After Portugal we were really looking forward to Spain. But it started not the way at least I had planned to. Somehow my stomach did not really like one of the last meals and I had to lie down for the first two days. Luckily it was rainy and there was no swell that I missed. We than checked a few surf spots where we had been to the years before and due to the rain and the fact that we arrived before the summer holidays all the beach bars were closed and even some of the camp spots we knew were not yet open. It was not what we hoped for and we upped our mood by visiting the two biggest horreos of Galizia. Horreos are old corn silos that are now protected and you can still find them everywhere in Galicia. Two villages got into the friendly competition back in the days about who has the biggest Horreo and we visited them both. After that we drove the the beach of Louro, where we have been before and than it happend. The sun opened up and the swell picked up as well and we got perfect waves in amazing weather with almost no-one in the water. Initially we wanted to just check the waves and than go to the nearby campsite, but we ended up standing three days at one and the same spot right next to the beach. Surfing every day and just enjoying it. The beach is incredibly beautiful and paired with the good weather and good but not too big swell we got exactly what we wanted. Pefect almost empty waves at a beautiful beach with a perfect spot almost on the beach. After three days the swell droppped again and we relocated to another beautiful spot a little further north close to playa de Somo from where we drove to A Coruña where we did something we already planned to do a few years ago. We visited the Estrealla Galicia brewery. It was impressive to see what they had built over the years, but the tour was without any passion and the spanish was so quiet and fast that we did not really understand much of what she explained. But the tasting in the end was great and we saw yet another brewery.
After visiting the brewery we headed to a little house that Linda had found for us over Air Bnb. We wanted to stay here for a week get out of the van and surf when waves are there. The place was a paradise. We stayed in a renovated old stone house. There were chickens and cats around in the huge garden and the Spanish host Esther was really nice and we chatted with her a lot. We enjoyed it there and the fact that one of the cats was really really curious and cuddly only made us like the place even more. From there we drove every day to one of the four beaches around to check the surf and went surfing if the waves were any good. We talked with Esther a lot about buying houses in Spain and the amount of work she puts in this little paradise. She rents out both houses on the property as much as possible and if both houses are rented she lives in her little van, but stays nearby to take care of the chicken and the cats. I cannot even explain why we enjoyed this week so much, but it felt like a vacation from travelling and I caught myself just sitting on the terrace and looking into the lush green garden or cuddling with the cats multiple times. In that time I also managed to give the spare wheel mount of rosi a new coating. When we had coated it the first time, we did not put on enough layers of coat and now it became all rusty, so that I had to recoat it completely.
At the end of the week we said a sad goodbye to Esther and the cats and went off to my very first via ferrata (in german Klettersteig). It is the only via ferrata in Galicia and was recommended by Esther. We had a spanish speaking guide and another spanish couple that joined us. At the start we had to climb like 10 meters straight up with a slight overhang and I was already afraid that it would continue like that. But I got more confident and we climbed more alongside the mountain with breathtaking views of the ocean. Linda had done this multiple times before and was not afraid at all, but it was still challenging for the both of us. Nevertheless we enjoyed it a lot and I could tick off another item from the bucket list.
From there we straight drove to the playa de Pennaronda. We knew the little camp ground right at the beach and have been there twice before. Everything is very organized and clean there… maybe even a little too clean, but we still enjoy it there every time especially since there are not too many good camp grounds right at a surf beach. When I mean too clean I mean that the lawn of the camp ground seems like a perfectly groomed golf course. In front there is a little lawn with a box wood turkey that is groomed every day all day long…. Nevertheless we stayed again for almost a week here. We went surfing when there were waves and enjoyed galician octopus, scallops and the famous Asturias stew „fabada“ in the restaurant that overlooks the beach. Slowly we started to feel that we are on the way home, since we already know these places from our last trips to the north of Spain. Also here we had quite a few waves, but no comparison to the perfection we had experienced in Louro and the other beaches in Galicia. Still we followed the same pattern here…. Once the waves were gone, we left as well. This time into the mountains. We drove straight to the little village Las Arenas which is in the Picos de Europa Mountains. Here we stayed for a few nights and although we were still sore from surfing we went hiking every day and celebrated the fact that the mountains here are so close to the ocean.
To continue our pattern we returned to the ocean from the Picos. This time to the village of San vincente de la Baceira. The camping el Rosal is close to the famous longboard beach Meron and we got a perfect spot on the camp ground with one of the shortest ways to the beach and here we fell 100% into the eat sleep surf repeat routine. We did nothing else. Every day we went surfing, slept a lot, chilled between session and had a nice meal in the evening. Very fast you meet the same people in the lineup and at the cmapgournd, exchange about trips, the wave conditions and the boards. We were caught in a little surf bubble and it felt perfect. It was exactly why we were here. Waves were not the same every day. Of course we had shitty surf sessions, but also we had amazing sessions. We both could see at each other how we had improved in the last weeks and we lived with constantly sore muscles from paddling. It is hard to explain but when I write about it right now it still seems like a fever dream to me. A really really good dream. But every dream comes to an end and our bodies were grateful when we left San Vincente on a rainy day for a night in the touristy but cozy little town of Llanes before we headed to the Camping La Paz. We have been here also before but on this trip the place was always booked out and now we got lucky. The Spanish summer holidays had just started and in San Vincente we could still enjoy a more sleepy atmosphere while now in La Paz more Spanish Tourists showed up and the sleepy vibe we had enjoyed so far, switched to beach vacation mode. The La Paz camp ground is hard to explain. It is built into the hills next to a little beach so that almost everyone has a spectacular view of the ocean. We got a premium front row spot and just relaxed for a few days to rest our bodies. Waves are no so good at this beach and we just got in the water a few times and instead enjoyed the views over the ocean.
Our next stop was Gijon. Linda had booked a one week spanish course and we found the camping Perlora a little north of Gijon from where we took a bus to the city center. It felt good to have have a routine, at least for a few days. Linda took the bus every morning and I organized a few things, like an oil change for Rosi and went grocery shopping. Sadly the teacher of the spanish course was not so good and Linda did not have the feeling to really make progress in her Spanish.
From Gijon we drove a longer part towards France to spent a night in Zarautz. We wanted to test the camp ground there because the next week we would spent with part of the family.
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