Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria: The Triple Threat

If you thought Spain was all beaches, sangria, and dodgy “paella”, then Northern Spain is going to change your preconceptions pretty quickly. Mountains, fishing villages, sweeping cliffs, stone cottages – this part of the country has it all. It is a natural paradise and is well worth visiting for any traveler.

After our heatwave in the gorgeous O Grove area, we headed further north, first stop Ferrol. It is not the most remarkable of towns at this time of year , Easter is the time to visit, with one of the most lavish Semana Santa processions in all of Spain. But we did enjoy the Route of the Meninas in the Canido neighborhood. This is a street art movement which dates back to 2008, when the first artist reinterpreted Velasquez’s Menina’s in attempt to brighten up the largely run down area. Since then artists have added to the displays, some of them in very extravagant ways, resulting in a vibrant, thriving artistic part of the city that was fun to explore.

Our final stop in Galicia was San Ciprian (San Cibrao in Gallego), where there is one of the most scenic free are de autocaravanas we have visited so far. Unsurprisingly crowded at this time of year, we still loved the areas beaches and lighthouse and fabulous coastal walks. There is a massive aluminium plant, which led to a Google rabbithole of how the hell is aluminium is mined and processed. Every day is truly a school day on the road.

Leaving Galicia behind for now, we moved onto another crowded Area de AC, and another scenic wonderland the fishing town of Tapia de Casariego, in Asturias. Unsurprisingly, it was a popular spot in Summer and our Saturday night entertainment was trying to see how small a parking space was considered a valid motorhome parking spot, for the motorhomes who showed up after dark. Let me tell you it is pretty small. Still for us the crowded quarters were more than made up for by the stunning scenery and the vibrant summer atmosphere at the waterside bars and restaurants.

We really loved this town, it is a little fishing and surfing spot with a very picturesque port, another lighthouse and a gorgeous coastal walk. Cider is a big deal in these parts, it’s not like the Woodpecker versions we got drunk on as teenagers; it is very fresh, you aerate it as you pour either by pouring from a great height (which we saw some skilled locals do) or using a fancy little gizmo that you get in the Sidreria. We stuck with the gizmo. You don’t sip it either, you let it hit the glass and then get it swallied! I found the taste a bit jarring, but got used to it pretty quickly, funny how that happens.

We didn’t want to leave. But leave we did as we had reservations at a campground near the Picos de Europa, so off we trundled, through pretty towns and hair-raising narrow roads for a peaceful week ahead in Cantabria, enjoying the beautiful town of Potes and the nearby stunning scenery.