May 8, 2012 - Lugo to Tapia de Casariego

Our plan today was to head north until we hit the coast and then find a small place where we could stay a couple of nights. The journey today was very scenic as we crossed the mountains and we stopped several times to take in the scenery. Passed through many small towns and clicked over 1000km on the car odometer. Eventually stopped at Tapia de Casariego and went for a walk through the small town. This place obviously grows in the Spanish summer but is very quiet at the moment. Found the information center and had an interesting...

Nov 8, 2011 - Aviles

We chose to stop for the night in Aviles, just short of the larger city Gijon. Our lonely planet suggested it was a better place to stay as Gijon was more of an industrial city. We checked into our hotel and asked for some recommendations for dinner. The staff directed us to a small Sideria (Cider House) called Casa Lin. We went for a walk and found the establishment and promptly ordered a Sidra (Cider). How to Drink Sidra (Cider). You must drink the whole bottle at one sitting. Cider oxidizes quickly and becomes flat. The ideal temperature...

Sep 23, 2011 - N. Spain - San Vicente to Gijon

23 Sept: San Vicente to Gijon. We crept out of the creek at 8am, as the sun was rising, and made it out without going aground although there was only 0.5 metres beneath the keel at one point. It was quite hazy, but we got a good view of the Picos de Europa behind the spectacular coastline with villages perched on top of steep cliffs. We are trying to motor as little as possible because the sail drives should have had their first service at 100 hours and they are over that already. The problem is that it can only be done when Whimbrel is...

Jun 5, 2010 - Sidra in the City

Gijon is located in the province of Asturias. A Spanish person places huge importance on the state they are from. The people of Gijon are proud to be Asturias and identify themselves as this before saying they are Spanish. They are more likely to display an Asturias flag than a Spanish one. Asturias is famous for its fermented apple cider, called sidra. Sidrerias (bars serving sidra) are located all throughout the old part of the city, with three or four within an apple-core’s throw of the Millars’ apartment . Sidra is served in shots. The...

Jun 3, 2010 - Gijon

The conference finished last night. After sharing in the cleaning up of the facility, we travelled with the Millar family back to their home in Gijon, Spain. The 6 ½ hour journey took us out of the majestic Pyrenees into rolling hills dotted with farms and small villages. Once we hit San Sebastian across the border in Spain, the road hugged the coastline with rugged green hills and stunning beaches. We saw glimpses of the Camino de Santiago as we passed through villages. Gijon is a much larger city than I imagined. It is an industrial...

Mar 10, 2010 - Dubai seeks delay in paying creditorss

"Analysts agree the move was necessary, but warn it could bring further pressure on the government. Kamel Wazne, economist analyst of American Univ. of Beirut,said, ""I think Dubai needs to finance its deficit through selling bonds and that's actually what it's doing right now. But this in the future might put some burden in the government if it accelerates its debt."" To compensate for its lack of oil wealth, Dubai relies mostly on trade, finance and tourism. The over-dependence on foreign capital and large-scale projects have curbed its...

Oct 5, 2007 - Cangas de Onis - 2

Friday and it must be Cangas de Onis!! In the morning we went canoeing down the River Sella. The river was very slow moving, apart from slight stretches of 'white water'. Basically where the river had slight level changes. We saw herons, cormorants, ducks, geese, eagles and some kind of hawk and loads of ducks. It was a very peaceful trip and a picnic lunch was provided. As you can see from one of the pictures we also had some uninvited guests! There were probably about 20 canoes that we saw on our trip. In the high tourist season there are...

Oct 4, 2007 - Cangas de Onis

We left San Sebastian and took a 61/2 hour bus ride to Cangas de Onis in the heart of the Picos de Europa. The bus ride was a milk run so we went into all of the small and not so small towns on the way. The ones where I was awake were:- Zarautz, Deba, Bilbao, Laredo, Santander, Torrelavega, LLanes, Nueva and Arriondas. The whole ride was through green countryside, rolling hills growing into mountains as we moved westwards, lots of trees and various animals grazing in the fields. Cangas de Onis is a town of about 4,000 and beautifully...

Oct 16, 2006 - In Oveido

Spent the last couple of days touring around the northern part of Spain and wound up in Cudierllo, a little fishing village soon to become major tourist site. All around Spain and Portugal we have been seening torn up roads. Seems EU has subsidized the infrastruture in many countries, so improving sewers, utilities and building roads is a big time business now hereabouts. Curidallo kinda reminded me of Nehalem, soon to be Newport. Quaint, lots of resturaunts and bars, souviner shops (I stuck to local artensions) and odds and ends. Prior to...

Aug 24, 2006 - driving in Spain and the satnav

Hi everyone Well this post is devoted to Ducky, Jane and to me! We have been through a lot together already. Leaving behine the mountains, it was time to head back for the coast on Monday ( at least I think it was Monday!). I made one last trip into the mountains for a last look at the majesty of them, they are amzingle varied. The part I went to was very lush and green, a serious contrast to some of the other views I have had. After that, I headed towards the coastal town of Gijon - Richard you should be able to find this one on the map....

Sep 28, 2005 - Luarca, the Asturias

Called Brians'Mum this morning as it was her 89th birthday- she sounded well and happy to hear from us. Left town and caught the autovia today as we are trying to catch up a little ground as we have been dawdling a bit and want to try and reach Portugal by the beginning of October. The coastline is becoming a little more rugged but providing amazing scenery for us- still good weather although cooler. A new highway is being built and we notice that the villages all seem to be expanding with new subdivisions and commercial centres. Arrived at...

Sep 27, 2005 - Castro Urdiales in the Basque country

Drove on around the coast and inlets until we reached Bilbao. A large city at the head of an inlet- we stopped long enough to visit that most famous of artistic buildings the Guggenheim Museum- magnificent! Some people have amazing imaginations. Trundled further along the coast heading west until we reached Castro Urdiales- another fishing village and just as delightful as Leteikio. Enroute to here we did a sidetrip down to the sealevel to a huge rock that some brave souls had placed a church on the top of- it is dedictaed to all fisherman...