Rest day in Gijón

My nephew Andrew is currently working in Oslo, so he flew down to meet me in Gijón for the weekend. After checking out of the hostel, I walked to the train station and greeted him with a big hug. We celebrated his arrival with a welcome-to-Spain breakfast at a café in the station before setting off to explore the city.

We spent the day wandering through Gijón at a relaxed pace, sticking mostly to the shady side of the streets as the temperatures climbed. I wanted to show Andrew two very different sides of the Camino experience: first, a stay at the luxurious Parador, which I had booked months earlier for my planned rest day; and second, an albergue experience in a university dormitory the following night.

After checking into the Parador and dropping our backpacks, we were free to enjoy a different side of Gijón. Adjacent to the hotel is a beautiful park and bird sanctuary, a peaceful oasis in the middle of the city. We spotted swans, ducks, egrets, magpies, turtles, a peacock, and even an emu wandering the grounds.

For lunch, we settled into a traditional sidrería and enjoyed Asturian specialties with plenty of cider. Later, we strolled along the beach and its broad promenade, soaking in the good life that Gijón’s residents seem to enjoy so effortlessly. Surfers rode the waves, families filled the sand, and locals lingered at cafés overlooking the sea. We ended the day with sunset drinks and light bites on the eastern end of the beach, watching the sky change colors over picturesque seaside town.

Not bad for a rest day—by the time we returned to the Parador, we had walked nearly ten miles.Read more