We spent last weekend camping and climbing in Santa Gadea and on Monday we slowly wound our way back home, taking advantage of the opportunity to explore a little of the neighbouring province of Burgos on the way. We had been told that there was a world-class crag in the area that had yet to […]
Living Close to Nature
June 22, 2012 by · 16 Comments
I love living somewhere with abundant wildlife. I cherish the fact that Asturias has healthy populations of animals and birds that are in danger of extinction elsewhere. But it’s not all Disney, it does have its downside. This week an industrious jabalí (wild boar) obliterated my potato patch overnight. 50m2 of potato plants completely disappeared. […]
Sailing Santander to Portsmouth
May 29, 2012 by · 11 Comments
I’ve always been a fan of ferry journeys. Some of my earliest memories are from the Sealink Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire crossing via which we made our yearly pilgrimages to Ireland from the UK. Running riot in the lounges with newly-made friends, walking our border collie on the blustery deck, laughing at the adults staggering […]
Getting Away from it All
May 15, 2012 by · 4 Comments
To anyone who clicked through to my Silent Sunday post this week only to be greeted with a blank page, I’m very sorry. (The photo’s up now, honest.) I haven’t gone all cryptic on you or decided to take the whole ‘Silent’ theme to new extremes, it was your classic ‘technical failure’. Aka, I was […]
The Sunshine After The Rain
April 30, 2012 by · 7 Comments
Well, April has lived up to its local billing – ‘en abril las aguas mil’ goes the Spanish refrain – and it has rained a LOT. On reflection, not the best month to choose for my 5 Goals. I’ve only managed to get out climbing once (seeping limestone is no fun, unless you’re a caver), […]
Asturias – An Introduction
March 26, 2012 by · 28 Comments
Asturias, for me, is a little slice of heaven on earth. To the Spanish it is known simply as ‘el paraíso natural’ – the natural paradise. Outside of Spain it is barely known at all. Located on the rugged north coast of Spain at the base of the Bay of Biscay and bordered to the […]
Modesta
February 24, 2012 by · 19 Comments
My next door neighbour is called Modesta. She is 89 years old and she lives alone in her little house in our tiny hamlet perched atop a hillside in Asturias, Northern Spain. She doesn’t drive and she has never travelled on a train nor seen a plane. She has never visited Madrid, nor even Covadonga […]
