A BEACH WITH NO VIEW OF THE OCEAN? | The Roving Vlogger On the Road

in #travel7 years ago (edited)


When doing research for what to do on my Mom's birthday, I had envisaged renting some bikes and pedaling serenely along the Coastal Path, a route of country roads and gravel trails that takes you by dozens of Northern Spain beaches. The really convenient thing is that if you don't feel like riding back, you can take the train instead.

But when the day arrived, rain threatened and a mysterious smoke filled the air. I knew that my dad would be more comfortable journeying around by car, so after scarfing down pastries we picked a couple of the coolest looking beaches to drive to.

Not that getting there by car is all that easy. We almost got stuck by some surprise construction blocking the narrow streets of Niembro. When a 50-point turn failed to turn us around, my dad had to back the car all the way out of the village.

Niembro Asturias

But the payoff was astounding. We parked at the ridge overlooking Torimbia Beach on the left and Toranda Beach on the right. We ended up just sitting there overlooking it all, not even bothering to head down to the sand.

Toranda Beach View

Torimbia Beach

Asturias Coast Flowers

Torimbia Beach Surfer

Asturias Rocks

Next up was a rather remarkable little beach called Playa de Gulpiyuri. As you walk to it down the dirt path, you would never guess it's there. After all, there's no ocean in sight - only a hill rising up to the usual coastal cliffs.

But sure enough, just before you hit the hill, the ground opens up to a magical cove where waves lap against a miniature shell-shaped beach.

The secret is in the tunnel under the cliffs that leads to the sea. At high tide, the water rushes in and out through the hole, exaggerating the breath of the ocean.

Playa de Gulpiyuri 1

I wondered for a moment whether it would be possible to swim through the hole. For once, my sense of self-preservation stepped in and saved me. Or maybe it was just the coldness of the water or the distracting arrival of some cute dogs.

Playa de Gulpiyuri 2

Playa de Gulpiyuri From Above

Cliffs Above Playa de Gulpiyuri

My mom and I love to go geocaching together, so as another part of her birthday gift we left the boys behind and searched for treasure along the cliffs. We had to walk among more free-range cows and horses to find it (no complaints here!). It was hidden at an old whaling lookout, next to some of the oldest remains in the area.

Geocaching Llanes

Old Wall Llanes

At dinner at Restaurante El Cuera, there were plenty of language snafus - not the least of which was when my dad started repeatedly shouting "HOLA! HOLA!" when the waiter greeted another table. But the patient staff ended up giving my parents a ton of birthday wine on the house and even fetched an espresso for Nash from a cafe next door (another miscommunication - I should have been paying better attention). My dad loved the steak so much that he hugged everyone on his way out, much to their baffled amusement.

Even though it didn't involve sunshine and bicycles, I think my mom's birthday in Asturias was a success! Our two weeks in Llanes were almost up, and soon it would be time to move South.


Thanks for reading/watching! All words and photos are mine. The song in the video is waterfalls of love by Muciojad under the Creative Commons license.
- Katie, @therovingreader

!steemitworldmap 43.441869 lat -4.847977 long Explore a couple of northern Spain's more unique beaches. d3scr



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Thanks for taking me on another vacation Katie! I'm really surprised you didn't go into that hole?!? Love that your Dad gave hugs for a steak well prepared....we all should be so kind.

I'm a lot shyer than my dad so I always admire when he's able to make others feel valued! It's a skill worth practicing.

Hey @therovingreader!

Thanks for sharing your photos from the Spanish beaches. Beautiful shots, and I enjoyed your thoughts on the visit. It's always interesting to learn about the trips that others take. Perhaps I'll consider adding this area on my list of places to travel.

I've been following you for a while, and I've enjoyed many of your blogs. I recently became involved with a community called The STEEM Engine, a Discord group that seeks to promote quality engagement among its members and also add value to undervalued content (I believe yours to be fantastically undervalued.) We're always looking for great content like yours, so if you're interested in joining a community that would appreciate your work and where you can meet plenty of other hard-working Steemians, I hope you'll check out our group's account @thesteemengine and join our Discord server if you're interested! Hope to see you there!

If not, keep up the good work. I always enjoy seeing travel blogs and vlogs.

Thank you so much! That sounds like the perfect community. I have a tendency of dropping off the face of the internet when things get busy (like this last week), so I've been hesitant to get involved in groups for fear of letting people down, but I might give STEEM engine a shot!

Thanks for getting back to me! There's absolutely no pressure in the group! We all understand when things come up, so you'd be welcome to share your posts whenever you have time. Let me know if you have any other questions!

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gorgeous! It looks cold though. I'll have to check that area out one day!!

Gorgeous post as always. That's a cool beach with the tunnel too.

Heya, just swinging by to let you know you're being featured in our Daily Travel Digest!

That Spanish rendition of happy birthday warmed my heart!! What an amazing view! Your vlog are always highly entertaining.