Spain Travel – Exploring
the Asturian Coast, Colombres, El Pindal and the
Cares Mountain Valley
My last full day in Asturias had arrived. I had
long wanted to travel to this northern Spanish mountain
region, and my six days here had not been a disappointment.
Over the last few days I had had a chance to visit
some of the large cities in Asturias (Oviedo
and Gijón),
I had thoroughly explored the mountain regions in
Teverga
and the Picos
de Europa, and yesterday I made my way to the
coast to the beautiful waterfront towns of Ribadesella
and Llanes.
A big breakfast buffet is waiting for me
At breakfast I discussed with my hosts, Lucas and
Blanca from the Posada de Babel, what places I should
visit today. Lucas recommended that I visit the
coastline east of Llanes, the prehistoric cave El
Pindal and the mountain village of Colombres whose
special attraction is the “Museo de la Emigración”
which documents various aspects of the huge waves
of emigration that have taken place in Asturias
between the 1850s and the 1950s.
Images of the coastline near Llanes
After a nice filling morning meal in the bright
breakfast room, I got in my car and start driving
eastwards on this slightly overcast day. I snaked
my way along the coastline east of Llanes and stopped
at various lookout points or drove down on narrow
unpaved lanes towards some of the beaches. Playa
Ballota was a very scenic but deserted beach with
interesting rock formations. Only a ruined metal
beach shack and a VW camper bus provided any clues
of civilization. Most of the beaches were quite
empty as the sun had not fully come out yet.
Interesting rock formations on the coastline east
of Llanes
I briefly drove into the golf course in Llanes,
one of the few golf courses in Asturias. This facility
is located right on the Atlantic Ocean and reminded
me of some courses in Scotland. It was quite busy
on this Sunday morning. Golf has obviously become
pretty popular in the north of Spain as well. Further
along the coastline I turned off to the village
of Andrín where I talk another narrow one-lane
road to a lookout point over a scenic windswept
beach.
The beach near Andrín
Back on the main road I saw several hikers walking
on the shoulder and I realized that they were pilgrims
who were walking on the Camino del Norte to Santiago
de Compostela. Over the last few years pilgrimage
travel has become very popular, particularly the
Way of St. James, or “Camino de Santiago”
in Spanish. The most popular pilgrimage route to
Santiago is called “Camino Francés”
and runs south of Asturias through cities such as
Pamplona, Burgos and León while the Coastal
Route snakes along the coastline of Asturias.
The main square of Colombres
As I turned inland, the sun came out and created
the perfect backdrop for my excursion. I stopped
in Colombres, a quaint mountain village of less
than 1400 people. Colombres is most well known for
the Museum of Emigration that is housed in a gorgeous
villa called Quinta Guadalupe. During the 19th century
and the first half of the 20th century thousands
of Asturians emigrated to Latin America to escape
poverty and to create a new and hopefully better
life for themselves.
The Quinta Guadalupe now houses the Museum of Emigration
in Colombres
Many of these emigrants settled in countries like
Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela. Cuba and
Mexico were their most popular destinations, and
there was also a sizeable Asturian community in
Florida. Some of these emigrants became very wealthy
and successful overseas, and many of these so-called
“Indianos” returned back to Asturias
to built impressive villas, the so-called “casas
indianas” and other structures. Once returned,
a palm tree on the front lawn would hint at their
longing for the American soil.
Lavish details inside the Quinta Guadalupe
Quinta Guadalupe is a perfect example of a casa
Indiana that was built by Don Iñigo Noriega
Laso, a typical Indiano who had made a fortune in
Mexico in the tobacco business. He returned to Colombres
to build the palace-like Quinta Guadalupe, which
was completed in 1906 and named after his wife,
Doña Guadalupe Castro.
The interior balconies at the Museum of Emigration
I entered the mansion and was immediately impressed
by the huge open space in the interior with balconies
on the second and third floor. Every detail of this
structure was opulent: the coffered ceiling, the
intricate stucco work, the hand-made tiles, the
woodwork of the balconies, the painted ceilings
with their lavish chandeliers, the grand staircase
and some of the original luxurious furnishings.
Some of the artifacts include the actual suitcases
of immigrants
The museum houses artifacts and documents that
came from the Asturian centres in Havana, Mexico
City, Buenos Aires and Tampa. In many of these locations,
Asturian descendants still have a strong community
today, about a century after their ancestors originally
emigrated. On the third floor of the mansion there
is a room that is dedicated to the emigrant experience
and shows posters of some of the ships that transported
them from Spain to the New World. Many photos also
show goodbyes between the emigrants and their friends
and family who stayed behind.
One of many posters, advertising the voyage from
Spain to the New World
Being an immigrant myself, the exhibits in this
room really touched me. I too had left my home country
of Austria at the tender age of 20 and moved to
Canada where I have now been living for almost a
quarter century. This room in the museum that focused
on the sad goodbyes brought back so many memories
of my own, and I could personally empathize with
these emigrants who had to leave their loved ones
behind. The Quinta Guadalupe has been illustrating
the story of Asturian emigrants to the Americas
since 1986 and is one of the most outstanding examples
of Indiano architecture in all of Spain.
Asturian emigrants, waiting to be processed at customs
upon arriving in the New World
But the town of Colombres boasts even more architectural
jewels built by Indianos. The entire town has 12
villas that were constructed by former emigrants;
even the town’s church and city hall were
built by Indianos. At the Museum of Emigration I
had picked up a brochure called La Huella Indiana
(the “footprint of the Indianos”) that
would guide me past all the various mansions and
structures.
The City Hall of Colombres, also built by Indianos
Asturian emigrants would not only build lavish
mansions upon their return to their homeland during
their retirement years; many of them also improved
the local people’s lives by building schools,
roads, churches and cemeteries. The village of Colombres
itself is a prime benefactor of Indiano generosity
as the church, city hall, the electrical system
and the public water supply were installed by Latin
American emigrants who had returned back to their
roots.
Gorgeous mansion built by one of the returning emigrants
The mansions that I walked by were all well described
by plaques located in front, and the architecture
was indeed impressive. The public library, for instance,
is housed in a huge stone mansion from the 1920s.
The oldest casa indiana is located on the main square
and dates back to 1877.
The library of Colombres, also a casa indiana
With a much better understanding of the circumstances
surrounding Asturian emigration, I headed back to
the coast and stopped briefly at the municipal cemetery
near the town of Noriega. Cemeteries are always
unique and I just had to have a peak through the
locked metal gate to see what this graveyard would
look like.
The cemetery of Noriega
Then I stopped on a gorgeous lookout point near
Pimiango where I had a phenomenal view over the
Atlantic Ocean. The sun was beaming down on me now,
but when I turned around and looked at the Picos
de Europa mountains, I could see quite a few snow-covered
peaks in the distance. Asturias is just such an
amazingly picturesque destination.
The lookout near Pimiango
As suggested by my gracious host Lucas, I started
looking for the Cueva del Pindal, a limestone cave
with prehistoric paintings that were discovered
in 1908, part of the Paleolithic cave complex in
Northern Spain that has been designated a UNESCO
World Heritage Site in 2008. I found the park surrounding
the cave and started walking towards the steep coastline
that was composed of limestone rocks, pine trees
and turquoise waters. I hiked around for a while
on rocky terrain but was unable to find the entrance
to the cave.
The turquoise waters of El Pindal
So I decided to continue my excursion and head
back into the mountains. With my childhood memories
from the Alps, I have always had a real fondness
for mountain regions, and the Picos de Europa (the
“Peaks of Europe”) were calling me again.
I drove inland into the Cares River Valley and inhaled
the gorgeous mountain panorama on this sunny day.
I left the main road several times and drove up
higher on small winding lanes to stop and take in
the breathtaking scenery around me. Cows were grazing
everywhere, and their bells were echoing throughout
the valley.
An Asturian cow checks me out
Back on the main road traffic was light but I saw
several groups of motorcyclists who were enjoying
this extremely scenic drive. Asturias, with its
combination of mountains and ocean, its lush green
fields and forests, had definitely earned a spot
in my heart as one of my favourite travel destinations
in the world.
The Picos de Europa made me feel right at home
By now it was past 3:30 pm and I had gotten really
hungry. I found a nice restaurant right on the main
road and sat down for a savoury and very filling
Asturian bean stew called "pote". I stayed
for a while and enjoyed the sun before I started
my drive back through the ever narrower river valley.
The Cares River Gorge is extremely popular among
hikers and offers many different trails of various
levels of difficulty. Not far away is the Naranjo
del Bulnes, at 2519 metres one of the highest peaks
of the Cantabrian mountain range and probably the
best known destination for mountaineering in this
area.
The pote bean stew was delicious
On the way back to my hotel, La Posada de Babel
in the rural village of La Pereda, I was surrounded
by a huge flock of sheep, evidence of the pastoral
character of this region. After a brief rest I sat
down for dinner in the hotel’s restaurant
and chef Reyes made a special vegetarian dish for
me upon request: finely spiced farm-fresh green
beans with freshly harvested local potatoes, followed
by my favourite dessert: rice pudding.
The sheep are coming to greet me
I was joined by another hotel guest, an older gentleman
by the name of Adolfo from Mexico City, who was
indeed a descendant of one of the Indianos that
had emigrated from Asturias a number of decades
ago. He was here in town to settle some property
matters that dated back many years and we had a
really enjoyable discussion, comparing the cultures
of Spain, Mexico and Cuba. The entire conversation
was conducted in Spanish, so this proved to be a
great opportunity for practicing my language skills.
My vegetarian dinner
Adolfo and I chatted all the way until 11 pm when
I had to get to bed to rest up. Tomorrow I would
have to leave Asturias and make my way south to
Salamanca where I would be spending one night, followed
by two nights in Madrid. My time in Asturias had
come to an end and I felt a slight tinge of melancholy
that I had to leave this gorgeous mountain area
and its hospitable people that had become so dear
to me over the last week. But I had to move on and
more Spanish adventures were waiting for me…
