Day 8 - Rivers, caves and bufones

 

Well after all the storm stress things maybe weren’t as bad as anticipated but there were some strong gusts and the front cover lifted so was flapping about for much of the night. It’s still gusty and quite grey but the showers are light and infrequent. We caught the bakers van today so warm crusty bread for breakfast and it was delish! 

 Then packing up interspersed with playing with the aire owners dog who lived a game of fetch in the long grass. This time we really are going to head for the caves at Ribadesella where we have tickets for this afternoon (€4.14 each). First a run to the excellent Potes ferreteria where they supplied us with the bolts and washers needed if we decide to try and repair the roof hinges.  

 Then out on the same road as yesterday but keeping going when we get to the visitor centre and joining the N621 a slow road with a green line on the map, so should be attractive, and it saves us from repeating a stretch of the coast road that we travelled earlier in the week. Slow is the right word there are numerous roadworks as the entire road is obviously having a major refurb and in many cases new piles are being driven to support the ‘overhang’ that makes the road two cars wide. This means that there are many stretches reduced to one lane and traffic controlled but they are also incredibly long so each time it can take 5-10 minutes for traffic coming in the opposite direction to pass. However it’s hard to be irritated when the views are this dramatic as it follows the river gorge of the Deva which marks the Asturias/Cantabria border and we switch back and forth across the border along its length.

At Panes we turn onto the AS-114  still following the river but it’s now the Cares which is beautifully blue. When we see the sign to the Bulnes funicular we consider changing our plans but a quick research stop provides the information that it’s closed until Easter for maintenance.We stop for coffee with great view before continuing on to Ribadesella, turning to drive alongside the Sella again in gentler, greener countryside with kayak hire stations every five minutes.

We arrive at the cave centre with plenty of time to spare though not enough to look round the museum first. So kettle comes to the rescue again and it’s time for another cuppa facing the river in the sunshine.

The Tito Bustillo cave tour (€4.14) takes up to 15 people, but there are only nine of us booked on today. It’s all in Spanish but there is an audio guide you can download to listen to an English version while you walk round. (As long as you have headphones on your phone), it’s completely different type of cave system, the entrance has been cut in to minimise damage to the original site. There’s a lovely solid path that winds through a series of large spaces filled with stalactites  and stalagmites. The final cave about 700m in is where the paintings are, it’s completely dark and guide uses a torch to describe the paintings and the methods of painting. At one point switching it off to plunge us into complete darkness so we can focus on the sound of the nearby river. Many of these paintings are of horses and quite different to ones we’ve seen previously, thought they still use the fissures and natural shapes in the rock as a basis for their designs. It was really interesting and well worth going to.

The museum is closed when we come out and it’s but it’s a bit early to go to the campsite so we decide we are going to head off and see if we can find some more ‘bufones’ as there are some not too far away.  It’s another short drive retracing our steps east before dropping down to the Bufones de Pria (following signs not google as soon as we see them. There’s a large carpark on the edge of the village and it’s a 15 min walk or so to the coast on roads and easy paths. 

 

 As we approach the field of split rocks the ground shakes and sand flies in the air as the sea pushes air into a fissure beside us.

 Despite it being close to high tide the sea is not rough enough to force water columns through the rock but the waves do force air through and the noise is powerful. 

At the carpark we contemplate overnighting… there are clearly others here with that intention but it’s not very level and the showers at Ribadesella campsite were so good so we return there instead. It’s much busier than on Sunday and we end up between two large vans one of which is quite forthright in explaining he doesn’t want us there, and later loses it when we close our doors for the night which he feels is unnecessarily loud. But once we’re in we go out cold, been a long day….

Cumulative Mileage: 420

Overnight: Camping Playa de Sauces (as Sunday) 

Spending: Bakers van €4.40 , bolts for roof  €1.50, cave entry €8.18, Campsite €21