Spanish Holiday Part 2 - Asturias

Arenas de Cabrales
The Cabrales mountains were gentler than the snow-capped Picos near Potes but still very beautiful. We found a short walk which Bill had copied out of the guidebook, along a river to a bathing pool by an ancient bridge, wonderfully cooling after the hot drive in the car. The hotel in Arenas was easy to find and very friendly, although we had to laugh at the piped 'easy listening' music in our room! The restaurant in town was very good, we sampled local veal and Cabrales cheese (Bill loved it). At a local bar we bought delicious local scrumpy (sidra) for one euro a bottle, and witnessed the Asturian pouring phenomenon. The waiter holds the bottle above his/her head and pours a little into a wide glass as far as possible below (without looking!). The customer is then expected to knock back the cider within 10 seconds, whilst the cider remains fizzy. You'd think that at 6% we'd get piised quite quickly, but attempts to pour it ourselves limited intake!
Next day we attempted the famous Ruta de Cares, from Puente Poncebos to Cain through the Cares Gorge. The path exists because of a water channel tunnelled through the mountains, and I often had to stop to splash myself with cool water from there as it was a blisteringly hot day. The path climbs up and up till there's a sheer drop of hundreds of feet down the side to the river below, but the path, by then carved into the mountainside, is so wide that you don't feel scared - unless you deliberately look over the edge. We saw that the local goats manage the steep mountainsides effortlessly. A few scary bridges across as well, not the wobbly type though, thank goodness! We made it to Cain for a well earned ice-cold lager at a bar with a shady terrace, then we went back the same way, experienceing different views.
After a good shower and night's sleep we loaded the car with cider, cheese and chorizo then set off for Oviedo and the contrasting City life...

Oviedo
Finding the Gran Hotel Espana was relatively easy but parking was a problem - we parked across the road in a public carpark whilst we checked in and ended up being charged 3 euros! Spanish lesson No. 1 - libre does not mean free!!! Ended up paying 9 euros a night to park in the hotel carpark.
We wandered around Oviedo in the evening, admiring the beautiful cathedral and the medieval palaces around it, now mostly Government buildings. Had some lovely food at El Raitan - baby squid in black bean sauce was, err, interesting! Then it was off to the sidrerias in the nearby Cider Quarter for some more tutellage on pouring technique! Great fun.
Next day we visited the Cathedral, where allegedly some of Jesus' nappies are kept. 2000 year old nappies?!!? The inside was beautifully restored, with a magnificent Baroque altar and the remains of many of the kings of Asturias in the impressive Camara Santa. The park and shops were next on the list, but try as we might we couldn't find a CD shop! Apparently they are only to be found in malls on the outskirts of town. Luckily we visited a sidreria noted for its support of Celtic folk music, and asked where we might purchase some Asturian folk music - the barman had good English and pointed us in the direction of a good souvenir shop! No Celtas Cortos but bought some Llan de Cubel and various others, all good.
Most annoying thing - long, boring walk to Los Monumentos on a hot day only to find that the visitor centre was closed! The palace is more of a folly, being built in the mid 1800s, and the ancient church heavily restored. The church, which we visited last, was open but this was unexpected, leading us to miss the bus back into town. Another long walk - bah! Still, more delicious food and cider down town soon restored my mood.
Had a walk around Aviles on the way to Luarca, well worth a look, beautiful medieval buildings and peaceful atmosphere (away from the industrial bits!).

Luarca
This was my choice to stay, as I fancied a few days by the beach. A cute little fishing town, it reminded me of Looe in Cornwall. We stayed at the Hotel Gayoso, reputedly the oldest hotel in Spain but heavily refurbished in 70s style, never mind. Bill panicked as the man on the desk took his passport - but this was returned later in the evening. Unfortunately this was when the weather started to break, so I didn't get much of a tan. Spent the morning driving around trying to find the Playa del Tauran, as reccommended in Footprints, but there's no public access from Luarca or from the campsite - update your guidebook, please!! Had to settle for the rather smelly, grey beach in Luarca. Next day we fared better, discovering the beaches to the west of Luarca towards Tapia de Casariego, but it was too cold to wear a bikini, we just settled for romantic walks by the sea.
Meal of the holiday at the Meson de Mar - a black paella (Arroz Negra) - monkfisk, prawns, calamares, crab, rice and red wine with the addition of squid ink, creating a delicious meal that looked like a pool of tar!! More cider at the Govara(?) de Po
and Galician beer at the pretty El Cambaral. A good cafe in the plaza as well, with delicious cakes!