¡Hola!
For our second full day in Llanes, we headed back to the playa for ocean kayaking. Most of our group had kayaked before and everyone easily followed our guide into the open water, around a few goat-inhabited islands, and to a new beach where we docked and swam for a half hour before paddling back.
On land, we had lunch near our hotel and wandered through an open air market as it was packing up, then we embraced the Spanish tradition of taking a siesta. Once we were well-rested, the group returned to Paseo de San Pedro for a Spanish lesson to review the past tense and vocabulary to explain all of the fun things we have done so far on this trip. As our class ended, the rain blew in and we took shelter at a delicious pizzeria for dinner.
We spent our last day in Llanes exploring the region of Asturias, which has a very distinct culture as it is the only region in Spain never to have been conquered by the Muslims. A bus picked us up in the morning and drove us up the Picos de Europa to the Covadonga lakes. Unfortunately the rain and fog made it difficult to fully appreciate the view, but we hiked a small trail to get close to the lakes.
We drove back down the mountain to the town of Covadonga for a picnic lunch and a visit to the gorgeous Basílica of Covadonga, which is made with local marble which gives it a natural pink color. We also saw the Santo Cueva, a popular pilgrimage where the Virgin supposedly appeared to Spanish soldiers before their first defeat of Muslim armies at the battle of Covadonga, which started the Reconquista of Spain. Our guide explained that the chapel sits on top of seven fountains, and legend had it that if you drink from all seven, you will be married within the year. None of our students tried it though, hoping for many more travel adventures before settling down!
Then we loaded the bus again and went to Cangas de Onís to see the famous Puente Romano bridge. Students had some free time for shopping and exploring before we loaded the bus again for our next stop.
Our final visit was to Queseria Artesanal Bedón, where we saw how goat cheese is made. The highlight was definitely petting and feeding the cabras.
After a long day, we relaxed at a delicious restaurant on the beach and had our final meeting in Llanes by the ocean. It’s hard to leave a town we all grew to love after 4 short days, yet we are all excited to head further into the Picos for our next stop!
Adios Llanes, nos vemos!
– Natalie, Joe, and Graciano