North of Spain - The Austrias

1. View from the cliffs of the northern coast of Spain

2. Place where Virgin appeared to someone many years ago

3. National Park (Parque Nacional de Covadonga) in North of Spain with mountains and cattle


18 de Julio
3:07am

Hola amigos!

Arrived back to my “casa” today as we adventured to the north of Spain for the weekend. This part of the country is vastly different than the south as we almost forgot we were in Spain as we hiked up mountains, wore jackets, and had breath taking views of the ocean from high cliffs.

FRIDAY
We drove 6 hours to the Asturias on a bus that had air condition and comfortable orange seats that reclined extra far back. Even though the trip seemed to last a bit longer than it should, the drive included post card scenery as we arrived closer to the final destination. That afternoon, we visited the Cathedral de Salvador and walked a small part of the Trail of Santiago. The trail is traveled year round by many people to remember the pilgrims’ journey to religious freedom. At the end of the camino is the Cathedral de Santiago, which we were unable to see but is supposedly unbelievable.

SATURDAY
When looking back, I wonder how we accomplished everything on this day. We began with a trip to one of Spain’s national parks in the mountains. We drove to the top of mountain in a small bus, as our large tour bus was unable to make the sharp turns and steep hills. We saw cattle grazing around us and at one point we had stopped in the middle of the road as a herd of sheep meandered across. I enjoyed looking out my window and seeing a cow grazing nearly two feet from the asphalt.

As we arrived at the mountain peak, we took a walkway up to the highest landing while dodging “kaka” (poop). Side note: There is a soccer player for the Real Madrid team whose last name is Kaka. Can you imagine the jokes!

My camera is broken, so I bought an overpriced 8 euro camera to attempt and capture the beauty of the place. Once I return to the states, I will have the film developed. I feel that I am returning to my middle school days as I am counting down the pictures I have remaining and occasionally forgetting to crank the camera before another picture can be taken. I have 2 photos left – can I make it?

Afterward, we traveled to the oldest prehistoric cave open to the public. The prehistoric times represent those times before history was written down. These caves and the art and collections inside provide some of the only history we have of these ancient humans. The cave is open 6 mouths out of the year in order to keep it preserved. The cave was dark, cold, and wet. The tour lasted an hour as we adventured through the small alley ways into the inner most room where the paintings were drawn. These paintings explain their religious beliefs and were drawn in order to be faithful to the gods. The paintings are remarkable in how they are so realistic and yet were drawn on rocks without much luz (light). Horses and deer were the majority of these two-toned paintings (black and red were the only colors used).

For lunch we visited a small town that has both a beach and a great view of the mountains. We literally stood on the beach walk watching the waves roll heavily on shore (red flag) and then turned our backs and saw the mountain tops smudged in the clouds. There were some illegal vendors selling fake Ray Bans, Burberry watches, and purses openly on the streets.. We may or may not have taken a look.

The last place we visited was an area where Mary had appeared to someone many years ago. Now a chapel is set in the mountainside in her honor and Mass was going on while we visited. Below the chapel ran a river complete with a small waterfall with water melting from the mountain top and fish swimming near the shore.

We ended the night with an authentic dinner from the north of Spain consisting of white beans, bacon, and sausage. I didn’t eat much but my stomach still bothered me a bit. The meal was heavy, and thus a group of us decided to take an adventure of the city. We climbed an arch built by the Romans and then scrambled across rocks along the river. We crossed some bridges along, one of which could only 20 people. It was a fun night to explore without a timeline.

SUNDAY
We headed to a part of the Austrias on a lake adorned with boats anchored around the pier and mountains in al fonda (background) with ice caps.

We then visited the city of Burgos, which is home to one of the most important, and largest, Cathedrals in the world. We only had one and half hours at this stop to grab lunch and view the cathedral. We had horrible service and I paid 10 euro for the worst salad of my life consisting of four pieces of lettuce shaped like a cross adorned with anchovies and kiwi and pineapple on the outskirts of the plate. After quickly removing the anchovies and eating the fruit, I became disgusted and frustrated – an unusual mood for me that was quickly changed with a simple and inexpensive mixto (ham and cheese sandwich).

We arrived back home around 6:30 as Melanie and I unpacked and headed to Calle Mayor for our last minute shopping. After we returned, Mel helped me pack all of my gifs into one suitcase – this is truly a miracle if you could see how much I have bought to bring back with me. We stayed up late doing homework to prepare for the intense week of work ahead. Only 4 more days of school and then we head back to the states on Saturday. Time has flown but I will be ready to return home once the weekend arrives.

Hasta luego for now,
Kristina