Etapa 11: Puertas - Llanes

What had been planned as a day off in Llanes, began with a 9K highway walk to the city. We found remnants of the old Camino, but it was so broken by the road that we had to scurry back and forth across traffic, and so muddy that Carlos nearly lost a shoe in the muck. Fortunately, nearer to the city there was a nice wooded hollow that carried us up hill and left us only a short descent into Llanes.

The city, which Kris and Mimi had loved and recommended, is a compact maze of old buildings and medieval structures. The tourist office where we got sellos was housed in the tower of the old fortress. We passed several closed farmacias until we found the one open later than 1:00 to restock our sunscreen and Benadryl supplies. The shop had been open since the 1890s. There was no albergue so we had to find a pension. Many were full or expensive, so when we found a funky room at a great price we jumped on it, even though the sink dripped incessantly and the toilet had no seat (but at least it was blue!). Lunch in a restaurant busy with locals was our first fabada Asturiana and veal with Cabrales sauce over french fries. Really good.

We were happy to have the entire afternoon to relax and sightsee. Notable, were the Cubos de Memoria, giant cement cubes piled as a break around the jetty which were painted in bright colors and designs. We also enjoyed following a trail of a poem welded a few words at a time on metal plates spaced along the cobbled path around the medieval cathedral. The temperature rose, so we spent a good deal of time under an awning watching families enjoying the summer, and sipping cold cañas. We had been eyeing a churros stand across the river run by a mother and her daughter, and could resist no longer. These were by far the best churros ever. Kirsten was crazy for another bag of crisp doughy sweet treats after dinner, but there would be no dinner once again. Sleep caught us early.