The holiday season in Asturias

Asturias is a popular destination during the heat of the summer in Spain. Many Spanish people come during the main holiday period of last two weeks of July, August and beginning of September. Many leave their town and city based apartments where the summer temperatures rarely fall below 30 degrees Celsius, to come to the milder and more tolerable northern coast; Spain's Natural Paradise, Asturias.

The once quiet towns and low-key cities now buzz with extra traffic, more pedestrians and busy terrace cafes and bars. The beaches that are mainly deserted for 10 months of the year become a mosaic of sun chairs, beach umbrellas, beach towels and sand castles. The hundreds of peaceful walking routes become punctuated with walkers, ramblers, cyclists and runners, the gentle hum of the mountains ring out with cattle bells and camera shutters and the subdued markets come to life with extra stalls and animated stall-holders eager to sell their wares to passing tourists.

As you wander around the small fishing villages, farming communities and hidden towns, the aromas of cured ham, grilled fish and seafood, still cider and barbecued meats float through the air with unprecedented regularity and the haze of wood smoke intensifies the tapestry of greens, golds and blues that are typical of summer here in Asturias. During the next few weeks we will see and hear a proliferation of fiestas, music festivals, street theatres and recitals, all geared up to entertain and bemuse both the locals and the incomers; something for everyone.

It is great to see this influx of visitors during the summer months and although it can upset our normality, we realise that the economy needs it. What always confuses us is why Asturias is so quiet during the remainder of the year? We appreciate that it is the main holiday period for many Spanish workers but we feel that there is no-where better to visit in Autumn or Spring and even Winter than this beautiful region of Spain. OK the weather can be unpredictable particularly in Spring and sometimes in summer but cooler and wet weather fronts rarely last for long and after all, that is why Asturias is so green and lush. With mountains, woodlands, pastures and coast, larger cities and quaint villages all easily accessible within half an hour no matter where you stay, Asturias really does cater for all tastes.

Below are a couple of videos that show some of the beauty of Asturias, the first is a video from the hotel we first stayed in on our first time in Asturias (worth a visit) and the second is one I have featured before of the Cares Gorge; the most iconic walk in Asturias. Who knows we just might meet here one day....?

Winter walk along the Cares Gorge, Picos De Europa, Asturias and León, Spain from Tomas Millar on Vimeo.
A walk along the Ruta Del Cares in Northern Spain. Posada de Valdeón - Caín (León) to Puente Poncebos (Asturias) - Courtesy of www.casausborne.com.

Filmed using:
DJI Phantom Quadcopter
GoPro Hero 3
H32D Gimbal

The lusty month of May...

It's May, it's May, the lusty month of May...

What a start to the month, its been extremely busy with lots of jobs to do in and around the garden. The seedlings are progressing well and we'll soon be planting beans, marrow, cucumber and squash and kohlrabi. The peas, potatoes and beetroot have been in the ground for a few weeks now and are growing with vigour but the tomatoes have just not moved, probably due to the unseasonal cold weather and overcast days. The two new apple trees we planted are doing well and have set fruit so hopefully we will have an extended season of apples from this year on.

We've had an eventful month so far with Luis venturing out into the mountains both alone and with his brother Ruben, both in training for a 50 Km mountain walk on the 23rd May organised by El Soplao. You may remember Luis is seeking sponsorship for this and two other challenges he has set himself this Spring to raise monies for The Donkey Paradise here in Asturias - more of that later.

Earlier in the month it was World Nude Gardening Day and of course, Luis participated as he has done for the past three years. Fortunately, it wasn't too cold on the day and I managed to sneak a photograph when he wasn't looking...

The garden is looking very colourful at the moment with lots of plants in full flower both in the beds and rockeries. Lots of dead heading and cosmetic pruning takes up a bit of time but it extends the flowering period and helps keep debris and invaders down such as slugs, aphids and black fly. Fortunately we seem to have a healthy colony of ladybirds this year which is a great natural control.

We were rather disturbed to see a European Hornet in the garden. I managed to get a shot or two but I was wary of venturing too close as they have a nasty sting and can be aggressive.

Wentworth and Gawber the cats are recovering well from their recent illness although Gawber has ongoing eye problems that require regular check-ups and daily eye drops. He is such a timid cat and despite our efforts to re-assure him, he freaks at the site of the cat carrier and now is wary whenever we call him as he thinks the eye dropper is close at hand but it needs to be done.

Luis had a bike accident this week and managed to knock himself out. He ended up stopping in hospital overnight for neurological observations but was discharged the following day with some residual concussion and a few cuts and many bruises. He was given strict instructions to rest. I have told him the gardening will wait until the weekend...;-)

The Caring for Rosie Challenge to raise monies for Rosie the Donkey and her stable mates at El Paraiso del Burro is going great and we are overwhelmed and grateful to the many people who have donated and helped us to promote this worthy cause. So far we have raised £1000 and hope that with two challenges left to complete, we can raise another £250. We visited the donkey sanctuary today and it was great to see the donkeys out in the pastures enjoying the lush spring grass. If you could help us reach our target, please follow the link below on the photograph of Rosie or click on the Go Fund Me button.

Rosie enjoying the lush pastures at El Paraiso del Burro

Back to the lusty month of May, for those of you who don't know it it is the title of a song but do you know which one and from which musical (extra points if you can name the composers)? The lyrics sort of sum up our May but with only half the month gone, there is still time for more lusty goings on as the weather warms up and life in and around La Pasera brings with it new adventures and lasting memories.

Now back to that World Nude Gardening Day photograph...if you really want to see it scroll down..................................Surely that's worth a few £, € or $ towards the donkeys?

A few photographs from Aviles

For Luis' birthday we went to Aviles and the Peñas cape. Here are a few photographs:

A walk through time: on the edge of Ribadesella town

We frequently walk around Ribadesella and never tire of the narrow, quiet streets and interesting buildings even though it is a very small town. It doesn't take much to see how the town has developed over the years and how the once, small cluster of sea-front fishermen and merchant houses has expanded as more land has been reclaimed from the sea and the estuary. The town has ancient roots and has been a settlement of sorts for at least the past 35,000 years, possibly much longer.

One walk we regularly take is on the edge of town along a narrow road that leads up to La Guia: a once important defensive position where cannon were  positioned ready to repel any unfriendly visitors. There is a small church and fortress dating back to the 1700s  that was built to provide spiritual and physical protection to the defenders. Today, the small chapel and remnants of defences remain. The chapel is now dedicated to Our Lady of La Guia, the patron Saint of fishermen and houses a small but wonderful collection of models of sea-going vessels.

Sociedad Etnográfica de Ribadesella SER

The vantage point of La Guia enables you to see the mouth of the River Sella as it winds its way through the lush landscape down to the estuary and into the Bay of Biscay. From here you can see the grand Indianos-style houses that were built on re-claimed land that borders the Santa Marina beach. The houses date mainly from the early 20th century when rich emigrant traders returned from the South Americas and built grand houses and estates. Many are now hotels but a few remain private residences.

Looking further up the Estuary there is a large expanse of rock which houses probably one of Ribadesella's greatest treasures: the caves of Tito Bustillo. Discovered in the 1960s, the network of caves and paleolithic cave art dates back at least 29,000 years. It is easy to imagine how small groups of humans occupied this estuary, with the caves offering protection and the sea and the rich flood plains offering up food in abundance. As an aside, in the next village to us about 5km from Ribadesella, they have recently discovered a bone pit containing fine examples of Woolly Rhinoceros, Hyena, Deer and Bison. The pit has undergone preliminary investigation and has now been sealed until finances can be secured to undertake a full archaeological investigation.

At the far end of Santa Marina beach along the promenade, there are some fine examples of dinosaur footprints in the sedimentary rocks that have been displaced by time and seismic land movement. Over 100 million years have passed since a small family group of dinosaurs passed over mud flats and left impressions for time to seal and eventually reveal.

 I often wonder what else lies undiscovered?

Scanning the landscape and pondering times gone by makes me wonder what footprints we might leave and how the archaeologists of future times might interpret our impact, presence our legacy.