It’s only an hour or two’s drive from most locations in the Picos to the coast where there are some wonderful remote coves and beaches. We spend a couple of days at Playa De Cuevas Del Mar, at the end of a narrow lane and through a rock tunnel where a broad curve of golden sand is bracketed by huge karst rock formations with caves and tunnels.
And on a sunny morning near the village of Villanueva de Pría, accessible only on foot or by bicycle, we cycle along a narrow unmade road to a small whitish sandy beach, Playa De La Canal, at the bottom of a narrow and elongated karstic canyon, hence its name. This tiny beach is barely 25 metres wide and about 300 metres long. Our only companion is an older guy wearing headphones, pacing up and down the water’s edge, and loudly, tunelessly singing a Spanish song.
Playa de Guadamia is a beautiful narrow estuary of the Rio Aguadamia. It’s an elongated beach, carved out of the rock by the sea with caves in the cliff walls. At high tide, it takes the form of an enormous natural pool. We arrive at low tide and walk through the shallow river out to the edge of the cliffs to swim. It is surrounded by meadows and accessible by a wooden staircase. It reminds me of the remote estuary beaches I’ve visited in the Western Cape in South Africa. Jo covets a fine villa on the cliffs overlooking the estuary.
Nearby, on the other side of the estuary are the Bufones de Pría blowholes where cracks and chimneys in the cliffs connect the sea with the land. When there are strong tides and winds, the waves force their way into the bottom of the Bufones and water rises through the narrow channel causing a characteristic whistle or snort. The spout of water spray that emerges can reach over twenty metres in height. We hear plenty of snorting but see no water sprays.
Near the small fishing village of Lastres is the Playa De La Griega, also known as Dinosaur Beach where, at the eastern edge of the beach, are a couple of huge Sauropod footprints. To get an idea of the size of these, I sit comfortably in one. I was staring at them in awe of the monster that passed here 150 million years ago when I spot an elderly beachcomber, in a white canvas fedora hat and bright red waterproof jacket, and his partner heading slowly towards us. He sports a finely trimmed David Niven type silver moustache. Smiling at Jo and assuming her to be German, he launches into a German monologue about the geology and palaeontology of La Griega. Jo attempts to interrupt him a couple of times before he grasps that we are British, after which he slips easily into eloquent English.
David the German says, ‘My wife and I have been coming here for many years but now there are too many Germans and English drinking the beer. We go to the Somiedo Natural Park. It’s not so busy and the hiking is good.’ I register the location as we say farewell. There’s nothing in our twenty year old Rough Guide about Somiedo so I consult the Google. It is only a couple of hours away and the weather is ideal for walking.
Wild camping is the term for parking for free in the wild overnight. Today, in 2024, there are many opportunities to park in beautiful remote locations. There are Apps like Park4night and Ioverlander that make it quite easy to find these places. But the popularity of campervans and motorhomes, and the prevalence of these Apps is, I think, eradicating the very thing they are publicising.
An intrepid campervanner locates a spot down a long track to a secluded forest clearing and logs it on Park4night. Now anybody can find it. The site is instantly popular and sometimes despoiled with litter (and worse). Landowners, residents, the police and park rangers are all alerted too and restrictions are imposed. Will parking in the future be restricted to expensive formal campsites? Many people love these places and are happy to pay exorbitant fees to huddle close together in a dismal field. Along Spain’s north coast it sometimes seems impossible to overnight for free. But with persistence, a bit of grit, a keen eye, and the learned ability to interpret site descriptions on Internet Apps we often succeed. But the world is getting more crowded and it’s getting more difficult.
We investigate the free parking possibilities in Somiedo, which are not great; the rangers rigorously enforcing the park’s no overnight parking rule. But there’s a region to the southeast of called Babia which looks promising. We have most of the day ahead of us before seeking out a parking spot, so we head to the village of Castro for a couple of hours walking in the forested gorge of the Rio Somiedo.
