Border with Asturias and Picos de Europa

Now we drove a few kilometers further east along the coast in two stops, we were on the border between Galicia and Asturias, then we went further into the Picos de Europa National Park.

It started with a drive over a bridge, then we were suddenly in Asturias, BUT one of the highlights of the region was to be found a few kilometers back to the west, in Galicia!

We went to Praia das Catedrais during a break in the rain, and it was worth it! There were LOTS of people there, but May 1st is a public holiday in Spain too, so it was no surprise! We walked along the beach and then made a detour to the other beaches nearby, because the rock formations were really great. It would have been even more impressive on a day with low tide and sunshine, but Loki and I were excited anyway. Nerone was then allowed to look at the rocks on another beach, they both found it fun and exciting, they weren't the only four-legged friends there.

Galicia is known for its specialties, which we have tested in the restaurants and can clearly confirm, because the cuisine is more varied than in Andalusia and the other regions, there is fish, seafood, meat and co., but Asturias fits in well with this!

When we made our second stop in Asturias, Christian discovered while he was still setting up at the campsite that there must be a well-known restaurant nearby and also a cider house, because there are really many apple trees in the Picos de Europa National Park. So we simply dared to take on the adventure, we drove to the well-hidden restaurant, which is very well signposted - Google isn't everything - and then enjoyed a truly gigantic meal. I can only warmly recommend El Pareón, because the atmosphere in the restaurant, including the dog, was of course great for us!

The national park entices with great views and spectacles in the hiking apps. Of course, we initially decided to do a loop, which would have been one of the park's highlights, but that didn't happen. You have to take a bus to get to the lakes, and thanks to the public holiday, it was already very busy, AND our dogs would have had to go in the luggage compartment, which would have required us to coordinate with the bus driver. That was too much uncertainty for us, so we looked for another hike that was not unimpressive in terms of the view. The park is really intended for excursions, and we did the second hike directly from the campsite, which was also really beautiful. I now know that wild garlic grows here too, when it is mountainous and there is enough moisture.

Overall, we sometimes had the feeling that we had landed in Tyrol, because there are still figs and palm trees growing there, then there is broom and the like, but also an alpine farm with cows and goats. The latter blocked our path a little during a hike, the shepherd dogs or livestock guardian dogs barked at the car, one even chased after us, but everything went smoothly! It was extremely funny.

The campsite was a kind of transit campsite, but we liked it a lot; we didn't go back to the restaurant after the first, great evening.

I would have liked a less busy weekend, after all we were practically alone on our terrace at the campsite, so it was really nice and quiet.