Rob had a high-spec tower PC to cope with his music programmes, so despite this taking up lots of space with accompanying amp, speakers & effects machine, it came with us. Shall I mention that we brought his guitar & cahonita too?
Anyway, we were actually surprised when the PC worked after travelling so many miles in the car & on the high seas.
Except it didn’t.
When the PC seemed to overheat & turn itself off, it obviously needed repairing. Googling computer repair shops, we chose one in a unit on Gijon University campus over one in the city centre thinking it would be easier to find & park.
Had we had to traipse on such an journey on holiday, I would have been less than happy, however this was our life with all the errands necessary to live. After getting lost on the university campus, driving around, parking-up, walking about & with the willing assistance from a couple of Spaniards, we eventually found the office. But it was shut – our first experience of the long Spanish siesta.
No matter, we headed for a cafe restaurant & sat outside under parasols to enjoy our first three course menú del dia. Returning a couple of hours later, the computer company office was still closed, so we reverted to Google (3G was working by now) & headed to our second choice in Gijon town.
Arriving at around 3.30pm & managing to find a street parking place, the store was closed until 4pm. That’s why there was a free parking space! So with half-an hour to wait, we sat on the sea-front with an ice-cream watching the clouds gather. The assistant at PC Box spoke enough English for us to explain & we left the PC with confidence that he’d be in touch after the weekend.
Saturday dawned wet & windy so we stayed in the dingy north facing lounge, peering at the sea through the mist & although technically on holiday, I caught-up on emails. As I was back at work part-time on the Monday & not having another full weekend available, we headed out to sight-see on Sunday. Expecting it to be busy, we none-the-less drove to Covadonga in the Picos de Europa national park.
We’re from Derbyshire & the Covadonga was so reminiscent of Matlock Bath!
The road in was busy, with cars parked on the verges & despite only costing €2 to park, chaos as drivers attempted to find somewhere for free. There were umpteen lycra-clad cyclists adding to the traffic jams, so without stopping we spun round & away. The valley below was packed with gift shops & coach friendly restaurants so we carried on further, through a busy town on market day – so like Bakewell on market day, it was disconcerting!
Wanting to escape the crowds, we drove on, up a narrow gorge, the road winding for miles. It was very dramatic, but too narrow to park, no-where to stop & snap a few photos. According to my map, beyond the canyon, further up the mountain, there was a lake, so perhaps somewhere to stop. The mountain views upwards were breathtaking & with trees in their autumn colours, the temperature remarkably warm.
But there was no lake!
Obviously there was a dam somewhere as the wide valley was completely dry. We were high, but travelling back along another road in a fertile valley indicated otherwise. A plateau in the hills on the Castile & Leon/Asturias, border, when we’d passed through, we were descending steep mountain roads again.
Approaching the coast, the beautiful scenery was replaced with a very industrial valley with many mineral mines. We’d noticed that the rural houses in Asturias were well maintained, either due to profitable farming or Sidre-making businesses or holiday homes. This was the industrial heart, necessary, but not that pretty.
Driving along the motorway after a dry day with sunny spells, we approached a 2km tunnel in the late afternoon sun & arrived at the other end into a different country! It was misty, damp & cold at the other side & a great indication of how the mountain range affects the coastal weather there.