From Galicia to Asturias: Where We Stopped (and Stayed) Along the Way
This is a continuing series of photographs from our Galicia Road Trip (with a few stops in Asturias) this past August.
You know those “with a few stops in Asturias” I keep mentioning at the top of this series of posts? Well, we’re finally gonna get to those stops in the next few posts. In my last posts, I featured images from a few days well spent in the city of A Coruña (including the city’s medieval Torre de Hércules). And in planning my itinerary, a stop at the Playa de las Catedrales (Cathedral Beach), about a 90 minute drive NE into the region of Asturias, was a must.
The Playa de las Catedrales is a natural monument where, during ebb tide, you can walk along the beach and behold buttresses that are 30 meters high and enter sea caves with spired domes. I visited this stunning beach when I visited Galicia with my daughter and late wife back in 2011 and was hoping to do the same with Serena. You can watch a video from that trip HERE – but more on that in a bit…
With my family at Playa de las Catedrales, 2011
Now, driving through Spain is not like driving in the States, once you’re outside of a bustling major city (think Madrid, Barcelona, or Sevilla), the highways (usually, two lanes going in either direction) are rarely congested and there’s plenty of scenery to chew on to make a long drive seem shorter, especially if your route takes you through some smaller towns. In Galicia, it’s even more so.
Irixoa
Up to this point, driving up the coast of Galicia and through its more rural towns had been nothing but a joy – a literal feast for the eyes. Beautiful fields, old rustic farmhouses, rolling hills, small medieval cathedrals, and the occasional “block party”, one of which we spotted as we drove through Irixoa, a small town in the Province of A Coruña with a population of under 1,500.
We had to stop. And typical of the Galician people, they had no problem with Serena and I crashing their party with cameras in hand. Here are a few photographs of the festive affair…
After our little pitstop in Irixoa, we continued onward to one of my intended stops on our way to Asturias, an abbey that dates back to the 10th century in Monfero, a small town (population just over 2,000) whose economy is based almost exclusively on farming, agriculture and timber production.
Monasterio de Santa María de Monfero
Monasterio de Santa María de Monfero is a Cistercian monastery founded by King Alfonso VII at the beginning of the 11th century made up of a church, chapterhouse, side chapels, baptistry, gatehouse, three cloisters, and refectory.
In the 17th century, the Romanesque monastery was struck by lightning and destroyed. It was rebuilt between 1620 and 1658 in the Baroque style. In 1805 the church was again struck by lightning(!) and damaged. 19th century “Desamortización” (aimed at reducing Church power) resulted in the dissolution of the monasteries in Spain.
The present building complex is constructed mostly of granite and slate on a sprawling area of land. The main facade maintains its checkered decoration by means of granite and slate bond stones, framed by four Corinthian order pilasters and columns, decorated with triglyphs (rectangular, vertically channeled stone tablets) and metopes (square or rectangular recessed spaces that sit between the triglyphs), reaching up to the cornice, above which there is one impressive bell tower. And despite another gloriously sunny day, I did manage to grab a few exterior shots of this impressive structure – here’s a short gallery…
Palacete Peñalba
Then it was off to our first stop in the region of Asturias – Castropol, a lovely fishing village overlooking the estuary along the Río Eo (Eo River). It was there that I managed to reserve a hotel (out of the few that still had rooms available) that I was pretty sure Serena was gonna love – the Palacete Peñalba, a unique, 19-room, four-star hotel made up of two modernist mansions dating back to 1912.
Our route from A Coruña to our hotel in Castropol, Asturias
There’s a main mansion that looks like something out of a fairytale but that building had all the rooms booked (like most of the hotels in the region during August) but the other mansion (just down a short path) had an available room with views of the estuary. The short video below illustrates the space between the two (we stood in the first mansion you see in the video).
So, we ended up staying here (images below)
And then took a short walk over to the other location for a hot buffet breakfast – and we also enjoyed a delicious sunset dinner at their Restaurante Peñalba, a longer downhill walk to the port of Figueres but well worth it! (images below)
Let’s just say that, up to this point, I was pretty much batting a thousand.
Playa de Peñarronda
Now, remember the Playa de las Catedrales I mentioned at the top of this post? Well, being that we were in high season of August, ticket availability was non-existent during our time in Asturias. In my unreservedly comprehensive itinerary, however, I foresaw this very possibility and was prepared with an alternative option. I found just that in the Playa de Peñarronda, an absolutely beautiful white sandy beach a mere 6 minute drive from the hotel whose natural values have led it to be declared a Natural Monument.
I’ll have the full gallery of photographs from Playa de Peñarronda in a future post!
Cudillero
Then it was off to another hidden gem I discovered when creating my travel itinerary – Cudillero, a small, picturesque fishing port nestled on the side of a mountain and considered Northern Spain’s most beautiful village. It was a 50 minute drive straight east along the coastline from our hotel.
Cudillero was as good as advertised and yes, you can see a short video I made over at southfloridafilmmaker.com and I’ll also have a full gallery of photographs (and video!) from Cudillero in a future post!
Epilogue
We arrived in Asturias from A Coruña on August 11th and checked out on the 13th. Our next destination was Monforte de Lemos, a small town located in between the valleys of the Miño River and the Sil River, south of the province of Lugo. But we also had a few stops along the way, namely Mondoñedo, one of Spain’s most beautiful villages, and a night’s stay in Ribeira Sacra, meaning “Sacred Riverbank”, a breathtaking, steep-sloped wine region in Galicia. It’s all coming up so SUBSCRIBE HERE to not miss it.
