Why visit Asturias?

July 2011, few more weeks and we will be back in our house in Rozapanera, Pilona, Asturias. Despite having been coming here since 2005, and often eight or nine times in a year. I still really anticipate and look forward to arriving at our house.  The journey for us is mainly a pretty simple and stress free one. The M25 stretch being potentially the most problematic but normally less than 90 minutes from home to Stansted, drop the car off, the usual security stuff at the airport, then Easyjet permitting, and they are as a rule pretty good, less than 2 hours later we are in Asturias airport. Pick up the hire car,(this is increasingly the most expensive element) an easy and pretty spectacular  1 hour drive which takes in coastal views, crossing several uncommonly high motorway viaducts, mountains, snow capped or not depending on the season. The atmospheric city of Aviles, sprawling out toward the sea.  Elegant Oviedo, surrounded by the foothills of the Cordillera Cantábrica and then onward toward s the Pico’s through Infiesto then the wonderful twisting road which hugs the River Infierno up to Espinaredo and the 2km single track climb to Casa Rozapanera Baja and home from home. Mostly around 6 hours from door to door, not bad when you consider it took me nearly that to get up the M1 to Sheffield a few months ago!

Sadly our good friends Sally and Jon have now moved from their delightful house on the Soto side of Espinaredo and taken up residence in the less vertically challenging terrain of the Dordogne where they have bought a beautiful house with a gîte attached. Naturally we miss them and the cheery welcome we would get on arriving in the village, but they are happy in their new home and we, particularly my wife, Jacqui are delighted that the local villagers are happy to see us and despite the fact that I often have no real idea what we are talking about, we have some jolly conversations. I am hoping my new android phone Google app translator will help improve my unimpressive Spanish. However, as the internet signal is pretty rubbish I am somewhat concerned about what I might be saying.  A recent attempt at voice recognition translation managed to turn the word dog into the word table. “ Ah I see you are taking your table for a walk” or “ What a cute table, does it like biscuits?” may not be a promising start to a relationship?

The autumn is nothing less than spectacular with landscape colours to die for, the harvest and fiestas often accompanied by warm sunny days and atmospheric misty mornings. In spring the countryside awakens in spectacular fashion covering the hills with primroses and tiny alpine flowers. Lambs, foals and calves are to be seen everywhere.It is a wonderful thing to experience the changing seasons again, I have no idea if it is reality or my perception of it, but seems to me that seasonal change is totally absent from my life in the UK these days.Either it is wet or dry, warm or cold, much more than that goes pretty unnoticed, oh except that as soon as it gets warm an entire army of style averse physically challenged men and women treat the rest of us to unrestricted views of their unclad,often tattooed and mostly voluminous bodies. Despite these incentives, Asturias rarely seems to have visitors at any time other than July and August.

Situated in the centre of Northern Spain's 'Costa Verde' between Galicia and Cantabria, Asturias has thus far been pretty much ignored by the hordes of holiday makers swarming south in search of the conventional two weeks of sunstroke, sangria and sandblasting offered by some other resorts. Long may this continue, Asturias is not for everyone, it might even rain! However, for those who value clean air, beautiful natural surroundings, sparkling rivers, a coastline to rival any on the planet and a genuine unique atmosphere, this may be the place for you. The Asturian climate whilst a good bit warmer than the UK, does involve rain. Hence the spectacular green countryside, sparkling rivers and wealth of flora and fauna. 

The Principado de Asturias sits on the Atlantic coast and occupies 10,000sq km or 3,900 square miles. It is part of what is refered to as the 'costa verde'  with Cantabria and the Basque country (Santander, Bilbao) to the east. Galicia (Santiago de Compostela, Pontevedra ) to the west. Asturias covers a section of the Camino de Santiago or the pilgrims route.