6 August - Day 12 - Villaviciosa to Gijon to Aviles - 0kms rest day

Wake up sore after a restful sleep. It’s 5 days since our last rest day. We are due for another.

Kim ready for coffee. Leave Daz in bed. The rain has cleared and there is a touch of pink in the morning sky. The streets are deserted. It’s 7:10am. Find one cafe open. I am the only customer. I sit and watch the rare Spanish early risers start to filter in. The tranquility replaced with a buzz. 

Back to the room and pack. Off to the bus station we bump into Olivia. She is also going to Gijon, then continuing to Madrid. It’s 27km to Gijon.

Arrive into Gijon and immediately buy onward tickets to Aviles leaving in 2 hours. Enough time to wander the port, old town and beach promenade. It’s a big city and our preference is the small quaint towns and villages. 

There us a private beach club with a pool and restaurant. it reminds us of Bondi Icebergs.

The ocean walkwak has easy access to the waves, it could get good here on the right swell. The water doesn't look to clean though.

Try to get our pilgrim passports stamped at the cathedral but mass is on. Another fail. 

 2 hours in Gijon is enough.

It is not our intention to stay in Aviles. Smaller than Gijon, but still bigger than we like. The drive into town and the area around the bus/train station has not changed our minds. Check bus and train timetables. Can’t find an obvious way to get to our next stop. It's Saturday lunchtime. The ticket office us closed. No staff around. And the 2 ticket machines seem broken.  

Both tired. The last 100km has caught up with us. We find a bar with free wifi and order a beer. Kim reads that the Aviles old town is very nice and worth a visit. We decide to give it the benefit of the doubt.

Searching online we discover accommodation is scarce. But we might be in luck with a 3 star hotel 100m up the road. We walk to it. Reception tell us "Completo". Check the Pension next door, also completo... but have a room in an apartment close by. We take it. A 5 min walk through the old town takes us to our bed for the night. A 2 bedroom apartment we share with another couple. It will do.

Time for lunch we head to back to the old town. We like it.  

Turns put there is a festival on tonight which explains the lack of accomodation. A free concert has jazz, blues and Ska acts every hour until 1:45am. Will see how we feel.

Right now our bodies are thanking us for taking the day off. 

3pm, need lunch.  Find a pulperia just off the town square. Order pulpo 🐙 and Fabada (Regional bean stew with chorizo, blood sausage, and smoked pork). Soak in the Spanish architecture as we eat. Finished, we roam the old town. 

Back to the apartment for a rest and to put on some warmer clothes as the evening has gotten cool. 

Find probably the loudest pizzeria in town. It’s rowdy and great people watching. Pizza is good washed down with an aperol spritz. Full bellies we head home too weary to check out the festival.