Getaway to Asturias and Cantabria

(Versión española)

Taking advantage of the fact that Thursday the 13th was a holiday in Santiago and Monday the 17th in all of Galicia, we had already planned a long time to ask for Friday and make a small getaway to a nearby campsite, but, in the end, the weather did not help at all, so, finally we decided to do a small getaway but to the near north to see a couple of things there, specifically our intention was to see the Fernando Alonso museum, the Altamira and El Soplao caves, in addition to what may arise.

The truth is that the planning was non-existent because we took a long time to decide.

In the end, we decided to stop at a campsite the first day before reaching the detour to the museum and another halfway from the two caves.

13 May

In the morning I sent a couple of emails to the selected campsites. The Caravaning Oyambre campsite confirmed that it was open, but the one we selected for the initial stage was not. Even so, we go out because, for one night, like good Galicians, “malo será”. (Don’t be worry it will be good).

On the way we called and, the truth is that, at first we did not find any open, but when we stopped at our first usual stop along this route to stretch our legs (Gas station at the Navia exit), we called one who told us that It was only open for caravans and motorhomes with bathroom, since that the bathrooms were not available. No problem, with the one of the caravan we could manage.

So, we ended up in a private area near Luarca; Cantiles area.

For one night, it is not bad, you can see that the place is in very low season but the environment is quite beautiful and it is a quiet place, it were us  and a couple in a motorhome, so it is not a judgment taken in conditions that could give another result.

 

It is clear that the day is rainy.

About the area:

I think that before it was a campsite and that now it was only functioning as a caravan and motorhome area. From what I have seen after on their page, I think that it will even cease its activity from July 2021 temporarily but indefinitely, with which it is better to confirm if someone is going there.

At the time we were there were no toilets available, it was in private parking area mode. Everything seemed somewhat abandoned, but I imagine it is because it is very low season.

The sinks are as if they had not been cleaned in a time, I do not know if it is the normal situation, or it is simply because they had just opened (after COVID activity closure). Anyway, in our case, it was great to spend a night on the way. No frills.

The washer and dryer is coin-operated (4 euros). We do not need it but that it works with coins seems convenient

We went with 2 children and a teenager and they charged us 3 euros for adults, in principle it was 15 euros with electricity (6A) but in the end they charged us 18. It was not very clear to me why, theoretically they are 1.5 for each more adult, and no It was clear to me how they did the calculation but, the truth is neither I protested nor is it excessive, they made up for it with the WiFi zone that was working very well, it has plugs and some lockers to leave the mobile charging.

It has a barbecue next to the water change area.

 

 

As an area it is very good, possibly in high season even better, if we had to stop in this area again we would possibly do it again.

 

 

14 May

 

It was  better weather.

 

As my internal clock woke me up at 5:30 and even lazy and going as slow as possible at the end, around 7 in the morning, I was already taking a walk.

 

Once we had breakfast, we headed towards the Fernando Alonso museum:

 

 

Here are some photos that the family took:

There is much more to see, it is an essential visit for any fan of the motor world.

 

As I did not want to leave the caravan alone, I stayed to watch it and the others went into (another time maybe), as I was bored I decided to continue working in the installation of the solar panel to make the caravan autonomous, basically I had to put the relay to switch automatically  the source of power when de car is disconnected.

 

And there we started with the setbacks, I made a mistake when connecting a wire to the relay and caused a short that evidently blew a fuse. This would not normally be a problem, if I knew where the fuse was in the car, that is, we ran out of power from the car, I checked that it was from the car (in the trailer plug socket with the multimeter). Temporarily I left plugged in the power to the battery of the mover and to the solar panel. I think that with the sunny day barely consumed the battery, with the consumption that the regulator marked, even without a plate, it would last several days.

 

Anyway, we decided to look for a workshop in Oviedo and go closer, we found a place in the polygon between two trucks to park a few meters from the workshop waiting for it to open at four. While it was not open, we ate and I checked all the possible fuses without finding the one I was looking for. At half past three the workshop in Santiago opened, I called them to see if they knew and they kindly referred me to the one in Oviedo and told me to ask for someone in particular.

 

Those from the Oviedo workshop were great, they approached the car and tried to find the fuse or whatever, finally they found some inaccessible fuses but in the end we did not solve it. Of course, my thanks for your attention to both Gonzacar Santiago and Autoavisa de Oviedo.

 

Finally we drove to the Caravaning Oyambre campsite where we had actually already been once when we were coming back from the Loire castles.

Upon arriving at the campsite, one of the children playing with the stabilizer disassembled a piece and lost the clip that held one of the parts of the friction system, in short, nothing serious but it will be necessary to be careful not to lose it until you put a new clip on it.

 

And children's showers, dinners, etc.

 

15 May

Light rainy day.

 

Altamira cave and museum.

 

 

El Soplao Cave

We were going to eat in the restaurant that was in the same complex as the rest of the cave facilities, but when we arrived they told us that they just opened today and they only had bar service. We asked him where we could go and he told us that the closest town was Celis. The truth is that it is just below but the most immediate path did not recommend it and we went where we had climbed (the 7km of curves with fog).

After eating at Celis we went back up, this time without fog. We already had the tickets so we arrived early, we actually arrived when the 4 o'clock train was due to leave and the children insisted on staying the first half hour to catch the first train car. Unfortunately it was not like that because a man who was there already placed did not leave, it was clear that he also wanted the first car, although, in the end, he did not have any advantage either because he was behind a small machine and it was less visible than in the others , Every cloud has a silver lining.

 

   

In El Soplao they don't allow you to take photos, so here is this one of the station of the little train where you get on and off

 

16 May

It was a windy night and a lot of rain, I feared at some point for the awning, but this time it was well anchored. Anyway, when I came back from the shower at 7 o'clock I lowered it a bit and put a grip on it, lowering it already had a much less sail effect and with the improvised safety rope with some straps to hold things it was very safe, so I started to watch a movie while the rest ones did not wake up.

Finally, in the morning it subsided a bit.

We went for a walk in the direction of Comillas and ended up stopping at the cemetery because it caught our attention from the road.

It is an old church converted into a cemetery.

 

 

 

Sobrellano Palace

In works ...

 

 

 

The neo-gothic chapel

 

And in the garden they have a dinosaur egg …

Inside

 

The visit is guided and it is worth it, the price is not expensive. They tell you the history of the palace and the family. As well as the evolution of the Marquisate of Comillas.

The Capricho of Gaudí

 

 

And relaxing afternoon in camping. We have already collected as much as possible to start the next day.

 

17 May

Day of return.

We made two small stops along the way, one because I realized that we were going without the mirrors for the caravan and then because one of them came loose and lost the anchor, but as always blessed tie warps :).

It hasn't rained, so we were even able to eat at one of the tables in a service area…

  

And it's over for now...

Going out to a near campsite

(Versión Española)

Today it's time to go to a nearby campsite, in Maceira, Covelo: Camping Maceira

  

As always, we going out late and stopping to eat.

We decided to take the bikes all and the truth is that five are a lot for the garage so 2 in the caravan and 3 on the roof of the car.

 

 

When we arrived it was not raining but we knew it was going to happen and it happened, anyway, everything was fine, we had time to mount everything, with the camper calm and even to have a coffee in the bar/restaurant of the campsite (which also has access to people from outside the campsite): “Boca Chea”

 

All good, the Maceira campsite is fine, it is not a very large campsite but it is well cared for and the staff is pleasant and attentive.

 

It has many services, board games to borrow, a recreational area for children, with free ping-pong and table football, basketball court/soccer field, a covered park area where they play a movie at 9 p.m. despite being low season), a legos area, etc.

 

There is a swimming pool but I don't think we use it and a paid jacuzzi if you want (20 euros per couple), we no longer use these things. They are for those who come without children, with that money we pay for the pedal cars for an hour.

 

The setting is also very beautiful next to a river beach, surely more beautiful than I can put in photos surely.

 

 

 

The open bathrooms  (season with few people) are small, but more than enough: two showers, two toilets, a sink with its mirror and an area adapted for people with reduced mobility. Of course, whenever I have been they are clean, at this  COVID times only allows capacity for three people but, at the hours that I have used it, I have never had to share it. If I wanted to mention a drawback, , I would say that the showers, despite being neat and with a modern system, are not very big, you have to leave your clothes outside and, although they have tilt-and-turn glass doors, If you are a little big you end up wetting the floor outside, luckily when I went there was a mop and a bucket in one corner that allows you to leave it clean for the next.

 

 

 

Day 2

The first half day has passed and this second it has rained again, although it is not much, it seems that it will be like that all day.

 

When going to wash the dishes, although the open sink area is not very wide, it is super well thought out, especially for those of us who carry a lot of dishes because there are many of us. Two areas with two sinks attached and some drainboards on top. There is hot water in one of the two sinks.

 

 

They have a wastebasket, a stool for the little ones and a container to deposit the used oil.

 

We have spent some time playing in the caravan and then with the little ones to do the treasure hunt that is on the campsite, until it was time for me to grill and they continued around, looking for clues.

 

And in the afternoon I receive an SMS from SERGAS to go and get the COVID vaccine tomorrow ... Goodbye mini-vacations, to pick up tomorrow morning and go home after eating. We didn't even remove the bikes from under the cover because the good weather was coming tomorrow.

 

But first, we will have one of those pizzas half a meter from Boca Chea for dinner.

 

 

Day 3

At the end of the early departure day.

 

One thing I like about campsites is that there are not many people who get up early, so since I usually get up between 6 and 7 at the latest, I almost always have the shower to myself and after an hour or two of peace that allows me to work on UOC topics or do other things with the calm of the vast majority sleeping. For the record, in this day and age at least, I would say this is not a noisy campsite.

 

Pedal car rental for children € 3 / hour each car.

 

They have a great time with those things.

 

And all of us going for a ride our bikes around the mountains, but after we are all ready and leave, which is already hard, and start the road, I receive a call from SERGAS where they tell me if I my be in the hospital before two instead of at half-past four. I tell him that it would arrive (the sooner they vaccine me, the better) so we went back to the caravan, I took the car and went to the Provincial Hospital in Pontevedra to get the vaccine.

 

After queuing for a quarter of an hour, a  shot and another quarter of an hour waiting in case it gives you a reaction, I come back,  at a quarter to four or so I arrived at the campsite. On the way, the idea of staying was already coming, so I asked at the campsite if I could leave the caravan for a couple of days if the vaccine gave me a reaction on Sunday and I felt bad to take it. They told me that without problem for a couple of days, I had already said that I find the people at the campsite very friendly.

When I got to the camping pitch and told the children about it, they were very happy.

They spent the afternoon biking through the camping and running around.

The older ones had a bit of country relaxation and do the laundry because the amount of clothes that these children stain when it rains is not normal.

 

 

Day 4

Here I am in the morning and without symptoms, I must admit that just in case I have taken paracetamol prescribed so that the symptoms are not even close. I may notice a little more fatigue and sometimes a slight headache, but of course, nothing that prevents me from leading a normal life at the moment. So, for now, it has been a good decision to stay.

 

I got up a little later, it's 8 o'clock and I haven't gotten into the shower yet, but that's where I have to go.

 

A walk with Fujur in the outdoor area, it's nice, totally deserted to ourselves.

 

It breaks the atmosphere a bit because it makes some noise, which I think is a small hydroelectric power station at the beginning of the area.

 

 

But, honestly, I think this is better than another type of generation that is much more polluting.

 

The morning has passed quickly, the children have taken another ride in the pedal cars and now they are playing with the bikes again.

 

It is time to cook the grill for lunch and we have little left to dismount and leave.

Anyway, if nothing remarkable comes up, here I close this chapter.

 

I think this editing on the fly will be better than trying to do all the job when you return and stay half, like previous entries that were half or simply non-existent ;)