Day 14: Pendueles to Nueva, 20 miles Dodging the Rain

Let's pick up with yesterday at our destination Pendueles.  We arrived early enough (1:30 PM) to snag a table at a super-popular restaurant at the entrance of town.

These were just the appetizers.  We sooo overordered! 

We had made a reservation at an albergue right across the street,  but when we registered after lunch, we learned that the lady wasn't going to let us check out until after 7 AM.  No wiggle room at all.  On the fly, I made a reservation at another albergue, maybe 150 feet down the road.  Over a Mexican restaurant. 

I love Mexican food.   This was pure torture.   We were overstuffed (heck, we didn't even eat dinner), and I had to smell this awesome food until midnight! 

The flip side, though, is that the place had ten beds split between two rooms, and we got one of those rooms to ourselves.   We were able to wash our laundry in the sink and have it dry by morning,  draped around the room.  That's a really big deal.

We sneak out before six wearing headlamps.

It was overcast and dark. The path took us through the woods, past campgrounds,  and down to this beach, where we were greeted by the night watchman.   "Where are you from?", he asked.  "Baltimore, " we replied. "Oh? You have a port.  I just saw a movie about Baltimore and smuggling drugs..."

On we walked through the countryside.  Nobody else was on the road. Not even cars.

Here's a calf having breakfast before daybreak. 

The plan was to walk to a town named Nueva, over 20 miles away, 33+ kilometers. The first major objective was the major tourist town of Llanes. 

We reached the outskirts by 8:15. I know this because I was in a bar ordering coffee and Spanish Omelet while watching the running of the bulls in Pamplona live on TV (again).  Nobody got killed today.

Llanes is a beautiful town with beaches and an old quarter. We didn't give its due, but one thing it's known for are those mansions that Tina told you about, the ones that the emigrés to the new world built when they returned.   Wow. They were everywhere. 

A well kept example. 

One in need of a lot of TLC.

Another stately home in the countryside. They're everywhere. 

I digress. Having made such good time to Llanes, we decided to go for it and book a hotel in Nueva.  While the weather called for rain,  the clouds all seemed to be over the mountains,  inland.

Actually,  that's not a particularly threatening looking shot.  Take my word for it--there were black clouds on the mountains as we walked from beach town...

Playa de Palombinas 

To beach town....

Playa de San Atolín. 

Nobody seemed to care or notice that inland,  the weather was looking threatening.  Shoot, it was a perfect beach day.  

We stopped at this last beach for a soda break. Tina was at a breaking point.  (I can say that because she's napping. ) We've been pushing this hard and both of us are showing the wear.  For me, it's three blisters on the same toe and a stiff left elbow.  For her, it's a swollen ankle. 

We need to lighten the pace... in my opinion. 

It's amazing how you can find falling down properties right close to beaches with million dollar views.   This looks like a mini ghost town, and it's within a few hundred meters of that last beach.

This was a long day.  The further you walk,  the less motivated you are to take pictures.

Hey look! There's the next town.

Whoa! There's yet another beach between us and lunch...

Like I should complain... We got to Nuevo just before three, almost nine hours after we started.  We were in time to catch a good lunch at a nearby restaurant. 

Fabada Asturiana,  the local version of cassoulet.  This was my entree today. We did not over-order.

It's all good. We're resting. Our laundry is drying, and maybe, just maybe, we'll make it to a place named La Isla tomorrow.   (We're keeping up with my original itinerary,  but at what cost?)

It's Tina's turn tomorrow.