We just had two days of summer weather, mid- to high 70s, and the weekend before another couple of days almost that warm. The three of us walked across Oviedo and then a few kilometers down a trail along a former railroad bed. Then a couple of days ago I rented a bike and took the trail many more kilometers out of town. These are pictures from those two excursions on the same trail.
You can see how flat and wide the trail is, and from the bottom picture you can see that spring is well sprung here. There were actually lots of bikers and joggers and walkers and dog-walkers on the trail--this is the only opportunity I had to get a picture without other people in it. We took a little side trail through the woods, and snapped pictures of lizards and birds and flowers and a shoe lost in the creek--you know, nature stuff.
More spring sights: a magpie nest and some shaggy Asturian ponies. Magpies are the most common winter bird here, apart from the citified pigeons and sparrows, and we saw dozens that day. Like most European cities that I've seen, Oviedo has an abrupt boundary where the multistory apartment buildings end and the countryside begins. But Oviedo is also a booming city, even during this economic crisis, and so is encroaching into the country in several directions. I was taken with these lampposts in the middle of a field. We'd just watched The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and I was also reminded of that lamppost.
And, finally, the intrepid hiker herself. It turned out that we picked exactly the right point at which to turn around in our walk, because, as I discovered on my bike ride, the next stretch was stinky and dusty and industrial. I couldn't get a really good shot of whatever the largest factory was, perhaps a cement or other construction materials facility, nor of the two large quarries that I could make out through the trees, and the cloud of dust over the trail didn't make a good picture. But I did like this one of the traditional Asturian barn, up on stone stilts to keep out the critters, in front of one of the newer construction-business buildings.
Just past that industrial stretch there was a series of tunnels, and then the trail emerged into a much more bucolic setting, the valley of the Nalon river, and the first thing I saw was the municipal golf course, which I hope to play at least once before we leave. With club rentals it would be very expensive for a non-member, but I should get in at least one practice round before our big golf week in Scotland.
Most of the pictures I took on the rest of the route had the river in them somewhere. I think it's fairly polluted, but it does have sportfish, including salmon, and I passed one stretch of designated catch-and-release area, but never saw anyone fishing. The prettiest spot was right where I hit the river, which was also where it came out of the mountains, at Fuso de la Reina.
That train station is still active--from this point the tracks were still being used for their original purpose, so the foot/bike path that followed and criss-crossed the tracks was a little more rugged. This swaying footbridge was a kick.
There are apparently several of these 19th-century faux castles in the area. I don't know what this one is used for, but another one we saw is a restaurant. I got pretty sunburned on my neck and me duele el culo even two days later, but it was a wonderful spring outing that felt like summer. There were lizards and birds everywhere, and cottony seed floating on the breeze. I'll leave you with a shot of one of the lizards that I had to dodge in the trail, and one of the tunnels in front of which you can see the seeds floating like little lights. Yesterday it was dark and gloomy all day, but we're hoping for a few more days like this, and a couple more chances to get out into the countryside. Asturia's motto is Paraiso Natural, and they have a lot of beautiful nature sticking out all over the place. Next post maybe there'll be some nature of the seaside variety. Hasta luego.
You can see how flat and wide the trail is, and from the bottom picture you can see that spring is well sprung here. There were actually lots of bikers and joggers and walkers and dog-walkers on the trail--this is the only opportunity I had to get a picture without other people in it. We took a little side trail through the woods, and snapped pictures of lizards and birds and flowers and a shoe lost in the creek--you know, nature stuff.
More spring sights: a magpie nest and some shaggy Asturian ponies. Magpies are the most common winter bird here, apart from the citified pigeons and sparrows, and we saw dozens that day. Like most European cities that I've seen, Oviedo has an abrupt boundary where the multistory apartment buildings end and the countryside begins. But Oviedo is also a booming city, even during this economic crisis, and so is encroaching into the country in several directions. I was taken with these lampposts in the middle of a field. We'd just watched The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and I was also reminded of that lamppost.
And, finally, the intrepid hiker herself. It turned out that we picked exactly the right point at which to turn around in our walk, because, as I discovered on my bike ride, the next stretch was stinky and dusty and industrial. I couldn't get a really good shot of whatever the largest factory was, perhaps a cement or other construction materials facility, nor of the two large quarries that I could make out through the trees, and the cloud of dust over the trail didn't make a good picture. But I did like this one of the traditional Asturian barn, up on stone stilts to keep out the critters, in front of one of the newer construction-business buildings.
Just past that industrial stretch there was a series of tunnels, and then the trail emerged into a much more bucolic setting, the valley of the Nalon river, and the first thing I saw was the municipal golf course, which I hope to play at least once before we leave. With club rentals it would be very expensive for a non-member, but I should get in at least one practice round before our big golf week in Scotland.
Most of the pictures I took on the rest of the route had the river in them somewhere. I think it's fairly polluted, but it does have sportfish, including salmon, and I passed one stretch of designated catch-and-release area, but never saw anyone fishing. The prettiest spot was right where I hit the river, which was also where it came out of the mountains, at Fuso de la Reina.
That train station is still active--from this point the tracks were still being used for their original purpose, so the foot/bike path that followed and criss-crossed the tracks was a little more rugged. This swaying footbridge was a kick.
There are apparently several of these 19th-century faux castles in the area. I don't know what this one is used for, but another one we saw is a restaurant. I got pretty sunburned on my neck and me duele el culo even two days later, but it was a wonderful spring outing that felt like summer. There were lizards and birds everywhere, and cottony seed floating on the breeze. I'll leave you with a shot of one of the lizards that I had to dodge in the trail, and one of the tunnels in front of which you can see the seeds floating like little lights. Yesterday it was dark and gloomy all day, but we're hoping for a few more days like this, and a couple more chances to get out into the countryside. Asturia's motto is Paraiso Natural, and they have a lot of beautiful nature sticking out all over the place. Next post maybe there'll be some nature of the seaside variety. Hasta luego.
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