Bikepacking - Exploring San Vicente de la Barquera and the Oyambre Nature Reserve

Day #

65

State of Legs

:-)

---

	Distance (miles)	Distance (km)	Ascent (feet)	Ascent (metres)	Punctures
Today	0 miles	km	0 feet	metres	0
Trip Totals	2623 miles	km	116045 feet	metres	0

Today's Route

No cycling the route today

Route So Far

---

Travelogue

I've stayed at the campsite in San Vicente de la Barquera today and so I guess you could say that this is a "rest day" since I'm not cycling.

So, what better way to spend this free time than to go for a nice bike ride?! No, I can't think of anything better either.

This morning, I headed out on an unladen and remarkably light feeling Mule with only a vague idea of where I was going. There's a nature reserve marked on the map called the Oyambre Nature Reserve and of course there's the town of San Vicente de la Barquera which is over the other side of the estuary from where I'm camped. I thought I'd explore both but basically make it up as I went along.

I started by cycling further along the coast, coincidentally following the road I'll cycle tomorrow when I leave, so expect a series of suspiciously similar looking photographs to some of those taken today!

The coastline here is really nice, certainly better than the coastline I saw yesterday as I cycled in from near Llanes. It's no North Cornwall or Devon but it's still very pleasing to the eye. And I speak from experience because last year, with my wife and two good friends, I completed the South West Coastal Path of Britain, having walked 660 miles (1062 km) along part of the Somerset coast, all of the North Devon, North Cornwall, South Cornwall and South Devon coasts and part of the Dorset coast. I've seen a lot of nice coastline therefore!

It seems this part of Spain is a hot spot for surfers. There are lots staying at the campsite and I saw many in the water or carrying boards heading for the beach today. There are no waves to speak of at the moment but a surfer camped right next to my tent told me there are expected to be big waves on Monday.

I turned away from the coast and cycled across the middle of the nature reserve. This gave me excellent views back towards the town and the mountains beyond.

View across the estuary to the town

The estuary against a backdrop of mountains

There are lots of beaches along the coast

The cows were either very curious or total poseurs

Eventually, I'd looped back around to the road up to the campsite but instead of taking it, I crossed the La Maza bridge and cycled into the town largely just to explore but with coffee in mind as well. I went out onto a stone jetty and took some photographs and then turned uphill and found my way to the Oyambre Nature Reserve visitor centre where they gave me some tips for places to see birds but with the major caveat that this was the worst time of year for birds and that the tide was currently high which reduced the odds even more!

There's a small castle in the town

After heading back down the hill, I stopped at a bar and had a coffee and a slice of tortilla. At a smaller bridge, I photographed what seemed to be two different species of bird but which in fact were both Yellow-Legged Gulls, one a juvenile.

A juvenile Yellow-Legged Gull

An adult Yellow-Legged Gull

I headed back to the campsite and stopped in at the supermarket for supplies. It's now the afternoon and I plan to just rest, relax and read. That'll do nicely :-)

Here's where I cycled this morning, a distance of about 13 miles and total ascent of just under 1,000 feet:

Update 

After blogging and listening to music back at the tent for a while, I decided to find a better location for reading and music. And I think I found it.