Navia harbour and Alfonso Iglesias monument
Chapter 1/11 · Navia
Welcome to Navia, a seafaring town and the capital of the municipality of the same name, in western Asturias! We start at the marina, next to the tourist office and the monument to Alfonso Iglesias. This is a circular walk of about two kilometres, almost flat, with a few short slopes in the old town, which sits on a small hill. We will finish right here.
In front of you is the Navia estuary. The river rises in Piedrafita do Cebreiro, in the province of Lugo, and reaches the Cantabrian Sea between Cape San Agustín and Penafurada. It is said that this was the natural crossing point of the estuary and that for centuries the pilgrims walking to Santiago along the coast crossed it by boat. Downstream are the shipyards, one of the town's big industries together with the paper mill and the dairy.
The monument remembers Alfonso Iglesias López de Vivigo, born in Navia in 1910 and died in Oviedo in 1988. He was a cartoonist, painter and playwright, and he created Pinón, Telva and their nephew Pinín, comic characters much loved in Asturias, who embody the imagination and adventurous spirit of the Asturians. It was unveiled in March 1997.
This quay is also the stage for the town's great festival. Every 15 August the Virgin of La Barca, patron saint of Navia, is carried in procession from the church, taken on board here and sailed along the estuary to its mouth, escorted by decorated boats, bands and bagpipers.
Now we walk up the pedestrian street Doctor Rafael Calzada to the Avenida del Regueral.
Start · Navia