* Maru, 76 years old, bathes with her "grupín” (group) every day at 8am, be it Summer or Winter, on the beach of San Lorenzo, specifically on stairway 2, which they affectionately call “La Rampina”.
“It's the highlight of the day”, she says.
Gijón/Xixón embraces the sea through the bay of San Lorenzo. From San Pedro to La Lloca, the promenade known as El Muro is criss-crossed on a daily basis by thousands of people from Gijón and visitors to the city, all year round. Our relationship with the sea is intense and it determines our character.
San Lorenzo beach is 1.5 km long and is marked by 16 accesses, running from stairway 0 ("La Cantábrica"), located behind the Church of San Pedro, to the area popularly known as "el Tostaderu", at the mouth of the River Piles.
Aside from San Lorenzo, the best known, there are 8 other beaches in the parish, some of which are urban whereas others are more natural.
The beach isn’t just for sunbathing: you can take a stroll along the shore, take the dogs out in winter, go surfing, play football and volleyball... or go to the "pedreru" for crabs.
The Muro de San Lorenzo promenade begins at stairway zero or "La Cantábrica". From here, you can see Club de Regatas and the climb up through the Cimavilla neighbourhood towards Cerro de Santa Catalina, where you can see Elogio del Horizonte, the gigantic sculpture by Chillida and enjoy a panoramic view over Gijón/Xixón.
Groups of people, like the stars of the video you can see on this website paying testament to the First Principle of Gijonomía, meet up every morning at "la rampina" or La Escalerona to take a drip in the sea together.
The emigrant's mother is popularly known as "la lloca'l Rinconín" or "la muyerona". This sculpture was made by Ramón Muriedas Mazorra in homage to Asturian emigration.
Dishevelled in appearance and gesture, our most beloved "lloca" bids farewell to her children who are disappearing into the horizon.
Beach football matches are organised every weekend. People of all ages gather at whatever time the tide allows, as they have to play at low tide.
In Gijón/Xixón, the accesses to San Lorenzo beach from the promenade ("el Muro") are numbered. Sometimes, they are used as a spatial reference: "at number 12", for example. So, the biggest one, the one with the clock, the one with the giant thermometer, the most famous one... is known as La Escalerona.
See you at La Escalerona?
We’ll soon publish more principles of the Gijonomía Treatise in addition to more stories and more characters.
In the meantime, dive into the nooks and crannies of our city via the Gijón/Xixón Turismo website. Or better still, come and visit us!
