NW Spain in 9 days ... what kind of eejit!?!

Beautiful beaches, magnificent mountains and civilised cities

Above: Let's just do this bit in 5 days - and why not throw in Bilbao and Oviedo?

That eejit would be me! Northwest Spain and Northern Portugal in 4 and a half weeks by train (including getting there and back). There is no-one else to blame. 

It all started with the whimsical magic of Interrail and the assumption that all trains are equal. Just buy a ticket and everything will follow. European trains are amazing, aren't they?

Well they are if you want to travel long distance from major city to major city. But just try inching across the North coast of Spain on a "stopping" train or, even worse, crossing a border into Portugal. Sure, there are buses that rocket along at a fair old pace but try being a 63/73-year-old confined in a bus for 9 hours and not being able to stand up, let alone walk up and down. For example, we wanted to go from Ferradosa on the Douro in Portugal to Salamanca in Spain, 141 km as the crow flies, takes 3 hours by car and 9 hours by public transport. By comparison, Barcelona to Salamanca, 657 km as the crow flies, takes 11.5 hours by car and 5.2 hours by public transport. Oh, and BTW, a quote for a taxi from Ferradosa to Salamanca was in excess of €400. We'll revisit this comparison when attempting to get from Santiago de Compostela (in Spain) to Valença in Portugal.

We abandoned our street cred (green conscience) and hired a car from Bilbao to Santiago de Compostela, 

And then we started driving westwards. 

Above [top-bottom, l-r]: Good night and au revoir Bilbao and the Plaza Nueva; Good morning Castro Urdiales; with your stately buildings; and your all-in-one seaward costa "furniture".

We hadn't had much time for breakfast, getting the bus from the centre of Bilbao to the airport to pick up the car but the most friendly woman at the hire counter convinced us that a stop at Castro Urdiales would be just the biscuit. And so it was. If brunch takes place between breakfast and lunch, how does one label the midpoint between breakfast and brunch? Whatever it is we had it in Castro during a short but pleasant interlude before resuming the journey proper with los Picos in mind. Destination Fuente Dé.

​Los Picos

Above [top-bottom, l-r]: looking across at los Picos from the NW, across the R Deva, near Buelles on the Cantabria/Asturias border; Fuente Dé, los Picos, the cable car station from the Parador; Dramatic peaks; green valleys and sheer mountains from Fuente Dé.

​​We flew through los Picos, driving 460km from Bilbao to Orviedo in 7 and a half hours plus an hour or so of breaks. Shameful! 

It just served to demonstrate to us how vast and varied is the Iberian Peninsular. And this only included the NW quadrant of Spain with a bit of Portugal thrown in. At least an entire week should have been devoted to los Picos. My only excuse was feeling a bit too crap to do some of the walking required to maximise the appreciation of the mountains. It seems as if Shan and I both experienced a recurrence of Covid ... how many times do we have get it? At least 4 for me and each time seems to sap my long-term energy and breathing that little bit more. 

​That's enough of my whingeing! We were headed to Oviedo for its culture. That included its food culture.

The drive along the North Coast (well a teeny bit inland from it) is a triumph of relatively recent Spanish engineering with a fine dual carriageway traversing vast viaducts spanning the gorges of the many rivers that enter the Bay of Biscay a short way downstream. This arrangement continued for the 130 km that bypassed Santander before becoming even more spectacular after turning suddenly southwards along the Cantabria/Asturias border and along the twists and turns of the River Deva. After Potes, and a brief excursion to Fuente Dé, this road becomes increasingly narrow and twisty through the foothills of los Picos to the South. It didn't really let up until we'd soldiered on for 4 hours to complete the remaining 353 km to Oviedo. The scenery continued to be spectacular but it was definitely a relief to finally reach Oviedo and ditch the car for a few days.

Whether the extra 50 km or so that we travelled (slowly) as a result of missing a turn in Riaño made much difference is cause for speculation ... speculation that can only be allayed by another foray into the Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa and spending at least a week nosing about the area.

Apologies for this beginning to sound a little like a Nick Broomfield saga[1], but that's how it's started to feel for me ... 

Oviedo

... and Oviedo, too, where we had booked our hotel early on in the planning process, the city having been heartily recommended to us by various friends whose opinions we respected. However, after our booking had been extant for quite some time the hotel contacted me to apologise/explain that Oviedo's annual festival would be taking place, literally on their doorstep and that there would be loud noise at least until 4 am if not 6 am ... we all know the type.

We deliberated, eventually deciding to go with the accommodation despite the health warning. It would be difficult to relocate to such a convenient place in the city at that point.

Above: They happen everywhere - booze, music, and fast food; perhaps the food options are a little more imaginative; the balcony from a lounge on our floor of the Soho Boutique Oviedo.

To the management's credit, we had been located to the rear of the hotel for our three nights and the exterior noise was negligible. The night and day managers were also solicitous and provided us with as much information as they could to make our stay as comfortable as possible. Yes. We enjoyed Oviedo.

We had a great time there once we'd settled in and come to terms with the fact that not all of Spain in September is warm all the time. A few extra bits of clothing purchased later, and a whizz around the delights of the old town, and we were ready to roll.

Before we get to the art and the fine-dining this is probably as suitable an interlude as any to tackle the subject of cider in the Pais Vasco (Basque Region), Cantabria and Asturias[2]. In short, it is weird. Especially the pouring of it! If one chose to pour it as we might elsewhere the result would be a glassful of stagnant piss. To avoid this debacle, it has to be poured from a great height by an expert who performs this tradition with great elegance, holding both the bottle and the glass and pouring without looking at either. To make things more complicated an absolute maximum of 2 cm of liquid must enter the glass and be necked immediately before it returns to said piss. It is too complicated for me to describe the whole art form in a single blog but here is a handy link if you'd like to find out more[3].

Above [top-bottom, l-r]: This guy's somewhat of an expert (pic borrowed from[3]) although we did actually see someone who performed a similar exercise behind his back; a young lady pouring a couple of shots for us, discreetly hiding any spillage; we paused for a nanosecond to take the picture and, bingo, it had lost all its life; there are various cheating gadgets provided to customers of some restaurants ... this one at Casa Ramón, which nonetheless had fabulous grub.

Oviedo is a relatively small city but is packed with hidden delights in its Old Town, which dates back to Medieval times, having started life around 720. It is easy to be drawn to just wandering through the ancient lanes although you will soon pass some serious magnificence, too, from the cathedral to handsome banks' headquarters for which this extended region has become world renowned. And just to provide the crowning glory, there is a comprehensive art museum that extends to Dali and Picasso.

And all this in a city that has also become a culinary Mecca for everything from tapas (we've left pintxos country now) to world class fine dining. 

So I'm going to leave most of this to a few selected pictures ...

Above: random photos from strolling around the city ...

... there's so much to see, you'll just have to go there yourself!

We started running out of time with only 3 days in the city. There was one big treat we'd promised ourselves, viz. a full-on gourmet meal in this foodie town. For various reasons we ended up at Casa Fermin ...

​... but before we took ourselves off for our feast we "popped" into the rather magnificent Fine Arts Museum of Asturias that almost adjoins the cathedral. It doesn't look like much from the outside as it does once you enter and then there is a revelation. For those who are experts in Spanish art it probably requires several visits; we were able to appreciate the vast collection but were stopped in our tracks by the work of Picasso and Salvador Dali (the Metamorfosis de Angeles, particularly, blew Shan, our artist, away). 

Unfortunately, while the museum is free, the receptionist was a bit grumpy and insisted that we put our bags in lockers in reception. Fair enough but he didn't explain that cameras would be OK.

SO WE GOT NO PHOTOS. Y'all will have to go and see it for yourselves. And while you're about it, pop into Casa Fermin for the tasting menu ...

Above: A meal for one person (there was also a five-part amuse bouche). Food and service were exemplary.

And then we were off ... a quick (and probably last) Sidra (Cider in Asturias) and then our last kip in the Soho Boutique Oviedo before heading off towards Santiago di Compostela where we would retire our hire car for a while.

So we made the most of it by dropping down to the coast at Luarca for a wander and lunch. Shan described the town as: "buzzy ... apart from the bloody (sic) seagull that tried to make off with our lunch!"
​
​I think she (Shan) was more freaked out by the baby eels that garnished our exotic lunch special of prawns, potatoes and egg served up by the award-winning Sidreria el Duernu (see below).

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Above [top-bottom, l-r]: The elusive coastal train line pops out high up at Luarca; the once rather grand Mesón de la Mar, now seemingly closed, still has a presence overlooking the harbour; a renovators' dream on the waterfront; another renovators' dream a little further back from the sea; baby eels; the "scuff" on our hire car. 

The last part of our car journey to Santiago de Compostela followed the spectacular mountain autoroute with even more spectacular viaducts and mountain passes reaching up to 698 m above sea level. This highest of passes took us through some pretty dense fog, which must be a little rare in September.

We dropped the hire car off at Europcar at the Santiago airport where the receiving clerk took an inordinate amount of time crawling around in front of the car, emerging to point out the scuff marks below the grill (see above). We hadn't really checked the car when we picked it up but were certain we hadn't nerfed anything along the way. I've never seen a hire company receiving-clerk perform such a close detailed inspection before.  Anyway we accepted we hadn't done our due diligence on collection and conceded that we might need to fork out perhaps around €30 to polish off the black residue. 

​Nope: €147.18 PLUS a €50 admin charge! Caveat emptor when taking advantage of Booking.com's "special rewards". Thankfully our second rental was directly through Avis.

And now for our grand finale to our Spanish sortie

Everyone knows of the existence of Santiago de Compostela. Most people I've spoken to have left me with the impression that it was a bit of a hippie destination with a religious twist. Both Shan and I were also of that impression, although she had blown some of her inheritance on a two nights' treat in the Parador de Santiago de Compostela. 

The Parador has been through various iterations (it is more than 500 years-old and very possibly the oldest hotel in the world) but is now a 5-star hotel. It was built as a royal hospital at the beginning of the 16th century to accommodate pilgrims traveling to Santiago and to administer medicine to those who'd arrived a little worse for wear.

There it joined the cathedral, that had been consecrated in 1211, flanking it on the Praza do Obradoiro. They were joined later by the Colexio de San Xerome[4] and, in 1766, the Pazo de Raxoi[5], turning the Praza into a giant quadrangle, the size of which astonished Shan and me the moment we clapped eyes on it. 

These days the Praza (plaza in English) forms a Mecca for the pilgrims who descend on it from far and wide but most significantly from ​the city of Puy-en-Velay, which is more than 1200 km away[6] and is the site of the monumental statue of Notre Dame de France[7].

​These days our fellow travellers lolling about in the Praza swapping anecdotes and queueing up for group tours could just as easily have meandered on foot or, quelle horreur on bicycles, for as little as 100 km over 7 days[8] (even my Covid ravaged body could manage 14 km a day with a bit of an overnight razzle). Caminoisti indeed.

The benefit to Santiago must be immense, though. There are literally miles of alleyways with wall-to-wall restaurants and bars and even this old curmudgeon was happy to indulge in the cornucopia of Spanish food, tapas or otherwise, during the couple of lunchtimes and evenings we were there. And, of course, having lodgings in the 5-star Parador was a ten-star bonus. Thank you Shan.

Above [top-bottom, l-r]: the west-facing facade of the cathedral proudly defines the main square; it is joined by the south-facing parador; they are then joined by the Colexio facing north; and finally the Pazo looks eastward across at the cathedral to bound the quadrangle that is the Praza do Obradoiro; Caminoisti relaxing in the Praza; the stately Parador is built around 4 courtyards with the accommodations on the outer perimeter facing outwards  (see our room below) and these relaxing spaces facing into the 4 oases; every evening in Santiago seemed to provide a breathtaking sunset.

 Above [top-bottom, l-r]: The ornate entrance to the Colexio de San Xerome; The once traffic laden streets below the Plaza now form pleasant walking spaces to explore the wider delights of Santiago; here a self-appointed "influencer" struts her stuff; looking back up the street to the cathedral to see what she's talking about; our tranquil room in the parador; there are many squares in SdeC - this couple were spotted in the Praza da Quintana de Vivos on the rear of the cathedral; this bloke was definitely a hardened caminoisto - check out the backpack, the suntan and the the flamboyant walking pole; caminoisti complete with t-shirts and selfie-stick; Shan with Ramón María del Valle-Inclán[9] in Alameda Park[10]; a couple of smart ladies walking across the same park en route to the shops; Geraniums soften the barred windows of the convent[11]; Shan liked this take on the sunset with the lady on the poster peering around at the fading red orb.

Coming Next

 ... overcoming the extraordinary challenge of getting from somewhere in Spain to somewhere in Portugal without a hire car and the extortionate drop-off fee that entails.

There is also a river in it, which was part of our raison d'être for the month-long trip.

[Endnotes]:

1. Summary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Broomfield 
2. Probably elsewhere, too.
3. https://thecraftycask.com/craft-cider/how-to-asturian-cider/
4. The Colexio de San Xerome building was originally constructed in the 17th century as part of a monastic school (college) and now houses the Rectorate of the University of Santiago de Compostela.
5. Pazo de Raxoi ('Palace of Raxoi') is a neoclassical palace completed in 1766, it is located on the square, in front of the cathedral. It is currently the seat of the city council and regional government.
6. ... and a total amplitude of more than 14,000 metres; no wonder the earlier caminoisti occasionally needed medical attention at the parador!
7. The Statue of Notre-Dame de France is a real technical feat of the 19th century. It was created with the metal of 213 cannons taken from the Russians during the Crimean War and offered by Napoleon III to the city of Le Puy en Velay.
   Work of the sculptor Jean-Marie Bonnassieux, it is 22,70 m high and weighs 835 tons. The Statue was commissioned in 1860 and  was completely renovated in 2013.
8. Read all about it at https://caminoways.com/
9. Ramón María del Valle-Inclán y de la Peña was a Spanish dramatist, novelist, and member of the Spanish Generation of 98. His work was considered radical in its subversion of the traditional Spanish theatre in the early 20th century.
   
10. The Alameda Park is the most prominent public park and the main lung of Santiago de Compostela, located halfway between two of its most emblematic elements, the University Campus and the historic centre where the Cathedral is located.
11. The Monasterio de San Pelayo de Antealtares is now a Spanish convent of an advent of Benedictine nuns ... not quite sure that the bars on all the windows of this massive structure remain required?