Gijon

---

Gijon Spain

North of the Portuguese border, Spain presents a greener, more liveable and picturesque vista that the centre region we traversed from Burgas via Salamanca to the Algarve coast.



One place in northern Spain that stood head and shoulders above others was Gijon. We stayed an extra day. Most of Spain’s towns have an agricultural industry to serve. This one is different; it’s a tourist and holiday town. But unlike so many resort towns where everything is expensive, Gijon offers good value. Our campsite was right on the beach, adjacent to an expansive green lawn shaded by sprawling trees and park furniture. Even though the Spanish tend to fill their camping areas to capacity, and then add a bit, getting to the crowded end of cosy, the green park space balanced the atmosphere. It was quite hot but more like the high 30s; much more comfortable than the 40s of Spain’ interior. Also, it’s not quite as dry; in fact, my throat and mouth got just moist enough to get the word ‘dry’ off my lips. Except for one occasion, we had not seen clouds for a month – during our travel from Lombez in France, southward trough the Spain’s interior and then northward through Portugal. Here in Gijon, the cloudless sky continued to hang from that big ceiling hook in the 12 o’clock position. But there was one big difference; dark grey cloud formed over the Atlantic and at times came right onto the beach, but never crossed the hot sand. That cloud was only about ten to twenty metres high and looked so thick you might need a chainsaw to get through, but it knew its place and kept away from the scorched land mass of the Iberian Peninsula.

---