We continued W to Monumento Natural Praia das Catedrais, where a series of arches resemble the flying buttresses of Gothic cathedrals; at low tide sea conditions didn’t allow us safe access (to the left/ west of the main stairs to the beach). Views from the cliff top platforms were underwhelming. Did you get a photo? If so do share!

Disappointed, we drove on to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Muralla Romana de Lugo | the Roman walls of Lugo—once the Roman colonial town of Lucus Augusti in the province of Hispania Tarraconensis. The walls were built in the 3rd C. CE to defend against local tribesmen & Germanic invaders. About 2.1km long, 4.2m wide & 8–12m in height, internal & external stone facings were supported by a cemented rubble core (📷1); you can walk the full length of the parapet. Originally featuring an incredible count of 88 towers, these were mostly semicircular at intervals of 5.4–12.8m with bases of dressed granite topped with slate (📷2); 49 are still intact. 5 of the current 10 gates are Roman in origin, including Porta de San Pedro (📷3); it was reconstructed in 1781. Many buildings within the walls are badly decayed; Lugo was nearly deserted during our visit. We looked through Sala Porta Miñá, a contemporary history museum, where they have an excavated stone-built Roman cloaca | sewer on display (📷4).

🇪🇸#spain #galicia 🇪🇺#europe 🚀#travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍#unesco 🏛️ #roman

Ruta de 7 días por Cabo de Gata en autocaravana: playas vírgenes, pueblos marineros y carreteras fáciles, ideal para viajar con conducción tranquila.
#camper #autocaravana #tienda #campaña #camping #furgoneta #vanlife #motorhome #campismo #travel #furgocamper #campervan #furgo #nature #camperlife

https://campiberia.wordpress.com/2026/03/25/ruta-por-cabo-de-gata-en-autocaravana/

For our last night in Asturias we came to Salas (📷1); this historic village offers accommodation to pilgrims walking the Camino de Santiago. What drew us here in a van, you might ask? Four reasons:

First, it has a highly-rated 👕 laundromat. After a little over a week on the road our attire was in need of refreshing.

Second, it was a comfortable 🗺️ distance between points-of-interest. Driving can be tiring, especially when narrow mountain roads are involved.

Third, it’s camper van/ motorhome friendly, providng free-to-use services:

🅿️ overnight legally in dedicated area
💧 potable water
💦 grey water disposal
🚾 toilet cassette emptying

Lastly, we also needed to buy 🛒 groceries. In addition to usual supplies we acquired the local specialty 🍪 biscuit, Carajitos (📷2). Available from La Casa del Profesor (est. 1918) on the main street, these soft & flavoursome hazelnut-based treats are apparently world famous in Asturias!

🇪🇸#spain #asturias 🇪🇺#europe 🚀#travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

[2/2] Ruta a los Lagos de Covadonga (PR.PNPE-2) cont. Largo de la Ercina had the prettier backdrop (📷1). We noted more new-to-us #flowers; this is Erythronium dens-canis | dogtooth violet, native to central & southern Europe (📷2). A large part of the trail led us over limestone areas (📷3). Ermita de El Buen Pastor is a small hermitage sitting in the Vega de Enol, a high mountain meadow adjacent to Lago Enol at ~1,070m altitude (📷4); the contrast of this small human-built structure set against a vast, dramatic alpine landscape gives you pause. A 6km/ 2h loop.

🇪🇸#spain #asturias 🇪🇺#europe 🚀#travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾#hiking #nature #nationalPark

[1/2] Ruta a los Lagos de Covadonga (PR.PNPE-2) was our second trail in Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa. The road to reach the trailhead is fairly long & winding; it closes to private cars at busy times (replaced by park & ride). En route we stopped at Mirador de la Reina for stunning views back over the still misty lowlands we’d driven through (📷1). There in the morning chill we were in turn observed by roosting Gyps fulvus | griffon vultures, perhaps waiting for thermals to form (📷2). We drove on to Lago Enol, the first of a pair of glacial lakes (📷3); 🅿️ at Aparcamiento Buferrera. We noticed fire on an adjacent peak & latter watched a helicopter drop a bucket of water on it. There’s a short detour to Minas de Buferrera, where manganese & iron were extracted intermittently between 1868 & 1979 (the road to the lakes is a legacy of mining activity). “ #Flower of the day” goes to Narcissus bulbocodium | the hoop-petticoat daffodil, a native to ES, PT & FR (📷4).

🇪🇸#spain #asturias 🇪🇺#europe 🚀#travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾#hiking #nature #nationalPark

Hard to beat sipping ☕️ coffee with a view out the 🚐 sliding door from pitch in Asiegu as the rising sun lit the snow-capped mountains of Picos de Europa.

🇪🇸#spain #asturias 🇪🇺#europe 🚀#travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

[2/2] Smalls from the Ruta del Cares (PR-PNPE 3) trail in Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa. Helicella itala | the heath snail is a native land snail (📷1); during hot, dry periods it climbs up vegetation & seals itself inside its shell to avoid overheating & dehydration. Dianthus hyssopifolius | the fringed pink is native to ES, PT & FR (📷2); it’s well adapted to rocky alpine environments. Pinguicula grandiflora | the large-flowered butterwort is another native (📷3); the flower is atypically large for a butterwort. Not all the smalls we noticed were living: being limestone country, some of the rocks contained the bodies of marine animals fossilised millions of years ago (📷4). Tectonic uplift transformed an ancient shallow sea into mountains!

🇪🇸#spain #asturias 🇪🇺#europe 🚀#travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾#hiking #nature #nationalPark 🌸#bloomScrolling

[1/2] Smalls from the Ruta del Cares (PR-PNPE 3) trail in Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa. Glandora prostrata | the creeping gromwell is native to ES, PT & FR (📷1); this was everywhere trail side, with a velvety sheen that seemed to confuse autofocus! Erodium cicutarium | the redstem stork’s bill is native to the Mediterranean Basin (📷2); after flowering it produces long, beak-shaped seed pods. Helleborus foetidus | the stinking hellebore is a mountain native belonging to the buttercup family (📷3); the species name is Latin for “foul-smelling”, the result of bruised/ crushed leaves. Globularia nudicaulis | the leafless-stemmed globularia (📷4); this native is so-named because the stem is naked, with leaves in a low rosette at ground level.

🇪🇸#spain #asturias 🇪🇺#europe 🚀#travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾#hiking #nature #nationalPark 🌸#bloomScrolling

[3/3] Ruta del Cares. The trail was no less dramatic walking it in the opposite direction (📷1). On our outbound leg the mountain goats were generally high above us, sometimes heard but not seen. On our return leg a number had descended onto the trail (📷2). At one point we encountered a “toll goat”, hoping to extract a fair exchange for passage through one of the tunnels (we didn’t feed it). A view ahead to a stretch of “up” before the final descent to the trailhead (📷3). Did we mention we saw goats? This she-goat was actively licking at a very particular patch of rock, which we took to be a quest for salt (📷4); apparently sodium is scarce in their normal alpine plant-based diet. 17km/ 5h out-&-back. Note there’s a non-zero probability of rockfall, but this trail is up there with the best we’ve done.

🇪🇸#spain #asturias 🇪🇺#europe 🚀#travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾#hiking #nature #nationalPark