We drove from to Santiago to Gijon, then on to Bilbao, through the regions of Asturias and Cantabria. The country is very different here, green, mountainous, and generally sparcely populated, which is why it's know as...The Green Coast!. The Picos de Europa are spectacular, even from the distance of the highway, and with plenty of snow. I'm hoping to return here, and spend a lot more time being active. The coast is very scenic as well.
If I had to live in Spain, this area would probably be my choice.
This is a pretty common farm dwelling in Asturias, on the western end of the coast. It is reasonably flat on the coast, could almost be Ireland, or places like Bridport in Tas. Many of the houses have these appendages, obviously for storage, but they are quite unique to this area.
Sorry about the poor quality; some of the great scenery east of Gijon. Looking south, to the right of here, the Picos de Europa can be seen, very attractive with snow covering. If you're interested, it's worth googling. Plenty of scope for walking, climbing, biking.
The 700km mystery sound: After a picnic lunch of local smoked cheese, black tomatoes, and baguette, I had to stop the car twice, after hearing a tapping noise somewhere down the back-turned out to be this tough little teabag. The string had become caught in the taillight moulding, and would flap around in the slipstream. Discovered the cause at the next day's break.
Saw a fair few walkers doing the Camino de Santiago. With the background of the Picos de Europa, I thought, maybe it wouldn't be a bad walk after all. Then I read the following blog:
http://francistapon.com/Travels/Spain-Trails/10-Reasons-Why-El-Camino-Santiago-Sucks
Confirms my suspicions, but I think it would still suit some people, if not only for the social aspect. We have settled in to probably the best hotel of the trip, the Sercotel Coliseo, in Bilbao; very modern, stylish, spacious, good wifi, and very central. There have been others with more character, but this one is hard to fault.
Sorry for too much talk and few pics, I'll improve, promise. Tomorrow, off to the Guggenheim.
Weekend bonus:
Today's mystery object. Neatest correct entry wins a prize!
Next post preview, War of the Worlds?? Stay tuned!
If I had to live in Spain, this area would probably be my choice.
This is a pretty common farm dwelling in Asturias, on the western end of the coast. It is reasonably flat on the coast, could almost be Ireland, or places like Bridport in Tas. Many of the houses have these appendages, obviously for storage, but they are quite unique to this area.
Sorry about the poor quality; some of the great scenery east of Gijon. Looking south, to the right of here, the Picos de Europa can be seen, very attractive with snow covering. If you're interested, it's worth googling. Plenty of scope for walking, climbing, biking.
The 700km mystery sound: After a picnic lunch of local smoked cheese, black tomatoes, and baguette, I had to stop the car twice, after hearing a tapping noise somewhere down the back-turned out to be this tough little teabag. The string had become caught in the taillight moulding, and would flap around in the slipstream. Discovered the cause at the next day's break.
Saw a fair few walkers doing the Camino de Santiago. With the background of the Picos de Europa, I thought, maybe it wouldn't be a bad walk after all. Then I read the following blog:
http://francistapon.com/Travels/Spain-Trails/10-Reasons-Why-El-Camino-Santiago-Sucks
Confirms my suspicions, but I think it would still suit some people, if not only for the social aspect. We have settled in to probably the best hotel of the trip, the Sercotel Coliseo, in Bilbao; very modern, stylish, spacious, good wifi, and very central. There have been others with more character, but this one is hard to fault.
Sorry for too much talk and few pics, I'll improve, promise. Tomorrow, off to the Guggenheim.
Weekend bonus:
Today's mystery object. Neatest correct entry wins a prize!
Next post preview, War of the Worlds?? Stay tuned!
We had a great time one year cycling around Bilbao. The Guggenheim museum had a huge cat sculpture made of flowers outside at the time. Where I lived in Colombia (Santander) the villiages around about had names like Giron, Pamplona and the like so folk from the Busque country must have settled the area :-) The Busque country seem to have the same rebellious feel as Brittany in France - their own culture and language and desiring independence/separation.
ReplyDeleteCan you get one of those spiders for the entrance to the AWB?
ReplyDeleteNot exactly; the sculptor insists the piece suit the application, and after the brief, he thinks a snake would be more suitable, fashioned from wood.....
ReplyDelete