After our tour of the Picos de Europa, we moved north towards the coast of the Bay of Biscay

28 images 1. Oviedo was a delight, and the weather was perfect. Here, a group celebrated their Celtic heritage, with bagpipes, drums, and dancing (hard to imagine, but the Celts were here)

9. Lucía with sculptures of Asturian horses, which are short and strong

14. Oviedo has won the "Titanium Broom" award as the cleanest city in Europe...
... for each of the past 17 years!

17.

18. From Oviedo, we drove to Santa María de Naranco, which was built in the eighth century. Pre-romanesque, it was difficult for me to grasp its great age of more than 1200 years.

19. Panorama inside Sta. María de Naranco

21. Then it was on to Candás and the sea

22.

23.

24. In Candás, we had a huge seafood dinner in a local Austurian bistro. The waiter is pouring cider at arms length into a tilted glass to unlock the flavor

25. ...and then the northern-most point in Spain, Cabo Peñas

27. Next came the village of Cudillero, tucked into a steep cove

28. Cudillero

32.

34.

35. Our last night was spent in Santurce (Santurtzi), close to Bilbao, at this, um..., hotel

36. We were upgraded to a suite, which had a grand view, and a large private patio

39. A large cruise ship appeared overnight

41. Our last day we rode the subway into Bilbao and went to the Guggenheim Museum. The main show featured works by Jeff Koons. They look like inflatable mylar, but are stainless steel

43. some shots of the interior of the this incredible museum

46.

51. As we left the museum, our wisdom of going early was confirmed

Here is a summary of our itinerary:

2 August: fly Bristol to Bilbao. Hotel Silken Indautxu

3 August: Portugalete to see Puente Vizcaya (calgando - hanging bridge)
Santander: traffic, castle, faro (lighthouse)
Santillana del mar (misnomer: no saint/not flat (llana)/not by the sea). Hotel Los Angeles

4 August: Altamira caves
Llanes (local market)
Arenas de Cabrales: Hotel Rural Los Angeles

5 August: Poncebos: strenuous hike La Ruta de Cares
Hotel: Arcea Mirador de Cabrales (owned by Marta, aunt of Julia, Lucía's son's girlfriend)

6 August: Lagos de Covadonga
Covadonga: cathedral
Congas de Onis (seaside)
Poncebos: Hotel same as last night

7 August: Camarmeña (10 switchbacks)
Funicular to Bulnes
Cano: Hotel La Salmonera

8 August: Oviedo
Gijon: Hotel El Norte

9 August: Candás: Hotel Casa Maria
Cabo Peñas

10 August: Cudillero
Hotel: same as last night

11 August: Bilbao airport (Lucia)
Santurce Hotel Palacio Oriol

12 August: train to Guggenheim Museum
Bilbao Airport: fly to Bristol