Same Shirt, Different day-2012 Adventures of the "Devonport Wonder Babes"

Monday 24 September 2012 Potes  to Setienes-Luarca Spain

 Another beautiful morning in Potes with sunrise on the peaks.

Supermarket open at 9.30am so stocked up on provisions for lunch on the road today. Small market was just starting in square as we were leaving town.

 

Packed and away by 9.45 am, heading north through the very winding road we travelled yesterday and then turned west just before Panes.

 

Stopped in Cabrales to buy some cheese as that was centre of the ewes milk cheese manufacturing and whilst there one of the car doors slammed trapping my right ring and little fingers at about first joint level. Much loud swearing as I couldn’t get to handle to open door and Rod came to rescue. Lyndsay managed to ask for ice for my fingers at local bar and I spent the next couple of hours navigating with right hand in ice pack. There was a bit of swelling initially but the ice seemed to be very effective at stopping any further.   Fortunately that joint doesn’t work anyway.

Turned off at Cangues and headed for the Covadonga Lakes which Helen C had thought would be a good lunch spot. They were, but after Lyndsay had driven 18 km of winding twisting road often just one lane with no barrier and a drop of hundreds of metres.

Final altitude was 1660 metres (5400 ft) and another place and view well worth making the effort for and lunch was great.

 

3 kiwis having lunch in middle of field

Interesting to watch Spanish “townies” hassling the cows which wander all over this area.

Back down the hill and continued west along the coast via motorway. Mrs TomTom had a major fit when we encountered some new roundabouts and new motorway so she had to be ignored initially, then appeared to have resorted herself however then managed to send us  down some very strange roads to Luarca until we turned her off and resorted to Google maps ( which was very accurate)  to get us to Setienes, the where we were booked into an Arpartmentos Rurales.

Arrived outside the local bar after an encounter with a cow being towed by a tractor and another tractor  spraying effluent over the fields only to find we had arrived at our lodgings.

Bar and village store and general meeting place

 

 Some language difficulties so had to take the young woman “Sandra” in the car to show us how to get to our accommodation, which looks like a converted barn, but very well done indeed. We have apartment with kitchen/living room, 2 bedrooms, nicely appointed bathroom and secure parking within courtyard.

Our apartment downstairs

View through gate into courtyard

Food storage houses all over this area-this one just behind apartment

Had dinner at bar below apartment , chorizo sausage, fried eggs and chips !! About 10 locals in the bar,in their farmers working clothes, some playing cards and all intrigued by the 4 foreigners.

 

Its also the convenience store and the bus stop is next door. Only about 20 houses in this hamlet and everyone of them seems to have a John Deere tractor in its back yard.