El Frade Ribadesella

... for GPS--made for exciting times. ["Paul, I think we're driving in a dried river bed....the road ended back there!"]

We made our way into the Picos de Europa, a beautiful national park with amazing mountains. The hotel we're in is nestled in a small valley with impressive mountains all around. The Christian part, a beautiful medieval-looking church sitting up high....and of course a ...

... we could snap a picture with it and submit it to the "Take the Record Along" when we return. In the park, we realized that it was very similar to the Plaza de la Constitucion at home. Complete with a crazy lady talking to herself on a bench, and a man taking a dump in the middle of the park!!



We wandered to the Fransiscan church which holds the mortal remains of Pedro Menendez ...

... the mountains following the river Cares. Although it is only possible to see the river occasional due to it being too far below the path it is possible to hear it. The walk is about 24 kilometers there and back. Approx 16 miles. We have never been on such a spectacular walk. The path clings to the cliff face hundreds of meters above the gorge and burrows through solid rock. It is very difficult to describe adequately.

Tomorrow 2 10 09 we move on.

Oviedo is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in Northern Spain. This is the administrative and commercial of the region, also host the annual Price of Austrian Award. This place is also known for education and learning. Oviedo University’s international campus attracts many foreign scholars from all over the globe.

Here the top places in Oviedo

Museum
Museo Arqueológico de ...

... muy lejano ibamos a añorar en una larga madrugada.... Salimos a caminar un poco, encontramos arboles enanos sin hojas, estatuas de personas sentadas en un parque o como si caminaran junto a ti, un mercadi infestado de charcuterias que invitaban a darle una mordida a cada pierna de jamon serrano que se nos pusiera en frente. Despues de alucinarnos con todas las tiendas del mercado... X fin llego la hora de los churros deliciosos! Asi se nos paso nuestro primer dia "peninsular ...

... sexy how she pronounced diciembre (Spanish for December) ... don't ask me how or why I notice these things, I just do ...

I've heard Spanish spoken with a Brazilian Portuguese accent the odd time before, but didn't realize it could be that beautiful. Perhaps it was because it was that specific mixture of Brazilian Portuguese and the Spanish from Spain. Patricia has always told me I need to visit Brazil ... I ...

... de ahora,y Susana Viso.

Mientras resolvía estos últimos asuntos Amparo, Favila, Iñigo y Pablo están en casa terminando de hacer las maletas y ultimando detalles para poder salir hacia Bilbao. Donde recojeremos a nuestros compañeros de viaje y seguiremos hasta San Sebastian, donde visitaremos algunas cosas y luego terminaremos el día durmiendo en Irun.

... many goats just walking around doing their thing. They were everywhere. One of the brothers brought us through the whole process of how they are organized, how they make their cheese, how they brew their sidra, and the like. There's a lot of explain but I would rather get to the huge meal that came at the end of touring day. Alas, the meal. We entered into what appeared to be like a barn. Instead, there were long wooden tables set up with a block of their special blue ...

... of many of these grand houses, a lot of which seemed to have been built by emigrants who returned home having made their fortune in tobacco in Cuba. What there was none of were "tackeries", the usual seaside shops full of souvenirs, beach gear, ice creams and rock. It was very genteel and refined, more like a Cannes or Antibes. However, not so genteel or refined was the six coach loads of school kids on the beach ...

... city beach and the largest national park in Europe, the Picos de Europa, just 25 kms away. I tried to find someone who could tell me if Sporting were playing tomorrow. A sign on the front of the Sporting de Gijón store advertised "Excursión Universidad las Palmas", which indicated to me they were playing away. Palmas is in the Canary Islands so they were also playing far away. A friendly waiter at an exclusive lady's club ...