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Today we said good-bye to our rural retreat in Ubiarco, within view of the Bay of Biscay. The nearest settlement of any note is the 11th century town of Santillina del Mar. The coastal area is very much like the East Otago coastline of New Zealand between Waitati and Waikouaiti. During our stay we met a German couple at the hotel. They visit the area at least twice a year and were very helpful in giving good advice for places to visit.
A good study of the road map showed there were several toll roads to detour around, and detour them we did, much to the annoyance of Miss GPS. From Ubiarco to Oviedo we did not need the GPS so she was tucked up in the glove box. The early part of the drive was quite hilly and away from the coast on a dual carriage highway but it wasn’t long before we were driving parallel to the coast. Oviedo is away from the coast and this meant some steep country driving over viaducts and through tunnels. As we entered the city we had a prolonged stop at some red lights. This was a great opportunity for the prowling windscreen
washers who leap out at every opportunity. He should have known better than to tamper with a Peugeot 207SW with automatic windscreen wipers. As soon as he squirted his cleaning mixture on the windscreen the wipers started working. Poor man had no chance and then he had the cheek to expect money. Don’t mess with Kiwis driving a Peugeot 207SW.
Oviedo was a convenient lunch stop and we found our way into the city and parked in an underground car park. We had a great chat with the owner of a little cafe, who had lived for a period of time in Texas, USA. We talked about the Spanish language and she told us how different Spain’s language was to that of Mexican Spanish.
We were chicken enough to need Miss GPS’s help to get out of the city. So we put in the coordinates for our next hotel. What a bad move. We wanted to take the scenic route and GPS wanted us to take the expensive route. So after many “recalculatings” we pulled her plug. That kept her quiet. The route we took was over a winding regional highway that climbed to over 1700 metres. Something that amazed
us was seeing a railway line at that altitude. The scenery was worth every bit of the drive. Near the top we went through small villages that appeared to be deserted. Perhaps the people lived there in the winter to cater for the skiers.
Coming out of the mountains we crossed vast tracts of flat, dry, scrubby land. Time to plug Miss GPS back in and find the hotel. As we approached Leon we drove past new housing estates and nearby was our Cortes de Leon 4 star Hotel. Once we checked in we had plenty of time to explore the city of Leon. As in Turkey, it was amazing to find such a large city in the middle of what appears to be a wilderness. There must be some reason for its existence. The Romans built an outpost there many centuries ago.
Seems like every city or town we visit we go to the cathedral, and this was no exception. Leon Cathedral is being restored and the stain glass work is out of this world. Perhaps Sainte Chapelle in Paris compares favourably with Leon. While walking and admiring the city we stopped and talked to three older men who
were making the pilgrimage. They explained that they walk the trail in two-weekly sections over a period of time. They walked the first part in September last year and will walk the next part later this year with a final section perhaps next year.
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