Spain Travel – Asturias:
Bermiego, an Asturian Mountain Village, the Ethnographic
Museum of Quiros, a Hearty Lunch in San Martin de
Teverga and the Mysterious Cave La Huerta
To get to know the outdoor travel opportunities
in Asturias, we had spent the morning cycling
along the 22 km long Bear Trail or Senda del
Oso, and local tourism expert Ana had explained
all the different Asturian tourism offerings to
me, from outdoor adventure to history, culture and
culinary experiences. Now we had finished our biking
tour and Tito Conde, my outdoor adventure guide,
and his friend Estefania packed me in the car and
we started to drive up the steep slopes of the Asturian
mountains.
Village scene in Bermiego
After a drive on narrow and steep winding roads
we stopped in a local Asturian mountain village
called Bermiego. This is one of those villages that
look like nothing has changed over the last couple
of hundred years. I would guess that very few tourists
ever make it to this small village; that is why
it has this wonderfully authentic rural feel to
it. Cows and sheep were grazing on the steep mountains
surrounding us; and the sound of cowbells was filling
the entire narrow valley. The high mountains across
from us were still covered in snow.
Another view of Bermiego
We parked the van and started to walk through this
village with its attractive stone farm houses. The
weather had not improved much since the morning;
it was still overcast and drizzly, but Tito had
lent me his ski jacket and that was keeping me warm.
We walked on the narrow road for about 20 minutes
until Tito pointed out a special site in this area:
the so-called “tejo milenario” (or the
thousand-year-old yew tree) which was located right
next to a stone chapel.
The 1000-year old yew tree in Bermiego
Tito explained that yew trees were used by the
ancient Celtic tribes in this region as locations
for their tribal rituals. After Christianization,
yew trees still retained their significance and
chapels were often built right next to the biggest
and oldest yew trees.
Public fountain in Bermiego
Then we drove down the mountain to a village called
Barzana in the district of Quirós whose main
attraction is an ethnographic museum that was slated
to open in June of this year. Barzana is a small
mountain village that used to be a centre of coal
mining which has a long tradition in the mountains
of Asturias. The museum is located in a farmers’
house and showcases rural Asturian living on two
floors of the building. The lower floor is home
to a stable, a laundry washing area and a water
trough, a wooden shoemaker’s workshop and
other work areas.
The Ethnographic Museum of Quiros
The second floor provides educational displays
that illustrate the agricultural lifestyle in Asturias
with actual artifacts and big photographic exhibits.
The different roles of men, women, children and
the elderly on the farm are explained along with
the chores that all the members of the family had
to complete. Life on the farm in the harsh climate
of the Asturian mountains was difficult; large families
with many children had to share the space in small
wooden or stone houses.
Educational displays at the Ethnographic Museum
in Quiros
One of the displays explained that in 1752, there
were 51 wooden clog makers in the village, 6 carpenters,
5 smiths, 3 stone masons and 11 tailors. Basket
making was another important skill of the time.
Agricultural tools, baskets and backpacks made from
animal skins were on display and work processes
were explained.
Tiny bedroom in the Ethnographic Museum
The bedroom of the house was absolutely tiny and
naturally came equipped with a chamber pot. Even
the bed itself, although made for a married couple,
looked like it was made for a dollhouse by today’s
standards. Tito explained that this was actually
a rich man’s house; if that was the case I
was wondering what a poor family would have lived
in. The Ethnographic Museum of Quiros does a fantastic
job of illustrating the harsh living conditions
that a family would have faced 200 years ago up
here in the Asturian mountains.
A typical "horreo", used for storing the
grain harvest above ground
From Quiros we continued our drive through an impressive
mountain landscape to the Teverga area in southern
Asturias. We stopped in a village called San Martín
de Teverga where we were going to have a late lunch.
Tito suggested a restaurant called Casa Laureano
which is renowned for serving authentic Asturian
mountain cuisine. The restaurant was booming and
all the guest rooms were full; this was obviously
a very popular local eating spot. Now was my first
real chance to experience hearty Asturian cuisine.
Señora Maria in her busy kitchen at Casa
Laureano
Tito introduced me to the restaurant’s owner,
Señora Maria Valina Rey, who kindly agreed
to show me around her kitchen. One interesting feature
of this restaurant is that the kitchen is located
between the front guestroom and the back guestroom,
so any patrons who wish to sit in the larger back
guestroom actually have to walk through the kitchen
and can see the huge pots boiling on the stove.
Our appetizer: salad with tuna and "fabas con
almejas" (bean stew with mussels)
Señora Maria gave me an introduction, in
Spanish, to her hearty cooking: a big pot of “fabada”,
the savoury Asturian bean stew with ham, blood sausage
and Spanish chorizo sausage, was simmering away
on the large stove. Next to it was another pot holding
“fabas con almejas”, another bean stew
with mussels. The third bean stew was called “pote
Asturiano”, another bean stew with sausages,
cabbage and potatoes.
Fabada - the typical Asturian bean stew
Stuffed peppers with wild boar meat and roast beef
were also waiting for hungry customers. Home-made
desserts included “arroz con leche”
– rice pudding, and a “flan de queso”
– cheese flan. Given the agricultural and
mining history of Asturias, these types of hearty
dishes were perfect for nourishing local farmers
and miners to take on their backbreaking work.
Pote, another typical Asturian dish
Given that it was almost 3 pm now, Tito, Estefania
and I were pretty famished and we were definitely
looking forward to a solid lunch. To give me a truly
representative taste of Asturian cuisine, Tito ordered
fabada, fabas con almejas, and pote as well as salad
with tuna. The chorizo sausage was actually made
with wild boar meat. Minutes later Señora
Maria arrived to serve our food in huge, piping
hot bowls. We could all help ourselves with the
serving spoons and there was no way we would be
able to eat the huge quantity of food that was served.
A huge bowl of Asturian rice pudding
This was my first chance to try fabada, the famous
Asturian bean stew, and it was extremely tasty and
quite salty, given it is flavoured with ham and
sausages. It was definitely the perfect meal after
a long day of bicycling and sightseeing. For dessert
we received another huge bowl, this one filled with
rice pudding, one of my favourite desserts. We only
made a small dent in our big bowls of food, but
we thoroughly enjoyed this filling Asturian smorgasboard.
Estefania and Tito get ready to go caving with me
It was now late afternoon and we had one more place
to discover: Cueva Huerta, an extensive cave in
the Asturian limestone mountains near Fresnedo.
This karst formation has a length of 14.5 km which
makes it the second largest cave system in Asturias.
Once we were equipped with helmets and headlights,
Tito took us into the cave’s main gallery
and explained that we were going down a 30 metre
drop. Three species of bats live in this cave system,
one of which is on the endangered list. Our headlights
were limited to 1 Watt, a low enough light level
that would not disturb the colonies of bats.
We are going to explore the Cueva Huerta
Asturias, with its limestone mountain chains, is
a favourite destination for cavers and speleologists.
Tito’s company, www.deporventura.es, offers
guided tours into the Huerta cave system. In addition
to the Gateway Tour that explores the first 300
meters of the cave on a wooden walkway, he also
offers more advanced caving outings that include
rappelling into the deeper zones of the cave.
Walking down to the entrance of the Cueva Huerta
I realized I am definitely an above-ground sunlight-loving
land animal and was glad to come back up from the
cave. We started our drive back to Oviedo through
some of the mountain gorges and caught some glimpses
again of the Bear Trail, the Senda del Oso where
we had gone bicycling this morning. On the way back
to my hotel, the Barcelo Oviedo Cervantes, Tito
stopped at a supermarket and I picked up a few snacks
and fruits for a nice evening in my cozy hotel room.
I was really looking forward to a restful evening
after a long day of activities on a rather cool
and drizzly day. Thanks to Tito and Estefania I
had received a great introduction to the mountain
adventures of Asturias. And tomorrow I would get
a chance to explore the Picos
de Europa National Park.
