Back to the Sea

I didn’t think much to Vilalba. A really dull town with not much to recommend it. The hotel there was comfortable enough & decent value, though the breakfast was woeful, even at €2.50! 

We set off at 9am in cool, overcast conditions & headed NE towards the coast on the N-634. On a predominately straight & easy gradient, we made good time initially. We rode into rain  after about an hour & this coincided with a significant downhill run which I bizarrely found quite invigorating as we got a cold soaking. We pushed on past Mondonedo & Lourenza, as the rain began to abate, but we were getting increasingly in need of refreshments as the miles ticked by. After about 35 miles, we were nearly at the coast &  Barreiros provided a great roadside cafe for coffee & tortilla. 

Afterwards, Alex set off and immediately went the wrong way around a roundabout & had to be shouted back. Still, we made it safely onto the old coastal main road and continued to make good progress. A little up & down, but we’d done over 60 miles when we dropped down into the port of Navia & picked a keyside restaurant for something a little more substantial. Unsurprisingly, decent seafood. It went down well, though the waitress did say that she ‘hated’ Alex for placing his tea cup cover onto his used dinner plate into the bravas sauce. Bad boy! 

Only a few miles run into Lluarca, but quite hilly. We soon hit the town & then has difficulty navigating out of it toward the campsite. 

Kevin then did a Kevin & disappeared off somewheregot whilst the three of us sussed the exit up a stinging cobbled climb. 

We found the campsite, Los Cantiles. The elderly owner, a woman of Dutch or German origin greeted us as she tended the lawn at the front of reception & told us to ring the bell for attention, then promptly walked around the back & came into reception to book us in. Barking! 

Beautiful pitch though:

We later cycled to a nearby supermarket for supplies & returned to picnic in the covered terrace area. 


A good evening with a makeshift tea, as they often are. 

I shared my tent that night. Unfortunately she wasn’t a friend. I dispatched her in the morning in a pool of blood. Mine!!