.

Following the street signs I went to the Santa Marina Beach. Here at the western most tip of the beach walk there are vertical cliffs. In these cliffs are dinosaur foot prints, some 150 million years old. It requires a lot of imagination and looking to find one or two of these imprints.

Tereñes

Since the dinosaur foot prints were so poor in Ribadesella I went to the village of Tereñes. Here supposedly is a whole group of imprints from different dinosaurs, 3 and 4 toed ones. There is a sign in the village indicating where the trail down the coast cliffs to the imprints is. The sign, however, is all wrong. The scale isn't right and even worse the things marked on the map are not in their place. I wondered around for an hour to find the trail. I wasn't actually so interested in the imprints but at the end it was a personal challenge to find the stupid trail. I did find the sight at last. The imprints weren't any better or easier to recognize. As I said before, it needs a lot of imagination to make them out in the rock slabs. From the imprint site it took me only 10 minutes back to the trailhead. Unless you like scouting you better skip the dinosaur "attractions".

Village Prado, La Vega Beach, Arenal de Moris Beach

Next stop was at La Vega Beach. It is a long, flat beach; wide and open. It is popular with surfers. Waves rolled in and a couple of families enjoyed the late afternoon in the sand dunes on the western end of the beach. The beach also carries a second name "El ojo del mar", "The Eye of the Sea". The backdrop to this beach form green meadows gently sloping uphill.

Arenal de Moris is another surfers' beach. At high tide there is no sand left as the ocean reaches up to the rocks.

Village Cobiendes

Cobiendes is a village only known for one thing: Santiago de Cobiendes, a pre-Romanic church from the 9th century. The church is nice, small and cute to look at for a few moments, but the neighboring modern buildings are empty, run-down and vandals had broken in the doors to rummage through the interior.

Colunga, Griega Beach

Colunga is a town with a big church, supermarkets, and a handful of historic buildings. In itself it is not overly attractive but a good base for visiting neighboring beaches. Griega Beach is the closest to town, a mere 2km westward. It is wide, sandy and with a restaurant/hotel on the beach.

Village Lastres, Lastres Beach

Lastres is an idyllic village: calm, dedicated to fishing and rich in history. The village is built into the steep slope running from the hills to the sea. Lastres Beach is a kilometer outside the village. The beach has nothing special to grab your attention. The village does. The narrow cobblestone stairways connect the houses, one overlooking the other as they are built into the slope. On the very bottom is the fishing harbor, today modernized but with a history dating back centuries. Rusty cannons to defend against pirates, yes pirates, and later against the French stand even today in the harbor fortification. The stairways run in zigzag lines up the village, passing old houses built with rocks, then towards a church and then following the street you come to a lookout point with an old chapel and a restaurant, closed in the off season. If you can't find it look for the antennas for TV, radio and mobile communications. They are right next to the historic site.

Villaviciosa

Villaviciosa is a boom town. Housing speculation is changing the face of this town. Like mushrooms new apartment buildings shoot out of the ground. Calle del Sol is the main street of the old part of town. Along it are beautiful old buildings. But for me the town has lost its charm. The dust from the construction sites is being blown all over town, making it little attractive.

Village Tazones

In contrast to Villaviciosa this is again a charming, welcoming village right on the coast. It has a beach with the same name and of course a fishing harbor. King Charles I and V touched Sanish soil for the first time here in the tiny village of Tazones. Why I and V? Well, this guy was Charles the I of Spain, and at the same time Charles the V of Germany. His ship headed towards Vizkaia (Bilbao) when a strong storm set in and blew the ship off-course. Given the weather they were given no choice but to set anchor here. But since Tazones didn't have a hotel, not to mention one fit for a king, they transferred him onto a rowing boat and went from Tazones to Villaviciosa where a royal bed was prepared.

Merón Beach

This beach is off the beaten path, specifically you have to pass 2 kilometers on dirt road to reach it. A wide V-shaped valley formed over time by a river and heads towards the sea. The beach was typical: empty except for people from the oil spill clean up crew, sand, and a bar closed during off-season.

Ñora

Ñora is also one of my favorite beaches in Asturias. It is surrounded by hilly meadows with cows on one side and a forest on the other. In the center is a creek forming a valley and eventually running into the ocean at the beach. The beach is wide and very sand during low tide. At this time it might be half a kilometer wide. At high tide the length of the beach shrinks. Ñora has something to offer for all tastes. A beach for the water rats in us, sand for those to play on the beach, a lookout point, and a 1-hour (one-way) foot trail following the river uphill through the forest.

Gijón

Gijón is a city on the coast. It has its large industrial port, traffic jams and whatever else you would find in any city. On the peninsula sticking out into the sea is the old part of town. Remnants of a city wall dating back to the Romans separate the old city from the newer parts. The Romans also built a spa here which can be visited. At the very tip of the peninsula is a park crowded with lovers and young mothers leading their kids to the children's playground. A pedestrian path runs down to the yacht harbor and continues on along the coast line.

On the outskirts of Gijón is a gigantic building that appears to be a church, at least it has a church tower. Next I thought it might be a hospital from a religious order based on the street sign I saw. At the end I found out that it is the university. Its sheer size was impressive, even from the distance.

Village Candás, La Palmera Beach

Following the coastline westwards the next place worth while stopping is Candás. Candás is a village, turning into a town. Close to the beach is a 10-story hotel. The beach named "La Palmera", "The Palm Tree" gives the illusion of palm trees. Don't be fooled. Despite the name there are exactly two palm trees on the beach, better said at the entrance to the beach. The beach is ok. Despite the tall hotel and the current effort of construction of a brand new port, Candás is a nice village. The old fishing port will soon be overshadowed by its modern replacement. From the new port cliffs go nearly vertical to a hill top with a chapel dedicated to San Antonio. The complete hill is a park. Pieces of modern art are spread throughout the park and behind the chapel you will find an old light house. Standing next to the lighthouse looking northwest one can see the next villages in the distance. The first in view is the cemetery and the most distant in view is the village of Luanco.

Village Luanco, La Ribera Beach, Luanco Beach

Luanco is also booming and the new part of town is a lot bigger than the old part of town. A maritime museum in shape of a ship is in the center. From there it is 5 minutes on foot to the old harbor. The church was under restoration as I visited.

Bañugues Beach

This beach is very flat and with lots of sharp rocks. At low tide the sandy portion is large but it mostly disappears under water at high tide.

Cabo Peñas

Cabo Peñas is the northernmost point of Asturias and a strategic place to build a light house. The most important light house of Asturias was built here and it is still in operation, although today it works with radar and newer technologies. It stands on cliffs 50 meters above the ocean giving good views on both sides of the Asturian coast line.

Verdicio Beach

The beach carries the same name as the neighboring village. The beach is tremendously long, maybe a full kilometer. Sands dunes invite to picnic and a Verdicio Beach is stop- over point for the foot trail that runs all the way from the Nieva Lighthouse to the Cabo Peñas lighthouse.

Nieva Village, Xaga Beach

Nieva is a tiny village, no more than 20 houses, a restaurant and a tiny chapel. Most people are dedicated to farming here. Nieva is high on a hill and has a good view to the lighthouse on the peninsula Punta Vidriera. The lighthouse carries the same name as the village and is reachable via a 1-hour walk. Of course lazy people can also take their car to the light house. While standing in Nieva on one side you have the lighthouse, on the other you have Xaga Beach. The beach is large, easily a kilometer long, with sand dunes and a bit of infrastructure: a bar open in season and showers.

Avilés

At the end of my route came Avilés. Avilés is such a stark contrast to what I have seen in the past days that I didn't even bother to enter into the city. Avilés is an industrial town with gigantic industrial zones, steel plants, aluminum plants, industrial harbors with their cranes and smoking industrial chimneys. I avoided Avilés to not ruin my memories.

If you think I have seen a lot of beaches, you are right. But if you think I have seen all the beaches between Llanes in the east and Avilés in the west, you are wrong. There are still a dozen of additional beaches that I skipped. Even if you have lots of time like myself, I have learned that one can never see everything.

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