Posted by It was an easy drive from Pendarronda to Cudillero with a few detours along the way stopping in at a few fishing villages and Playa’s along the way. Our Hotel Apartment is up on top of the hill above the old town at El Pito and is a lovely modern partaken within an old 19th century Villa’s estate. The main building is beautiful and very Rosa coloured with very stylish interiors where we will have breakfast and enjoy the sumptuous lounge areas.
Our first night we ventured down an old track into town….mistake, Ann’s knee played up and my Foot/heel tendinitis/bursitis flared up again due to the incline. We took in the old town, had a drink before dinner and took in the harbour and coastline before having a really nice fish dinner at a restaurant the Hotel owner recommended called … we wandered a bit more before getting the 4.50 euro taxi ride back up the hill. We have 4 nights here so exploring the region was on the cards…bodies permitting.
Our first day was taken up by visiting the local Palacio of the Family who built this Italian style Palacio in the country estate Villa style of the 17th century even though they built it in the late 19th century. The gardens were stunning with Italian, French and English styles utilised. The Palacio was highly ornate but no photos allowed …crazy concept, and not even in the gardens but i managed to shoot off a few out of the prying eye sight of the numerous guards. We ate an average lunch at the local restaurant and had an early night to rest our feet.
A bigger day ahead on day two with a drive to Playa Silencio a spectacular beach and headland just to the north of Cudillero and on the way we passed under the amazing Viaducto’s of the A8 Autovía, there are literally 100’s of these along the distance along the north coast.
Next was a visit to the port town of Aviles which is the regional centre and also a very historic centre with multiple covered portico walkways along the streets. There are stunning 17th, 18th and 19th century palacios, town houses and other civic buildings that make this a very important part of the heritage of the region. So many homes were built in the late 18th to the late 19th century by the Indianos returnees who made their fortunes in Central and South America as well as Cuba.
The town was a real delight and had some stunning medieavil features mixed in with the modernist showings of wealth.
Our last day was a quiet one at the start visiting the local Playas for a walk on the sand and then a lunch in town at Casa Julio whilst the local folk band and Mexican Marachi band were warming up for the festival that night and the Romany’s and carnies were setting up the rides and stalls for the next two days of celebrations. We came back down at night to be part of it all and joined in the fun with the locals.
Off to Santillana and a few stops along the way, first to Lastres with its spectacular views to the mountains through the clouds that really shows how mountainous this coast is. The Vista from the Mirador was spectacular and the fishing village below was a picturesque as it can get. We stopped there for moring tea beside the little chapel which shared the hilltop position with an amazing 1960’s modernist dream home that had really seen better days but will be a fabulous restoration project one day.
Next stop was Ribadesella, and wow what a stunning spot with its pristine white sand beach on one side and a lovely told own centre on the other side of the river mouth. The Indanoas Houses along the beachfront were the best we had seen so far and the hive of activity between 1890 and 1920 saw some stunning creations.. We enjoyed a Michelin star worthy meal at Restaurant MAGUAR in Villa Rosario and then wandered around the riverfront to see the extent of this lovely town. Next stop was the lovely beaches along the coast near Llanes where we were smitten by the beauty of the little calm and pristine bays that were like being in the tropics but without the palm trees.
