As we drove away from Ribadeo we were leaving Galicia, and feeling rather sad. But there was a nice day planned and our final stop, in the Parador at Gijon, would be a new experience.
The Castro of Coano
We tried to see this castro once before, but it was pouring with rain, so we decided to try again. The castro is a hilltop town of the Iron Age, c.1200-550BC, or perhaps much earlier, like the 6th century BC. More than 250 of these castros remain in Asturias, and there are many more in Galicia. It is conjectured that between 1,500 and 2,000 people lived here, in the Castro of Coana.
The heyday of the site was the first century AD, under the Romans. The role of the castro was to protet the navia estuary, and the shipping of gold. The most important gold mine was at Las Medulas. However, this is quite a long way away, and the castro isn’t on the coast, so I wonder if this is true? There were apparently also mines at Cuevas de Andia and Los Oscos. And reading further I found that Asturias has 487 gold fields!1
The round houses suggest occupation before the Romans, perhaps as early as the 6th century BC. There are also rectangular houses., but it was quite difficult to photograph. The settlement even had a sauna – but somehow I missed that – and the acropolis was closed off for safety reasons.
There was quite a good sprinkling of wild flowers on the site.
En route and getting lost!
We felt a cup of coffee was justified and headed for Navia, but parking was impossible and so on we went.
We found a handy roadside cafe and then continued on the N634 whih was quieter than the motorway. The road took us down the hill, into Luarca and then everything went wrong. Somehow we escaped via back roads in the countryside and headed for the motorway, and the most direct route into Gijon. Enough of slow roads and scenery!
The Parador of Gijon
Gijon is a very large town – it has a population of nearly 300,000 – the largest town in Asturias. It is the industrial and tourist capital of the region.
And then we arrived at the Parador of Gijon which has been converted from a mill, and now stands in the Reina Sofia Park on the edge of the town.
It was a long day, and leaving Galicia was sad, but what a super day, and what a wonderful stop for our last few days. Bliss!
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