All 6 entries tagged Asturias

Asturias rocks

Follow-up to A short walk in Asturias from Transversality - Robert O'Toole

Pleistocene cave bears discovered living on the Asturian coast...

If you like limestone, you'll love Asturias...

Art.

Robert O'Toole : 12 Jun 2009 05:35 |  Tags: Asturias Travel Writing |  Comments (4) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

A short walk in Asturias

Follow-up to Ribadesella, Asturias from Transversality - Robert O'Toole

Sand lizards basking on a rock near to the edge of Poo de Llanes. Too fast for Lawrence to catch.

Finding interesting insects on the long-distance coastal path.

A small river runs out of the mountains and down to the sea. We followed its course.

Spring wild flowers.

Along the river.

A shoal of fish. Lawrence wanted to jump in and catch them (in the style of Nigel Marven).

The river bed widens out into a cove.

And down towards the sea.

Robert O'Toole : 11 Jun 2009 06:20 |  Tags: Asturias Travel Writing |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Ribadesella, Asturias

Follow-up to Funicular de Bulnes, Picos de Europa, Asturias from Transversality - Robert O'Toole

The Rio Sella cascades down from the Picos de Europa, quickly losing its momentum, and flowing out into the Bay of Biscay at the smart sea side resort of Ribadesella.

On several occasions we drove the short distance along the twisty coast road from Llanes, for drinks and food at the elegant Pastelería-Bombonería Nerian.

Ribadesella's long beach:

Just like Baywatch:

Lawrence always finds interesting material for a beach sculpture:

The Hotel Villarosario is one of many elegant buildings:

Towns and villages in Asturias usually have a new play area:

The play area is next to a lagoon with a series of bird hides. We spotted a citrine warbler in the trees.

ThePastelería-Bombonería Nerian serves great pizza, hambuergesas, and an amazing selection of confections:

Robert O'Toole : 01 Jun 2009 07:23 |  Tags: Asturias Travel Writing |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Funicular de Bulnes, Picos de Europa, Asturias

Follow-up to El Museo Jurásico de Asturias from Transversality - Robert O'Toole

From our house in Poo de Llanes, Asturias, we could look South towards the Picos de Europa range. I had ridden through the mountains with Martin a couple of years ago, and wanted to take Emma and Lawrence to see the mountains, streams, meadows and eagles.

We drove down to the Arenas de Cabrales for coffee and tortilla. Here's a photo from the Garganta de Cares (gorge of the river Cares) to the East of Arenas:

Steep meadows fill the valleys:

The road winds along the river:

A grain store, typical of Asturias. Traditional farming practices are common throughout:

Boarding the Funicular de Bulnes train, which travels 2km underneath a mountain, up to mountain village:

At the other end of the tunnel, we walked along a remote mountain foot path.

Fishing in a mountain stream:

Goats, just like those in Lawrence's herd in Africa:

A view across to the peak of Naranjo de Bulnes, still covered in snow at Easter. As we looked out to the mountain, many large raptors drifted by on a thermal: Golden Eagles & Griffon Vultures.

Robert O'Toole : 20 May 2009 19:12 |  Tags: Asturias Travel Writing |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

El Museo Jurásico de Asturias

Follow-up to Poo de Llanes beach, Asturias from Transversality - Robert O'Toole

Near to Colunga on the Asturian 'jurassic coast', MUJA is an amazing museum full of fossils, reconstructions, and informative displays. It is built in the shape of a giant foot print, with each toe representing a different part of the Mesozoic, along with some Permian and Tertiary exhibits to put them into context.

It's a great place to hear a lecture by a leading palaeontologist:

Some of the exhibits can get quite hungry, best appease them with sacrificial children:

This photo gives an idea of the vast size of the halls:

Lawrence correctly identified the oviraptor and explained its name (egg eating raptor):

A display illustrating possible colour schemes for various Ceratopsidae.

Robert O'Toole : 18 May 2009 22:04 |  Tags: Asturias Travel Writing |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Poo de Llanes beach, Asturias

Follow-up to Asturias again from Transversality - Robert O'Toole

This image from Google Maps shows the lagoon at Poo de Llanes, in Asturias. You can see how it has three parts: the shallow lagoon, a second sandy lagoon that fills up with water at high tide, and a creek with a river leading into the lagoon. Our house for the week in Asturias was in the village just at the bottom left of the picture, with a short walk down to the sea.

The house:

Countryside behind the house, looking towards the foothills of the Picos de Europa.

Looking towards the creek.

Looking towards the sea.

Mountain weather in one direction, blue sea and sky in the other.

Wading across the lagoon to a sea cave.

Robert O'Toole : 17 May 2009 16:29 |  Tags: Asturias Travel Writing |  Comments (6) |  Close comments |  Report a problem