East from Gijón

Mirador de San Roque

On our way to Potes and the eastern side of Picos de Europa national park we traveled along the coast, stopping at a few spots on our way. Our first stop was an overlook above the town of Llastres. We managed to snag a parking spot right away but there isn’t much to do up there besides admire the view, so I am sure spots turn over fairly frequently.

Playa de La Griega

While at the overlook, Eric was checking out how to get to the distant beach when he spotted a map pin for dinosaur footprints. What!? So, we wound our way back down the hill, parked near Playa de La Griega and followed a short trail between the beach and eucalyptus trees to the far end of the beach where we saw fossilized dinosaur footprints – some from a sauropod and others from a theropod. It takes a bit of imagination but was cool, nonetheless.

the whole circle is one footprint!

Ribadesella

We found a parking spot in a free lot at the edge of town and walked out to the end of the harbor for some great views.

After fortifying ourselves with a pastry each, we wandered around town checking out the architecture and charming streets. Many of the cafes were lively with groups and families.

Mirador del Fitu

We had planned a few stops on our way back to Gijón but woke up to a hazy day, so the viewpoints weren’t quite as nice as we had hoped. Nevertheless, we did stop at Mirador del Fitu (for views of the mountains and the ocean) and tried to stop at Desfiladero de Entrepeñas (small gorge with picnic tables) / Playa del Vega but the police were waving motorists onward and cars were parked all over the road.

We had packed a jamon bocadillo to go so we stopped at the Mirador de La Providencia overlook and found a shady spot to eat.

West from Gijón to A Coruña

Cudillero

Instead of taking a four hour bus to A Coruña, we opted to rent a car for the day so we could see some sites. Cudillero was our first stop along the coast but the tourist parking lot outside of town didn’t seem to be free even though Google reviews said they didn’t charge until June 1. Plus, it was cloudy, so we decided to move on.

Along the A8 highway we passed over lots of viaducts, each one signed with a name and span distance.

As Catedrais Beach

The sun finally came out just before we made the turn toward the coast for the beach. We parked in the larger overflow lot for caravans and because it was the end of May, we didn’t need to book a free parking spot ahead of time. My guess is that they station someone to check QR codes in the high season? It was fairly busy on this Saturday morning and from the parking lot, it’s a short walk to the stairs to the beach.

It’s a beautiful walk along the sand, lots of layered rock, tidal pools, and small caves. And a Galician bagpipe player! We hit low tide just about perfectly, which let us explore along nearly the whole beach. Definitely worth a stop if you can time it right!

Catedral de San Martiño de Mondoñedo

Thought to be the oldest cathedral in Spain, this church is located in a small village near Foz. We found a parking spot in front and went through the blue door to view the small history museum and access the main sanctuary. Charming place! There were some shady benches nearby, so we ate our lunch enjoying a spotless starling making a ton of noise.