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Day 5 - To Selores
We actually managed to get going by 10:30 this time. Susie was beginning to get used to tea without milk. When you order coffee with your breakfast you get excellent coffee with a jug of hot milk. With the tea you get a jug of hot water and a tea bag!
Day 5
It actually doesn't look all that far on the map - that's because the longest straight bit is 2/10 mile.
We set off south back towards Cangas de Onís. Stopped at the Roman bridge to take the inevitable photo and then found the As 114 to Panes.
The Roman bridge at Cangas
The road was pretty good, reasonably wide, good surface and we were cracking on at a good pace. "No problem." I thought, "We will be at the hotel by 15:00, latest."
Ha ha!
As soon as we passed Arenas de Cabrales (about 4 miles past, I think it was) the road surface deteriorated, it got narrower and the bends sharper.
As 114
Still we were still making good progress. The we saw a BIG yellow sign, in Spanish of course, with something that appeared to indicate road works. Another 3 miles and at 12:21 we came to a road block - another big yellow sign [N43.31755 W4.67788] which appeared to say the road was closed from 12:30 to 14:00. Unfortunately, it was already closed.
However, there was a Dutch couple there in a car and they spoke Spanish (and perfect English, of course). To cut a long story short we had to retrace our steps by 2 miles and then take a detour which turned out to be 6 miles which then placed us a whole 1/2 mile further along the As 114. We were joined, whilst trying to sort out the intricacies of this situation, by an Australian couple (whose English was passable).
So we had an English couple, a Dutch couple and an Australian couple ..... there's got to be a joke in there somewhere. I had the GPS, found the detour on the same and was elected to lead.
I sez Pig-Pen, this here's the Rubber Duck
An' I'm about to put the hammer on down
Cause we gotta little ol' convoy, rockin' through the night.
(apologies to Bill Fries & Chip Davis)
Back we went, 2 miles and then turned right.
Next time I am bringing a trail bike or at least a Triumph Tiger or perhaps even a quad bike. Hauling a heavily laden 2-up Sprint ST up 1:3 hills with hairpins every 200 yards, single track roads, without Armco barriers, with the worst camber possible and homicidal dumper-truck drivers coming downhill made the ramp on the Val de Loire look like a Boy Scout's outing. I fluffed one hairpin - I had to put my feet down, back about 6 feet and take it again - nearly dropped the bike.
The level bit and the downhill section was quite pleasant after that. As I said we gained 1/2 mile and then came to the junction back with the As 114 at 13:34. And there was a Spaniard waving his arms saying (in Spanish of course, ably translated by the Dutch) "You can't go any further until 14:00." I am sure he was being paid to say that by the hotel and cafe at the junction [N43.32394 W4.67889].
Nothing for it then but to park up and go for lunch. All six of us headed for the cafe and had an entertaining lunch at this picturesque spot.
14:28 and we mounted up again and continued past the road works. That is a real understatement. Actually we continued on the very rough track past the road works. Again I was astounded by the off-road capabilities of the Sprint, which is, I am sure, why they used it in that capacity in "Mission Impossible II" - only mine didn't have the knobbly tyres!
14:46 (it was only 18 minutes and it seemed like a lifetime) and we arrived in Panes. We went south along the N 621 for 7 miles though a gorge so deep the GPS lost its fix on the satellites for 1/2 mile and then we turned east along the C 6314.
Oh yippee, more hairpins! Most bikers dream of being able to ride around hairpin bends all day - I was beginning to get a tad fed up with them and was longing to be able to get out of first gear. But Susie and I developed a system, I got her to look up the mountain to see that nothing was coming and I concentrated on the road and using the whole width to get round them as fast as possible.
We continued through the Cabeceras Del Nansa, rolling mountains much like the east coast of Scotland, unlike the jagged alpine features of the Picos. We found fuel at Puentenansa 16:01:[N43.25426 W4.40552] and then yet more hairpins (downhill this time).
The road winds around the hills
We turned right (south) at Valle de Cabuerniga down the C 265 and arrived in Selores. I was looking for the Hotel Camino Real and saw the sign as I flashed past. Quick U-turn and we arrived at 16:50 [N43.21146 W4.30199].
Sylvia, the owner, showed us to our suite. Dramatic is all I can say. The bright blue and yellow certainly made a statement. The hotel (and the restaurant, we later discovered) looked as if it had been filled with the contents of every car-boot sale in the whole of Europe. Any less bric-a-brac and it would have been tacky. But as it was so overdone it was absolutely marvelous - from the sunken bath to the 60's Coca-cola mirrors in the sitting room. We will definitely be revisiting this hotel until we have stayed in every suite as they all have a a different theme.
We asked for a bottle of wine to be brought up to the room and an extremely palatable, well chilled, white wine and bowl of nuts were presented within a few minutes.
This colour scheme predominated throughout the room
The restaurant was similarly furnished and, it being a Monday night, we were the only guests.
One part of the restaurant
The life-sized cow and calf - this was the barn after all.
In terms of value for money this was by far the best hotel we visited. The food was also excellent but again we suffered from the lack of an English translation as Sylvia (who spoke excellent English) was not present in the restaurant. So when the appetisers arrived Susie was not quite sure what she was eating - I was....... it was tripe! (a local delicacy I believe). All the courses showed that considerable care had been taken in the preparation and presentation and the waitress was superbly patient with these mad English guest who spoke hardly a word of her language. This hotel is a real find and I cannot recommend it highly enough if you want to get away from the stereotype that caters for the English.
Parking is on the gravel outside but you can see your bike from the room.
Distance travelled 76 miles - is that all!
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