Cangas de Onis

We returned the way we came and parked at the Cangas de Onis bus station. The town, a regional centre, was just a short walk across a footbridge.

The river here is Rio Güeña, a tributary of Rio Sella.

Cangas de Onis was the first capital of the Kingdom of Asturias, under Pelayo.

A Sunday fair was in progress in the town with stalls of local produce.

Our guide took us to the edge of downtown and pointed out the "Roman bridge" over the Rio Sella. It dates from the 14th or 15th century. Incidentally this is the Rio Sella that flows to the ocean at Ribadesella where I was a few days ago.

In the nearby park was this display hórreo. The guide checked that we had remembered our lesson by asking us the usage of an hórreo.

We were then given free time to roam the town, get a late lunch, and to be back at the bus station by a certain time.

Our last destination of the day was the coastal village of Llastres, which faces east. Here we are following the guide to the vantage point.

We were presented with this view.

If you like coastal scenery, Cantabria and Asturias are for you, especially on a sunny day. There is no shortage of places with gorgeous Atlantic views. Then there are the mountains and national parks of the range separating northern Spain from the centre. The locals are justifiably proud of their land and sea scapes.

A panoramic view.

We were dropped off where we started in Gijón. As we left, I joked with the Spanish language guide: I won't see you tomorrow. She slapped my arm in good humour. 

Ermita de la Regalina

I had booked a tour of the coast to the west of Gijón. The tour company had messaged me the day before saying that there weren't enough passengers for the English tour and would I like to reschedule or cancel? I instead opted for the Spanish tour, as I understand some.

The meeting point was Paseo de Begoña, a popular park in the centre of the city. I passed these posters of an exhibition of works of Asturian photographers. The nearest was taken in Gaza in 2024.

Our first stop was Ermita de la Regalina. Actually it was the whole of Punta del Cuernu that we were visiting. The day was brilliant and this was what we saw when we entered the point.

All over Cantabria and Asturias are coastal spots like these but this area was very picturesque.

Trying to get it all in.

One reason this is a tourism spot is because they have placed a hórreo here to show visitors what they look like and how they work. They are granaries used in northern Spain, especially Galicia, that rest on straddle stones which rodents cannot climb over.

Detail of a straddle stone. 

A panorama with artifacts from the mist and rising sun.

It looked dramatic against the light.

There is the tiny Playa de Cadavedo named after the nearby village.

A better look.

Near the end of the grounds, the ermita (church).

The tongue of land tapers out to sea.

The coast to the west.

There is a second hórreo closer to the ermita.

As this retrospective shows. In case they get hordes of tourists, maybe? 😄

We took last views of the area and headed back to the bus. At the nearest hotel some people had refreshments or used the toilets before reboarding. There are many accommodations in the area, but you'd need your own transport to get here.

I noted from a sign at the hotel that the Camino del Norte passed through this area.