Asturias

7th October, 1999

On the old road past Ribadesella we first noticed strange shed like buildings on stilts that we were see repeatedly as we journeyed on round the Iberian coast.     These we were to learn are seed stores called horreos in Atsurias and are made of wood.    In Galicia (and Portugal where the are called espigueiro) they are stone.   The design uses tall legs topped by a large thin capital to stop vermin or ants getting at the seed or grain.

We found our campsite at Deva Gijon without much difficulty but were in for a bit of a culture shock.     Our Spanish is none existent and the man in reception spoke no English.    The site was not listed as open in our campsite book and had very few inmates.    It had a central boiler which mean one had to draw a bathful of water to get enough hot water to wash.      However it was near to our friend Ana who was to be our guide for the next few days.     Ana was brought up in the area and was going to show us that, despite what the guide book says, her home town was interesting, exciting and had its share of beautiful sites.

8th October, 1999

We began our tour of Gijon visiting some of Ana's teenage haunts, including the disco where she had met her husband, Ron.   We then went to the high ground to the east, known as La Providencia, where we first stopped by a small hermitage that contained a rare black Madonna, shown above left.   Next we visited one of Ana's favourite restaurants overlooking the sea, above middle and right.   Here we had one of those fantastic Asturian long lunches with many plates of sea food.     At the next table we were joined by a party of Canadians who demonstrated how difficult it is to order food if you do not speak Spanish.    They had, however, worked out that one on our table spoke Spanish and were delighted to find that not only was Ana Spanish, but an old friend of the restaurant owner, who was taking a personal interest in their order.  

After our ample lunch, we went to tackle Gijon.   The weather was mercifully kind and we had a stunning view of the old Church of San Pedro (below left) which dominates the old city known as Cimadevilla.  This part of the city dates back to Roman times and next to the Church are the recently excavated ruins of the Roman baths, which show a remarkable amount of detail.   Above and behind the church rises a hilly area that would in Roman days and since been of great military importance and, until recently, was a restricted military area.   Now it is a large public park where the townsfolk exercise and play.   At its highest point is a concrete monument (below middle) which the tourist office proudly displays on their literature, but which the locals call "King Kong's toilet".   The huge concrete sculpture appears to be a letter G stuck in the ground.   

As we walked round the city, Ana convinced us that the guide book is a little hard on the town as it has many fine buildings and a very lively night life.   The restaurant, below right, was pointed out as being one of Ron's favourites. 

The 8th was a particular day for us and was rounded off with a fantastic dinner in a restaurant full of character, close to our camp, but one that we would never have found without Ana.   In addition to having a super meal, we were also treated to our first glimpse of the local cider tradition.   Here, the waiter pours cider from a bottle held above his head into a glass held as low as he can.   Needless to say, a great deal of cider finishes on the floor and for this reason it is covered in sawdust.  

9th October, 1999

On Saturday the 9th we were left to our own devices and, after our late night, had a lazy morning before setting off for Oviedo, which is the principal town of Asturias.    Our brief visit concentrated on the centre, which contains some fine old buildings.   Its Cathedral has some particularly fine decoration behind the altar (below left).  

There is also, not far from the centre, the Church of  Santullano, which, having been built around 830 AD, is one of the oldest churches we have seen.   When we eventually found the church, a service was in progress and we had to content ourselves with the view shown left.

10th October, 1999

Sunday was also a fine and warm day and we called to collect Ana early as she had warned us that it was to be a long day.   We were soon climbing into the hills to the south of Gijon, heading for one of the passes, or ports as the Spanish call them, that used to be the old route to the interior.   We stopped briefly to look back at Tarna, below left, before passing the summit.   We made a small detour into a blind valley to see the village of Maraña where Ana had spent holidays with her parents.  

A little further on, we stopped in a tiny village for a coffee (and to use the local facilities).   This was definitely not a tourist village and our British car was a source of great curiosity, as it has been everywhere outside of the tourist areas.   It was a glimpse of rural life as it must have been for many years.    Our target for lunch was the reservoir at Riaño, shown above middle.    By now it was quite hot and very still.   The reservoir had an eerie mirror finish to it.   Once again, we must have been the only foreigners they had seen for months and as we would never have understood the menu, we were grateful for Ana's assistance and enjoyed the "tapas".  

Ana had wanted to show us the Picos de Europa, as we returned through a second pass, the Porto del Pontón.   However, where we first stopped, though impressive in the distance, the view was ruined by power lines and a passing hiker advised us to make a brief detour to the Porto de Panderruedas where, after an exhausting climb from the car park, we were rewarded with the view, above right, of the Picos.  As we arrived, we caught our first glimpse of a British car (other than our own) since entering Spain. 

By now it was getting late and though our final objective was Covadonga, we could not resist stopping by the school where Ana had lived and taught for two years.    Having been told how exceptionally brave (or foolhardy) Ron had been to drive up to the school, we felt we had to rise to the challenge.   The picture below left shows the school on the left and the road on the right, but does not really convey how steep the road really is, nor does it show the terrifying drop off the road edge either side of the school.   Getting up, in fact, was the easy bit.    Turning round with the front wheels 10cm from the edge was a bit scary.    To be fair to Ron, it may be that the road had been rebuilt since his ascent some 25 years ago.   Sadly, the school had been closed for some time, but as it was some 200 to 300 feet up a steep mountain, it is perhaps hardly surprising.

Late in the afternoon, we arrived at Covadonga, which is famous as the point at which the Moorish invasion of Europe was stopped by Pelayo in 718 AD.   The town is an important place of pilgrimage because Pelayo, whose statue is shown above middle, is said to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary in a cave in the hillside above the village on the eve of the battle.   This had raised the morale of his troops and was thought to be a good omen.   The cave is now a shrine with long queues to touch and kiss the Madonna.   In a small chapel is said to be the sarcophagus of Pelayo.   The cave, above right, was of particular significance to Ana, as she had been married in it.  

Above Covadonga, in the Picos, are some picturesque lakes, but sadly it was now too late to drive up to them as it would have been dark before we got there.    Also, Covadonga and the lakes - even in October - are chock-a-block with cars.   It had taken us a long time to find a parking space and we could now see the long queues of cars streaming down from the lakes and Covadonga and felt we had no choice but to join the slow crawl home.   As we did so, we went along a route that was said to be a holiday favourite of Franco, where he enjoyed fishing.    The whole area had suffered badly in the civil war and memories were still vivid among the older people.  

It soon grew dark and the last part of the journey back to Gijon, along a tortuous secondary road, was something of an ordeal, but was rewarded by a hearty, if somewhat belated, meal at La Chalana (www.lachalana.com), a restaurant in the hills above Gijon.  

11th October, 1999

After the exhausting previous day, we took it easy.   It was another warm, sunny day so we caught up with the washing and aired the bedding before going off to do the shopping.   We were still in range of Radio 4 on long wave and caught up with the news and were surprised to find someone we had met years ago in Los Angeles as a celebrity guest on a quiz show.  

12th October, 1999

Tuesday, 12th, was a Bank Holiday so we should not have been surprised to find it wet.   Nevertheless Ana wanted to take us on one more trip to see the coast countryside to the west.  We went first to Candas, north-west of Gijon, where there is a museum of the work of Anton Rodríguez García, which on the day had free admission.   His work was interesting and, had he lived past the age of 26, he could have been one of the century's great artists.  Unfortunately, he was imprisoned by Franco and died in 1937.   Just outside the museum is the sculpture shown below left, which we are told is a fisherman holding a fish in his right hand.   The locals are very proud of it, though we thought at first it was a troll holding a banana.    We continued north-west to the next fishing village of Luanco, where there is an interesting church with a covered walkway all round it.   We walked down to the harbour, where the tide was out and (below, middle) were surprised to see a football match being played on the sand.   We had a meal in a quay-side restaurant, washed down with cider poured in the traditional manner.

Our journey took us onwards to the most northerly tip of the Asturian coast at Cabo de Peñas, where a light-house warns shipping of the treacherous rocks, shown below right.   By now, it was pouring down and, after a coffee in the nearby bar, we continued through the industrial town of Avilés, in which was situated one of the steel factories where Ron was working when he met Ana.

Our final stop was in Cudillero, a fishing port much favoured by the locals for weekend and holiday trips.   The approach to the port, down a steep, narrow cobbled road, was a bit testing in the wet, as was parking perilously close to the edge of the quay.   After snacking on an apple, we decided to call it a day and returned (slowly, with thousands of other day-trippers) to Gijon.   For our final evening in Gijon, Ana took us to a popular restaurant serving food in the Galician style.    This included octopus and potatoes and a slightly sparkling white wine which was drunk from saucers similar to, but much larger than, saki bowls we had seen in Japan.

As we planned to move on the next day, we took our farewells of Ana and Asturias.

Last updated:  18/03/01