Wednesday September 5, Candas

It was a rather interesting drive down the pass!

Woke this morning to thunder reverberating around the mountains, flashes of lightning and then the rain started. That scuttled our plans to drive to Trubia for a rail trail ride. It had been a mining railway but had been abandoned many years ago, and has recently been converted into a Vias Verdes. Checked the forecast and the weather there was going to be wet again tomorrow. Decided to head to the coast to Gijon with a camper area by the harbour.

We had to queue to use the dump before we left, and waited almost half an hour for one camper to empty, so frustrating. It was a really enjoyable drive especially after the rain eased. Rounded a corner but I was too slow with my camera after noticing a flock of sheep on the side of the road, and realised there were four large white “sheep” dogs minding them. It was quite a sight.

The road through the pass from the high point at 1490 metres reminded us very much of the Trollstigen Road in Norway, it had multiple hairpins dropping sharply, but it had reasonable width and thankfully we didn’t pass a car. Breath-taking scenery through the rocky outcrops. Arrived at the bottom and found a good pull over spot for a late lunch break.

This country is so green with lush pasture and small herds of breeding cows fenced in with split post railings. Very idyllic. The last section was on the motorway past the outskirts of Oviedo and into Gijon. A real culture shock after the mountains. Arrived at the park only to find it was completely full with overflow campers in the carpark, and the roar of trucks passing to go to the port. Not our scene.

Parked up and did a bit of research on Park4night and found a place 15 minutes drive at a town on the coast, so back on the road again. It is a nice quiet spot and not far from the sea. My hair has not been cut for over two months and is becoming a real mess, just can’t do anything with it. Googled hairdressers in town and found one a short walk away. I am not sure what it will be like but decided to bite the bullet and with the help of Google Translate have got an appointment for 10 in the morning.

Ian is sneezing and coughing with his head cold. Thought we would walk into town this evening, but decided against it and are having a quiet evening. A selection of drive by shots today, through a rain spotted wind screen.

Lunch stop at the bottom of the pass

A little plant growing in the rocky outcrop