excursion in Llanes, Cabra River

Río Cabra excursion signs

Last weekend we decided to take a comfortable hike with the girls to the spring of the Rio Cabra in the Valle Oscuro, situated very close to Llanes and our holiday house in Boquerizo.

  • Distance: 3 kms
  • Difficulty: none
  • Suitable for children

Saturday morning. It is winter and after several weeks of rain, the sun is shining bright. We feel like enjoying the hours of sun, breathe the pure air and enjoy nature. We decide to walk to the spring of the Rio Cabra, rather a stroll than a walk, which is part of the “Path of Colours” in the Valle Oscuro. The itinerary starts in La Borbolla, a village part of the municipality of Llanes and situated right between our holidays houses of Llanes and Boquerizo.

Once we get to La Borbolla, we immediately find the perfectly indicated track. To park the car results more difficult since there is no special space, but the the villagers are very helpful and show us possibilities. The track is unpaved and, because of the weeklong rain, muddier than usual. The eucalyptus scent is very intense and escorts us right to the river which we can be heard in the background.

 

Crossing the eucalyptus forest one reaches the river immediately. From

forest-excursion-llanes

The forest in Río Cabra Springs excursion

now on we are escorted by the water, alders,

chestnut and hazelnut trees, moss, mills and stones.

We arrive at the river passing by a recently restored mill and the track changes to a narrow path leading us along the river.

I don’t know whether it is because of the time of the year or because of the endless rain

of the last weeks, but the noises, smells and colours transpose us into a fairy tale world. From behind every moss covered stone, from under the bridge we cross, a “trasgu” or a “xana” could appear (these are characters from the Asturian mythology). It is magic. The girls searched for trasgus and xanas for a quite a time.

excursion in Llanes, Asturias

Río Cabra spring

Before we get to the cave with the spring we pass several mills in ruins. An old mill stone serves as a table, another helps us to cross the canals which in former times moved the water into the mills.

At the entrance to the cave it gets cold, the sun doesn’t reach the ground and one can taste the humidity. The stones are covered with moss and very slippery.

We are on our own.

It is a short and easy walk but it takes you to an untouched landscape. We enjoyed it very much and will certainly repeat. And, of course, the girls ended up all soaked when they jumped the stones, therefore I recommend to take spare shoes and clothing.

For any doubts do contact me through the blog or on our web www.primorias.es.

By the way, should you find a protective lid for a Olympus camera: it’s mine.