Day 23 - Rest Day in Llanes
Date: Sunday July 7
Start: Llanes, Asturias
End: Llanes, Asturias
Daily Mileage: NA
Total Mileage: ~248mi (~399km)
Today we took a rest day in Llanes. If you’re doing any math, this is our fifth zero in the last nine days, which means our hiking percentage on the current stretch is not that impressive. Some of those rest days were due to sickness and gear replacement. And, of course, we just aren’t in any particular hurry. We’ve really been enjoying exploring the towns and cities along the route.
Also, we had read that Llanes was one of the ‘trendiest, hippest’ stops on the Camino del Norte. Since we are very hip and trendy, we figured we’d better stick around and enhance the town atmosphere for a day.
Since yesterday’s blog was so darn long, I’ll keep today’s short.
We slept in a bit. Until children in the neighboring room woke up and made this impossible.
We had croissant sandwiches, churros, and chocolate for breakfast. Chocolate is a well known complement to any healthy breakfast.
We wandered around town in the morning, and again in the evening, taking in some of the fantastic viewpoints and historic architecture the city has to offer, from the Cubes of Memory along the port area to the beautiful bougainvillea along the walls of the Basílica de Santa María del Concejo.
Most importantly, it did not rain.
Here is a brief tour of a bit of our day in Llanes, presented as a series of moderately adequate photos:
Breakfast, well after we’d started eating.
Playa de Puerto Chico, Llanes and the Picos de Europa in the background.
The same ‘beach’ as in the photo above, only in the evening, under vastly different light (and a slightly different vantage point), after the tide has come in and covered the beach.
Llanes coastline
Los Cubos de la Memoria, photo taken from the lighthouse.
Port of Llanes
Port of Llanes
Los Cubos de la Memoria
Los Cubos de la Memoria
Playa de El Sablón
Plaza Cristo Rey
Basílica de Santa María del Concejo
Bougainvillea along Basílica de Santa María del Concejo
Palacio de los Duques de Estrada.
Torreón de Llanes
Port of Llanes
Port of Llanes
La Menina Aldeana
Casino de Llanes, one of many examples of Indianos architecture in Llanes.
Today was a mixed bag of skies. The overcast, moody photos above were from our stroll in the late morning/early afternoon, while those with the radiant blue skies, brilliant sun, and wispy clouds were a product of a very gorgeous evening. Llanes is a very beautiful town, particularly in the soft evening light.
And that’s it. The day was mostly strolling and relaxing. And churros. No special visits or museums. No long lunches. But plenty of coffee. Maybe a slice of cake…
Tomorrow we’re off for a three-day stretch of long hiking days to Gijón. NEXT STOP…