Cabo Vidio and Cudillero

Cabo Vidio and Cudillero

16.2.2014

Jorge and Marivi seized a spring-like mid-February Sunday for an excursion along the coast to the west about 15 miles. It was yet another lovely day. 

First, we stopped at Cabo (Cape) Vidio, which was spectacular. The Cabo juts out dramatically from the coastline, with 275-foot drops to the sea and a lighthouse perched on its crest.

 

Cabo Vidio and the lighthouse.

 

 

Views as we walked around the tip of the Cabo.

 



 

 

Vidio video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9-XIWSdtZw

 

 

Then we drove inland a few miles and took a very nice hike up into the hills through the pine forests, with magnificent views of the sea, mountains and Cabo Vidio from the top.

 

On the ascent.

 

 

This is a good distance from neighbors, and about as great as a view can get.

 

 

The view from the top, looking toward Cudillero.

 

 

Cabo Vidio.

 

 

Looking south toward the snow-covered mountains.

 

 

Jorge and Marivi at the top. The building is part of the coastal forest fire patrol.

 

 

Some Asturian guy.

 

 

On the descent.

 

 

We finished the day in the old town of Cudillero, a seaside village which dates at least to the 13th  century (one legend has that it was founded by the Vikings). The historic center is roughly U-shaped and occupies a small, steeply-walled cove. Built around fishing and salt, the village now principally lives on tourism, though it still has a small fleet of pescadores. Our warm February day was perfect for a visit, well before the season of the tourist hoard. We sat in the sun, eating grilled chiperones (medium-sized, whole squid), drinking sidra (which Jorge, the authentic Asturian, poured expertly) and enjoying the view of the brightly-colored buildings scaling the hillsides. It felt as if we were sitting in a Roman theater, and the buildings appeared to have sprung up from the ground like wildflowers.

 

The old port.

 

 

The old town.

 

 

 

The Cudillero lighthouse (Faro de Cudillero).

 

 

The new (early-20th century) port.

 

 

That missing section of the seawall that protects the port was knocked down about three weeks before our visit, when the Galician and Asturian coasts were pounded by 30-foot waves and gale-force winds for days on end.

La Navidad asturiana

The Christmas season here, as in Europe generally, begins on St. Nicholas Day, December 6. I went to the mass at San Nicolás de Bari Church in Avilés, which was followed by the procession of the saint. Led by the priests and altar boys and girls, and followed by the Avilés municipal band, parishioners carried the wooden statue of St. Nicolás on a flower-covered platform from the church, across Plaza de España and through the streets of the old town. It was a beautiful way to start the season.

 

The nave and main altar in the church.

 

Video of the procession.  

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8XJFfv8sl0

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMFMrQXRFOo

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl12Ryx_bfk

The Ayuntamiento (municipal hall) and decorations in Plaza de España.

 

 

My street, Calle Rivero.

 

 

 

Calle La Fruta.

 

 

 

Calle La Cámera.

 

 

Plaza de Carbayedo (now a park, until the 1940s, the livestock market).

 

 

The Nativity Scene (called a Belén in Spain) is the primary Christmas decoration in the home, rather than the north European and North American Christmas tree. They often are mind-bogglingly elaborate. I know one man who devotes an entire room to his and leaves it up all year. Avilés even used to sponsor a competition. Judges would come to people’s houses and give out awards for the best creations. It can take weeks to put them together, starting with the construction of greenery-covered hills. Families often add a piece or two each year, and have for generations, so it just keeps growing. The Belén always includes the traditional manger arrangement, of course, but it also has scenes from local, rural daily life: farmhouses, hórreos (in Asturias), gardens, livestock, rivers, ponds, fountains, wells, windmills – just about anything you can imagine.

 

Cousin María Esther and her family build an enormous, traditional Belén in their house near Naveces every year (starting in October). Antonio took me out to see it, and it was absolutely astounding. It even had a cascade and river with flowing water. It takes up half a room.

 

 

 

The video captures it better than the photos, though it still is too short a look. I could have stood there for an hour examining each detail.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOUDGaIXllk

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbuaMEqFttE