The Road from Santiago

Why are we here? Is it to see the iglesia parroquial de Santiago del Monte? Well yes, in part. Mostly we are here to be near my favourite airport - Asturias. To be honest Santiago will intrigue - it has tiny lanes with barns sticking out into them, and the church is nice - Francisco says ‘Good place to sit and rest and contemplate all the beauty of the surroundings. On the Camino de Santiago, this well-kept and clean site, surrounded by gardens, is an ideal place to sit and reflect on our journey.’  However, it won’t take long. I do not fly nearly enough not to still be excited by it.  Some airports are grand, some are comfy.  Asturias airport is the later.  Why do I love so much.  For these reasons. 1] The car park is outside the terminal. It takes minutes to get to your car. 2] To land the plane has to do a sharp turn and come parallel to the coast and swoop over the River Nalon to land. 3] It has a gift shop that sells high quality Asturian kitsch. 4] It has ...

  We are out amid the hayfieds, coverts and occasional houses. We will pass the Apartments Rural Los Novales.  A week ago Blanca wrote ‘A beautiful, clean and well-kept place where the hosts treated us very well. We went with a school group doing the Camino de Santiago and we were very comfortable. Also highly recommended to go with the family.’   In quick order we will pass the Iglesia Parroquial de Santiago de Ranon.  It has 10 reviews. It is worth an average 3.7.  The same building is site as being 50m away and gets 2 reviews and 3.5 stars,  Churches do tend reviews of the odd variety. Here are some: Adrian said ‘ Although it is not a building with centuries of history, the simplicity and certain reflection of the Asturian pre-Romanesque is curious, with those simple naves and those windows.’ Luciana opined ‘Church located in the center of town, well preserved and simple like most temples, I was not able to visit it inside, on the outside it looks v...

  We are heading out to San Juan de la Arena [Saint John of the Sand]  Why? Well, although we won’t make it to the beach - unless we sneak off at the close of play - we are here for the beach that San Esteban doesn’t have.  We are heading down the SB-3, passed the Castillo de San Martin of which I know nothing and onto the Apartamentos Silvano L’Arena.  The general view in recent months is that the people say the hosts are helpful but the place is grubby.  Nine months ago Leticia said ‘They hosted us without a reservation, but cleanliness was conspicuous by its absence.Hood dripping oil, furniture full of fingerprints, refrigerator with a smell, living room table with an incredible layer of dust......There is no need to test the cotton, with the socks it is clear....’   Two months ago Nuria ‘We went a year ago and I really don't recommend it, everything was super dirty and the furniture was very old and uncomfortable. They need to give the houses a good fac...

  A quick reverse and down the 400 steps to the mouth of the Nalon.  The river goes inland and it is followed by road and rail into the heart of Asturias, linking many towns of antiquity.  Here, at the mouth, you have the rocky and bleak bit one side and the sandy touristy bit on the other. Lacking a decent beach San Esteban built a salt water poor some 50m by 25m. It is open from noon till 8pm and costs anyone over 6 years old 2.30 euros. https://www.murosdenalon.es/piscinas   Be warned, you have to wear head coverings but they will sell them at a modest price.  Once you have swum you may desport yourself on the grassy embankments.  Yesterday David wrote ‘50-meter swimming pool for children, special salt water, very good facilities and good treatment from the staff, Lucía very friendly, lifeguards and other staff, with courses for children and Aquagym.’   Four days ago Victor came looking for peace away from the beach.  He really didn’t get ...

We are walking near Muros de Nalon.  It is one of those hilltop - well, cliff top - places which suggests antiquity but has had a huge amount of development in recent times.  It has a Mediaeval church and grew as the adjunct to the nearby port - which was a centre for the unloading of coal. It has seen some matters of violence. Marshall Ney sacked the place during the Napoleonic Wars and in September 1934 a steamer full of weapons bound for Ethiopia were detained here and used in the subsequent October Rebellion. Between 1884 and 1890 artists hung around here,  Casto Plasencia was among its leads. His death saw the group dissolve.  I include At nightfall , a work by Tomás García Sampedro as a sample of their work. I think we haven’t been to a tattoo parlour since Santiago so we will pop into Ume’s home based place of body art.  It gets 32 reviews and averages 5 stars. They have an instagram account https://www.instagram.com/umetattoo/   Five months ago An...

  Happy St James's Day.  Patron Saint of Spain and holy day in Galicia. We are in Asturias.  Never mind we will think of him and press on. We are going to the beach. Like most Asturian beaches it is not near a convenient town but down a steep road. First, however, the Hotel Rural Aguilar Cudillero. It gets 4.8 stars from over 200 reviews so it looks good.  Two days ago Sonia said ‘A place where you can breathe tranquillity, the owner is very nice and you cannot leave without trying her homemade breakfasts.’  Two weeks ago El Vicen said ‘It cannot be described in words, you feel at home, the owner is exceptional, very kind, attentive and close. The beautiful hotel. The delicious breakfast.’   Ok, I looked for a poor one to bring balance to the force.  The only two star review said Ans said ‘During our trip through Asturias we booked this hotel based on reviews from others. Unfortunately, the hotel did not meet our expectations. The directions are unclea...