We had previously followed the Camino Norte from Irun on the Spanish/French borders to where the path splits near Gijon, then followed the Camino Primitivo to Santiago. We now decided to return to where the Camino splits and follow it along the north coast to Ribadeo, then inland to Santiago. A distance of 250 miles/402km, taking about 2 weeks. The route is marked by shells, or yellow arrows-pointing the way. We had booked the first 3 nights’ accommodation, but after that it is nice to see where we end up. Well, that is the plan.
We left where we were staying near Malaga, catching a flight to Astoria, then a bus to Gijon (Alsa.es €9.00 each). We had booked the conveniently situated Hotel Covadonga for 2 nights, €71.00 for a double en-suite, meeting the very helpful and friendly owner. Gijon has a beautiful harbour and old town situated on a headland, with fabulous views. We had a few hours spare, so wandered around, visiting the ruins of the old fort and fascinating Roman Baths. There are also plenty of restaurants, and we called into Carrefour to purchase food for the following day.
Up early, the first thing to do was to return to where the Camino splits. We caught the 6.15am bus from Gijon to Villaviciosa, fairly early as it is quite a long day and rain was forecast for later. We had checked the bus timetable on the alsa bus website buying a ticket in advance (€3.50 each, in hindsight unnecessary as there were only 3 people on the bus). We were staying 2 nights in Gijon so unusually; we only had a day pack with us.
We arrived in Villaviciosa in the dark, had a walk round, then went to the lovely La Rotella café for breakfast. Villaviciosa is a very pretty town with historic buildings and interesting information boards. It is in the centre of an apple growing region, the apples being used to make cider. We walked past the Church of St Maria, and picked up the Camino arrows, following them out of town, down Calle Cavanilles in the clear country air at 7.40am.
It was very quiet, and we passed through a couple of small hamlets before forking right off the main road just before the Rio Valdedios, at this point there is a free water tap on the side of a house. At 8.30am (2.5miles) we reached a sign where the Camino splits left down the Primitivo via Oviedo, or straight on along the Norte via Gijon. This is where we stood 4 years ago and decided to turn along the Primitivo, this time we headed straight on. There is a lovely little chapel here, maps of the route, and shells for sale.
We continued towards Gijon via Grases, and 5 minutes later there is another split, not indicated on the road but mentioned in the guide book. We had decided to follow the book and take a short cut via the Vv10 and not going through Nievares. We passed lovely houses, then went under the motorway (9am) with a Camino arrow, then re-joined the other path, going up a steep hill through pretty forests-a 400m climb to Alto
de la Cruz. The path continues along a road VV9 (9.15am) signed to Peon (Pion). The countryside is very pretty with wide views, and fields with apple and lemon trees, vines and lilac, as well as some hens and cattle grazing. We arrived in Peon at 11am, and sadly the only bar Casa Pepito was shut (opens at 12), it is a massive unit with a big beer garden, so obviously very popular at some point. We sat on their handy picnic benches to eat our sandwiches.
We continued up the road, then right, up and over the hill, with the first views to Gijon. Arriving at bar le Curbiello at 12pm we called in. This is a bar in a great location which had so much potential. It was run by a very old lady, there is a small shop with no prices, or menu and a locked outside toilet. It does get good reviews online-perhaps we missed something. However, it did have some fabulous hand drawn maps on the walls showing local walks, and we were pleased that it was open and could get coffee.
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