5/27/17 – 39.9km/24.8mi from Serdio to Llanes, with about 760m/2493ft of climbing on several steep ascents.
Man, today was a doozy. We all woke up at 5:30 or 6:00am, so we could make it to Bar Gloria for an earrrrrly morning breakfast before beginning a long 25mi trudge in the hope to arrive in Llanes by 5pm before some rain we saw in the forecast. The day started off pleasant enough, with forest paths and a few nice bridges – including one at the end of Unquera that officially marked our departure from the province of Cantabria and entry into Asturias. After a steep climb into beautiful Colombres, we descended towards Pendueles where we broke for a great lunch.
After that we still had 8 miles to go, but it was on a lovely path, with views of forests, farmland, and the sea. There were some points where it totally looked like we were in the Shire! As the miles wore on, everybody’s feet, knees, and muscles got very tired. At some point we wound up on a crazy high and undulating path that went alongside a golf course. One might’ve thought it was a nice path, but it was after we had already walked about 20 miles, so we were beat. And, we could clearly see our destination, Llanes, down below us in the wrong direction from where we were walking. I wished at that point that I had a hang glider. Or that there was a big escalator. On the plus side, views of the town were great. We got in fairly exhausted, had some quick food, and most of us called it an early night after dinner and a short walk. Too bad, as Saturday evenings in Spain so far have been really lively – but we just didn’t have the juice. We’re planning a few somewhat shorter days coming up, so that’ll be a relief for everyone’s aching bones!
