It was a wild night, wind screeching round the building and something periodically slamming to wake me. I tried unsuccessfully to hunt down the cause so resumed dozing between these loud disturbances. The bunk beds were wooden and creaky, so the whole ensemble rocked whenever Christine moved. I was not well rested when we climbed out to find leaden skies and a light drizzle.
We rode into town for bread, then rejoined the N634 to cross the Ria de Ribadeo and on eastward, the strong wind whipping us along. The road wasn’t too busy, with a wide strip at the side for cycling, but was rather dull, not what we’d travelled to Spain for. We looped off to Tapia de Casariego to view the beach and have a coffee. We passed through Navia, spying nothing of interest there, then made a big loop off the main road to visit Reserva Natural de Barayo. We passed through the historic small fishing port of Puerta de Vega, then through Vigo and Tox, with its castle. Lack of sleep was affecting me now, but we pressed on to Luarca, a pleasant small town with a harbour. We moved on up the hill to Almuña and stayed at the refugio. Two Italians were also staying. There was no hot water in the otherwise well-appointed bathroom, and no kitchen, but otherwise it was comfortable and peaceful.
After an icy shower we walked back into Luarca for dinner. Christine was looking forward to trying patatas bravas and was crestfallen when they turned out to be chips with tomato sauce! We won’t remember Spain for the quality of the food. But the sidra saved the meal, I shall miss it.