Portugal/Spain Road Trip: Salinas
A stop in Salinas, Spain during our Portugal and Spain summer road trip.
At this point, our Portugal road trip started to transition into a Spain road trip. The next stop was another city where I had no idea what to expect.
Salinas is a little town in the Asturias region of northern Spain. From what I read, I thought we’d land in a sleepy, old-fashioned village, with a few families enjoying their local beach.
But we arrived to something totally different. The beaches and parking spots were jam-packed, even more than the usual European summer crowds. That’s when we put the pieces together that we’d arrived on the last day of the Salinas International Longboard Festival, a popular surf competition!
It was nearing the end of the day, so we scored a lucky parking spot and went out to surf. Salinas is a big beach break, so there was plenty of space to spread out away from the competition. The waves were too big for me that first day (like they are most days), but I paddled out and managed to survive long enough to ride on my belly back in.
Our room had a view of the ocean, in a nearby part of town. The Asturias region is also known for its food (of course.) We tried some new things, like cachopo, which is two thin slices of meat with cheese and ham in between (La Sidreria had so many varieties to choose from.) Plus a big crepe filled with whipped cream for dessert (not pictured!) And one of my favorite breakfasts that Bryan tried for the first time, Spanish tortilla, which is made of eggs and more like a frittata.
By the third day, most of the pro long boarders had left, and I think I worked up my courage enough to catch a couple of waves.
We also stumbled upon a cool-looking campground area at Xago beach:
Then it was time to carry on our journey across Spain.
**It’s always a privilege getting to surf in other countries. I make sure I’m always covered with affordable and reliable travel medical insurance in case anything goes wrong. I choose SafetyWing because their Nomad Insurance policy covers activities, including surfing, in 185+ countries. To sign up, visit this link.