A S T U R I A S

Ferry arrival is scheduled at 15:00, so there is plenty of time to drive to the hotel in Asturias on time for dinner.

The selected hotel is La Zoreda (5*), just 6 miles south from Oviedo, the capital of Asturias.

The hotel position at the very heart of the region is perfect for the scheduled drives to come.

Somiedo Nature Park spans five valleys and the five rivers of the same name, covering an area of 283 square kilometres.

Humans have managed to understand the nature of the Park, which has returned the care they have taken of it by remaining virtually unchanged throughout the centuries.

Driving through its uncrowded roads is like stepping back in time. Most probably you will not be lucky enough to see bears, but they are there. If you see any, please don’t tell us. We’ll be jealous!

Today the roadbook will guide you to the most far-out point of Asturias in the Cantabrian Sea, Cabo Peñas. Its steep cliffs, of up to 300 feet high, give this spot a unique personality. An easily-accessible ensemble with unbeatable beauty established as a balcony onto the ocean.

The lighthouse, in operation since 1852, houses a museum on its lower floor, featuring watchtowers, shipwrecks and storms, the sea and the marine environment.

Also on today’s itinerary is the charming and picturesque fishing village of Cudillero, built on a hillside facing to the sea. Cudillero is a perfect spot to enjoy some local seafood before returning to your hotel.

Today’s drive is not easy to put into words.

The scenery of las Ubiñas Park is just overwhelming. Enormous beach and oak forests, gorges, ancient villages and “brañas”, summer grazing areas with broom-thatched huts known as teitos.

At the turn of every curve, you will find yourself thinking: “this can’t get any better”.

A bus will pick you up at the hotel to take you to Monte Naranco, a mountain next to Oviedo with great views over the city and also with two of the oldest and most important pre-Romanesque buildings, not only in Asturias, but also in Europe.

Santa Maria del Naranco and San Miguel de Lillo are both UNESCO-protected and worth the visit. A guided visit to these 9th Century monuments will be scheduled for the group, and then, after the visit, the bus will drop you in Oviedo so you can explore the city on your own.

Oviedo has so much to see. The old part of town is great. Next to the beautiful gothic cathedral are the lively Fontán square and Gascona Street, know as the “Cider Boulevard” because of the many restaurants and cider taverns on which you can enjoy tapas and the popular local drink.

Not far are the elegant Uría street and San Francisco Park (Oviedo’s Central Park)

The bus will pick you up at the same location to take you back to the hotel.

Tomorrow is the ferry departure, and we want to be closer to the Santander, so we don’t have to rush to the port.

The destination today will be the Hotel Balneario Puente Viesgo.

Along the way, the drive will be on some of the most astonishing roads in Northern Spain, including the beautiful River Cares Gorge.

Tonight, a farewell dinner will take place at the hotel.

Santander Port is just 18 miles from Puente Viesgo.

Departure of the Ferry is scheduled at 14:00 pm