Spanish pillows and a pet size Yorkshire

Friday, April 08, 2011
Luey, Cantabria, Spain and Canary Islands
Teffont Evias to Luey; from pretty rural to pretty rustic! Other than arriving on the Santander ferry and perhaps spending a few days on the beach, most tourists don't stay long in the province of Cantabria. For us, it was the promise of the proximity to the port, and the promise of a comfortable cottage with a pet size Yorkshire. We didn’t actually have an address – just the name of a valley and a house number. I had emailed Ana that we would arrive around 3 pm, and she responded that she would be "waiting at the gate on time", but warned me that “our English is quite poor”. Without the aid of the GPS, I doubt that we would ever found the valley, let alone the village judging by the lanes and farm tracks we were taken down after leaving the main Santander-Oviedo highway. Fortunately, the village had a bar, crowded at 2pm with farm workers “preparing” for their afternoon siesta. The bar maid took a look at the one piece of paper Ana had provided that had anything remotely resembling an address on it and confirmed that we were indeed in the right village. Beyond that, she could offer no help – just some great wine and delicious tapas!! One of the patrons led us outside and waved his arms vaguely in the direction of where we might find Ana and armed with the house number (12) and a grainy photo of the cottage we had rented, we drove along every lane in the village. Luck was on our side – we could only find one house adorned with a number 12. It didn’t look much like the photo, but the doors were open and there was a car parked outside. And inside, we found Ana quite frantically cleaning the place, presumably in anticipation of our arrival. Her English indeed wasn’t great, although inevitably better than our Spanish, but after forms were signed and Euros handed over, Cottage La Carra was ours for the next few days. Ana by this time was sweating profusely. As she was leaving, Ana went to kiss me before thinking better of it and we were left with the distinct impression that this was actually her house and that we might have been the first guests…ever! And it was a case of make your own beds, sheets and pillow cases provided. But that provided our next surprise! The double beds had just one pillow each – a 54 inch-long sausage! And to cover the sausage a single 54 inch-long tube of material, open at both ends. This was going to take sharing to new heights! Where though was the pet size Yorkshire we were promised on the cottage’s web site?

So what is there to see in Cantabria? The limestone caves of El Soplao must be among the most impressive anywhere that are accessible to those amongst us whose spelunking days are behind them . The caves were part of a lead and zinc mine until around 30 years ago and the stunning display of stalactites and stalagmites were discovered accidentally after some routine blasting. The caves, which have only been open to the public since 2005, apparently stretch for 12 km, but after a short ride in a small train along one of the old mine tracks, around a kilometer is easily accessible without too much effort. The caves have been beautifully lit to highlight some of the best formations; photography is not allowed, but we couldn’t resist clicking just once or twice! The small coastal town of Camillas is one that is easy to shoot by on the freeway. It does have a very picturesque old town centre, but we went there to see one of the few buildings designed by Antoni Gaudi to be found outside the Barcelona area. Gaudi had been hired in the 1880’s by a businessman who had apparently made a fortune in Cuba to build him a house. What resulted was typical Gaudi, El Capricho, a modernistic construction the outside of which looks as if it would be quite at home in Disneyland! There’s a seated statue in the garden of Gaudi himself gazing admiringly up at his latest masterpiece! A few kilometers further along the coast lies another small town, Santillana Del Mar, accessible only on foot unless you’re a town resident or staying in one of the few hotels with its own car park . The guidebook describes the town as having the appearance of a movie set, which it does a bit, but it’s overrun with tourists and is full of bars, restaurants, souvenir shops and stores selling local delicacies (including ones devoted to selling nothing other than anchovies!).

“Picos de Europa”, the Peaks of Europe national park straddles Cantabria and the neighbouring province of Asturias. We hit the area at probably the best time of year. Early spring as the trees were starting to blossom, many of the jagged peaks still covered in snow, but the days we were there, the temperature was in the low 30’s C (around 90° F) and the roads and picture postcard villages, apparently jammed solid in summer, were virtually deserted. Oviedo, the provincial capital of Asturias, is by contrast a bustling city with the modern centre surrounding a beautifully preserved historic quarter dominated by a cathedral, parts of which date back to the 9th century. The city is dotted with interesting bronze sculptures, including one of Woody Allen who filmed parts of Vicki Christina Barcelona in the city .     

Our final stop in the region was in the industrial port city of Bilbao. Bilbao, the capital of the Basque region, is a not especially attractive city which now has one huge attraction – the Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum. I’m sure there must have been a good reason why the museum was sited here, by the side of a river, just off the freeway close to the city centre, but whatever the reason it certainly helped to put Bilbao “on the map”. It probably now features on one of those lists of a “thousand places to visit before you die” and with very good reason. The building itself is worth visiting even if not the exhibitions. The main exhibit at our visit was of French, German & Italian art from between the wars, demonstrating how art was used to glorify Nazism and Fascism. Fascinating and rather scary stuff, particularly a set of paintings of idealized Aryan women which hung over the fireplace in Hitler’s office.  

By the way, we never did find our “pet-sized Yorkshire”, so if any of you Spanish speakers out there can do a bit of reverse translation and then back again to something less literal and let us know what we might have missed, we’ll be very grateful!!!

Comments

mary ann
2011-04-11

mascotas de tamaño Yorkshire
sounds like you may take Yorkshire terrier size pets to your accomodation!
the photos and commentary as always are superb and it sounds like you are all having lots of fun.
the weather here is now definitely autumn with that little brisque chill in the air but the days are just glorious with the sunshine and the temperature around 25°c most days and a little rain overnight to keep the plants growing well. love to you all

mary

Jane
2011-04-11

Thanks for the update on your trip. What a fantastic part of the world. Spain must be full of caves. Where I went in the 60s had them too. Near Alicante. The weather looks just perfect for you. We are still having warm sunny days but the nights are getting chilly.

Off on your next jaunt. Keep well and enjoy. Love to all.

mary ann
2011-04-12

Where did I get the word brisque from - must have thought I was playing cards!

Dec Doogan
2011-04-12

Another great report from the inveterate travelers. Agree with you about the Guggenheim-stunning. We await the next installment and reports of your exploits with your Spanglish!

alrewas
2011-04-12

Just found another bronze - they must have them over the pond too!

Very jealous at your wondrous trip......

Rob and Kate

2025-02-07

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