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Published: November 24th 2010
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After our last ecology class field trip with our professor Montes, we could not wait for our second trip 'straight back to hell'. This time we went to Montes' homeland in the north of Spain to the autonomous community of Asturias for more hiking, horseback riding, culture exposure, and general fun with our crazy professor. Asturias is in the celtic region of Spain and where Ireland or Scotland are considered the homeland for the Irish or Scottish, Asturias is considered the grand-homeland, as in predating the more northern regions when it comes to the culture and so forth. And having never been to Ireland or Scotland, I feel like I can say I have a good idea what it is like after visiting Asturias where the landscape, music, way of dress and even food is all very similar. And Montes is a perfect proud Asturian to show us around his homeland and the beautiful landscapes that it offers.
It was a long seven hour bus ride to get up to Asturias which is about as far north as you can get in Spain. We arrived in town of Villaviciosa which is the town that Montes went to school in and
Montes on the Hunt for a Salamander
He jumped directly into this position from the trail we were walking on after he thought he saw a salamander climb down from the grass into the water. He couldn't find it though. grew up on a farm just outside of. Therefore, he knew everyone! Every bar we went in, walking on the streets, passing by people on the bus... everyone knew Montes. It really gave the whole trip a much more personal feel. To walk off the long bus ride, we took a short walk out to the sea through cow filled (and therefore poop filled) fields to see Montes favorite exclusive place down the cliffs on the ocean that he comes to with his 'super lady' named Mapi, that we met later that night.
We were really looking forward to the first night, because we knew that we would be trying natural cider (sidra en espaƱol) which is the national drink of Asturias and what Montes always talks about. Apple trees are very abundant in this region and it is known that this was the first place in history noted by the Romans where cider was made in the world. But, it is really the only place that natural cider is still consumed as now most places only have sparkling cider (which Montes calls crap). The key to drinking a quality cup of cider is in the way it is
The Place to Take the "Super Lady"
This is where Montes brings his "super lady" aka girlfriend of nine years during the summer. He fishes out on the rocks where the waves are crashing. poured. It is from over the head with a long vertical pour directly into a cup where it supposed to hit the edge and flow down into the glass (takes great skill to do this). It is then drunk immediately in one steady swig (but "it is not a f**king shot" as Montes made sure to make clear). Then you leave a little left to throw on the floor and clean out the glass before being passed to the next person. It was a experience and while we wanted to try to go for the record (88 bottles drunk in one night, set by a class three years ago) Montes wasn't in a record setting mood that night. But we were treated to his bagpipe skills and a little show by a girl in our group that used to do Irish dancing. (Montes actually plays in a really good Celtic band and toured the U.S. several years back with his band!)
Our first big adventure was to the Hell Mountains (that is actually their name, which really made us laugh as were climbing "up to hell" in this case). This hike was intense! All he told us is that
Natural Cider
This is the correct way to serve natural (non-sparkling) cider. The idea is when it hits the rim of the glass, it infuses it with oxygen and then you are suppose to drink immediately in one slow, but constant swig to get the full taste. is was very beautiful and we might get a little dirty before we left. Translated that means six hours of hiking, straight up in some places, with the occasional mud river that we had to scramble around and some of the most breath taking scenery I had ever scene! The mud river really got the best of some people (of course the ones with the new or really expensive shoes) and Montes found it quite funny that we were so uncoordinated. I came out unscathed. We were hiking through deciduous forests right around mid-to-end of fall, therefore the colors of the trees were incredible. Before becoming a teacher, Montes was a freelance wildlife photographer and had hike all through these mountains taking some incredible pictures that he later showed us in a slideshow. He also wrote and published a couple books (one of which was in the lobby of our hotel) featuring all the wildlife of Asturias. Because of this, he was always on the hunt for signs of animals and showing us different tracks, poops, furs, or other evidence of the different animals that these mountains are filled with. Unfortunately, all we ran across were wild horses.
Before
we left, me and another couple guys went with Montes to buy food to carry "as a super family" up to have for our picnic lunch. We were quite amused as one of Montes main things he wanted to get (in addition to the 20 or so bags of other food!) was prunes and digestive cookies because as he said "the ladies go four days without pooping and then get grouchy". So he wanted to help them out a little and eagerly offered all the girls prunes once up on the mountain. Once we got to the top (which were actually in the mountainous tundras) the views were incredible and the journey was definitely worth the reward. As Montes kept yelling at us, "fell the f**k power of Asturias!!!", we definitely felt the power on top of the mountain!
Our next big adventure was another three hour bus ride away during which we enjoyed a collection of Montes favorite celtic music, which every so often resulted in howls or short burst of singing from the front as Montes was enjoying his music. Once there, the weather proved to be awful. Nevertheless though, we went ahead with our planned horse
Sharing Cider
Cider is shared with everyone using just a glass or two for everyone. You do not drink the entire glass though. Instead you leave a little bit in the bottom and throw it on the ground to clean out the glass. back ride through the mountains, though we ended up having to cut it short once the wind really picked up. The horses we rode, were "4WD machines" that were a mix between a celtic phony and a breed of horse we are more familiar with in the states (I can't remember the name). They had to be really tough to handle the difficult mountain trails we were taking. Montes is a wild man on a horse himself, but took assigning horses to people with the appropriate ability very seriously. That is why he assigned the two guys he had observed as pretty drunk the night before to the "super farty donkeys" just in case they were a little hung over. These things would not move no matter how hard you tried and always found a reason to stop and eat. It was quite comical and a way for Montes to have a little of his own fun with us.
The next day we were all a little sore from the horseback riding (good thing we cut it short) but still had one more hike along really dramatic cliffs and and hills to visit a old Asturian community of traditional
Celtic Pipes and Dancing
Montes playing his pipes (he is really good!) and Ana showing off her incredible Irish dancing skills. huts. These are the huts that tribes from the area used to live in hundreds of years ago and are still standing today. Though people don't live in them, families still own them and maintain them and may come to spend a night in them. When the tribes used to live in them, they would have their families and cows during the winter all live in there with fires burning and no vents. Needless to say it was probably a pretty stinky and unhealthy (with the smoke) conditions to live in. Once again, Montes told us it might be a little cool. Translation: it was freezing during the hike. I was glad I had thought to buy a hat and gloves at the Chino store before coming.
Once again, there are many more stories from this trip, mostly involving Montes of course, and still more pictures. But, I will save those for when I return. And as much as we all enjoyed the field trips, we are now not too happy with the reality that we have to write two, 12-page papers describing what we saw and learned. But as Montes tells us, we just need to "calm the
Asturian grain storage huts
These are a rather clever invention and are everywhere in the mountains of Asturias. Notice the circular stone slap between the legs and body of the but: these are impossible for rodents to climb up around. You can also see the stairs detached from the hut in the front to keep animals from getting in. And the raised height keeps it at a relatively constant temp. all year. While they make new ones, most are really old, dating back more than several hundred years. hell down" as he told us enough information to fill 20 pages worth!
INTERESTING FACT: It is very common to see people still wearing wooden shoes in Asturias. The shoes are off the ground supported by three stubs and are supposedly very comfortable. They make sense in a place that is always rainy though were quite funny to see all piled at the entrances to houses.
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