As we have a good distance to cover, we sail off early before the sun rises. We continue west from Santander and enjoy the mountains that build up behind the rocky beaches. A very nice scenery and it is very peaceful to let it sink in as we glide by out on the sea. We try to pause for lunch in Ria de Tina Mayor but the entrance is shallow and the swell is high so we decide to skip this tempting idea.

We continue westward and decide to take a chance and see if there is space in Lastres – described as a “very pretty unspoilt fishing village”. As we enter the harbour we spot a pontoon and grab a space. Just as we tie up, a Hallberg-Rassy joins us on the other space and we help them tie up. The Italian owner is sailing up to Ireland together with his daughter. We go up together to register but there is no office and there is nobody at the Nautic club so we leave our names to one of the shops that know them and go back to the boats. We return through the narrow streets and have a nice dinner aboard.

Sofie and I decide to explore the village and the narrow streets and the small houses climbing on the mountain is truly pretty. By chance, we stumble into the tourist office and get a map and direction to the top of the mountain. We continue the steep climb up to the church and after a while, we reach the top with its chapel and restaurant looking out over the sea. The scenery is breath taking and far below, we can see Melody in the harbour.

I wake up early and go for my daily quest for bread. The village is completely quiet and at a café I get directions is Spanish how to find the bakery. As my Spanish is non-existent I pick up the word for Church and start climbing. The hungry nose then leads me down a narrow passage to a bakery where you stand in the middle of the baking process as you decide your pick. After that, I countinue up to the mountain top. If the scenery was beautiful the evening before, it is now magic. Some birds sing and you can hear the sea below but otherwise this is a completely peaceful place and stunning view. I sit down at a bench and take my time and enjoy the moment.

We expect to spend some days in Gijon as we heard from friends that it is a nice city. The marina sits next to the old town in contrast with Bilbao and Santander. We take a walk into the town and gets some information. There is two beaches connected to the town and the Playa de San Larenzo city beach is very nice. At the cape to the sea, a park has been set up on the grounds of an old fortress with a concrete monument marking its place.

Gijon is famous for its cider culture and we go out on the town to taste. The cider should be poured from distance without looking – the higher the better. The Asturian cider tastes different from both the Swedish sweet cider and the Breton dry cider and is a good refreshment.

In the harbour, we also spot a Swedish flag. We have not met any Swedish sailors since Brest and it is fun to meet Anders and Lena from S/Y Space. They have just arrived after crossing the Biscay and are eager to experience the town and join us for a walk in the town and some drinks and snacks.

We stay for some days and enjoy Gijon and just relax. Swimming, visiting the roman baths, running, eating & drinking, walking and listening to bagpipe orchestras. The party life is late, and as I go for the usual quest for morning bread, I am in good company of people who are still partying – some even entering into new bars. There is also an army of people cleaning up fighting a never-ending battle with glass, plastic and other remnants after the night.

Next stop is Avilés which is not very well described in our pilot book. This is the third largest city in Asturia after Gijon and the capital Oveido and it turns out to be a beautiful town. The harbour is however filled to its rim with small sailing boats obviously participating in a race. We manage to tie up outside of an orphaned trimaran. It turns out that the race is a qualification race for a race to Azores and later across the Atlantic where they start from Les Sables d’Olonne. Funny to think that they have sailed from our starting points in two days when it has taken us two months.

We have a light dinner at the main square and then we split up in a shopping group (Sofie and Birgitta) and a city exploration group (me). The town is fascinating with medieval, renaissance, baroque, modern architecture intertwined with parks. The evening is enjoyed in the Sidreria Tiella Asturia that we were recommended for local food. The menu is vast, the rations are huge and the setting next to the square and church is nice. A very good ending of this stop and Asturia in general.