A difficult route but with beautiful views. And always with good weather.

At the start of Ribadesella I climb a cornice with beautiful views of the sea, fields, and the Picos de Europa appearing behind the coastal mountains. There are some nice climbs but it passes!

Maintenance ( continued ) : my sun block stayed at home. I buy some more from Colunga and can finally take off my waistcoat! (the elbow crease on my left arm was starting to redden the day before).

I’m happy because I arrive in Villaviciosa around noon and I wanted to eat there to get some strength before the second part which was going to be very difficult. Two other bikes doing the Camino meet me at the Sidreria where I have the menu of the day. We had been following each other and passing each other on the road and they were trying to strike up a conversation but that’s when they realised that I hardly spoke any Castillano!

As promised the second part is much harder. It’s between 10 and 16% and it’s long, going from about 40 metres to almost 300. I did several sections on foot, especially the last 200 metres.

While planning the route I couldn’t see where to go to smooth out the route. On the way I hesitated to stay on the "yellow" road and when I got to Gijon I looked at it and it was clearly a bit easier.
It’s clear that the steep slopes I have to try to avoid, and if I can’t, I’ll have to walk ^^

I arrive at the hotel in time, a little before 4pm