Bandujo, a scenic drive

After the earlier walk on the Bear Route, and the not-without-problems lunch in L'Esbardu, we were left feeling rather empty, feeling rather dissatisfied.

We decided to go for a drive.

By the time we got the car out, it was already 7pm, and the sky was looking ominous. It wasn't wise to go far; Bandujo looked perfect then. So, off we went.

We missed a turn, doubled back, and went up on the narrow country road. As we climbed, we knew we'd made the right decision. The scenery was breathtaking. Rain clouds floating between lush green mountains rushed us along lest we couldn't make it to Bandujo.

By then, we had to put the windshield wipers on intermittent. I honestly don't remember how long I had to drive; perhaps it was about an hour. I was going slow, savouring the scenery, and besides, it was a winding road. We also stopped a couple of times.

Before long, however, houses appeared in the distance... and the road abruptly ended.

I only had time to take a few shots before the rain started to fall heavier. Had it been earlier and had it not rained, we might have ventured down into the village.

Bandujo is a very small village. According to Wiki, it has a population of 43. Forty-three! And 66 dwellings!

Stone house in Bandujo

Do you want to buy a house?

Rooftops and mountain tops

The most famous landmark of the village, La Torre de Tuñón, "one of the best preserved late medieval defensive towers of Asturias."

Wonder what it'd be like in winter...

Lines and curves

As the rain got heavier, we ran back into the car. My camera isn't waterproof, you know... Actually, come to think of it, we did bring some umbrellas with us, but it was getting late anyway. The drive down was much quicker and before long we were back at the apartment.

Time to pack our bags again...

L'Esbardu, restaurant review

After the bear walk, it was time for lunch. The restaurant we chose was L'Esbardu; it was on the edge of the town, just past the bridge. In fact, from the terrace, you can watch the river, except we were there in summer and there wasn't that much water.

When we arrived, the terrace was almost full; inside, there were a couple of tables which were occupied. We chose to sit outside under the shade of an orange tree. There were two servers, a waiter and a waitress. However, the waiter was the only one taking food orders.

The waitress attended to us after several minutes, brought us the menu, and took our drink orders. One word of warning here - while waiting, we heard a loud thud, and I mean loud! By some miracle, an orange had fallen off the tree and missed my shiny head by inches, hit the table, and bounced off to the ground.

So, choose your tables carefully - you may not be as lucky as I was!

Anyway, in spite of that incident - or perhaps they were afraid of coming near us! - we were practically ignored! Even frantic hand waving didn't catch anyone's attention. Worse, a group that arrived after us had their orders taken first, and naturally, got their food way before us.

We weren't pleased at all.

It's one thing when you're not served because no-one is available, and quite another when someone who comes after you gets served before. And it wasn't that big a terrace. The waitress attended to us first, so it was her responsibility to make sure that the waiter was aware of us, and if he had been more on the ball, he would have kept abreast of the situation anyway.

Food. The portions were huge! Be warned.

It might not have been the right season to have a pote Asturiano, but Asturia is famous for their fabadas and their potes. As you can see, it's something to help you through the cold winters...

Pote Asturiano

 The standard egg, sausage and chips. €6 for this, not a bad deal at all.

Egg, sausage & chips (child's portion)

 I had to watch my cholesterol level, so I opted for a grilled bonito. Wrong choice, probably. It was more of a meat rather than a fish place. Having said that, the bonito looked fresh, but the problem with cooking fish such as bonito and tuna is that it's hard to get the al dente point. To make it worse, this piece of bonito was at least two fingers thick! 

So, to put it in one word: DRY! Go past the al dente point, and this fish just dries up incredibly. It was so dry I could hardly eat it. I must have left at least half of it on the plate - it was huge anyway.

Grilled bonito

 And this was how the bill came. In a red espadrille. Perhaps that's what esbardu means. I never did find out.

Bill in a shoe

Name of restaurant: L'Espardu

Location: Calle del Puente s/n, 33114 Proaza, Asturias

Tel: 985 76 11 52

Web: http://www.lesbardu.es/index.php

Verdict: Conditional recommendation... if it isn't very crowded, and if you're fond of meat.

Happy houses in Proaza

You might have read my review of El Mirador del Oso and might have seen the photos of the inside, but I didn't get the opportunity to take some photos from the outside until two mornings after we'd arrived.

The morning was fabulous, bright and sunny. I'd been struck by the vivid colours with which the houses had been painted and the light of this morning accentuated them even more. I just like to share these photos here - the colours you see in them are what they are actually - I didn't change their saturation level or anything like that.

El Mirador del Oso

That's the window of the apartment we stayed in

House next door

The house behind

The house around the corner

El Mirador del Oso, Proaza, Asturias - review

As I mentioned in the last post, we arrived very late. Toño (short for Antonio) was waiting for us at the petrol station, Estación De Servicio Valle De Trubia, which also happens to sell the cheapest petrol in Asturias, or so Toño claimed! Certainly from what we'd seen, he wasn't lying.

The apartment was very close to the petrol station, up a slight slope off the main road. Parking was no problem, one of the advantages of lodging in rural accommodation. We were staying in Asturias for four nights, and I had been looking at a lot of places, including in Oviedo and Gijón. For one reason or another, they had all been rejected, until I found Toño's residence.

It's a big house, converted into six apartments over three floors. We were given the top one. Three floors to lug the suitcases up! Toño, a strong man, kindly helped us. Each of the apartment had been given a name - much more romantic than a number! Ours was Xardón.

Of course, I'd already seen the photos of the house. I'd already liked what I saw from the outside, even in the dark night. I liked it even more when Toño opened the door for us. It was exactly identical to what I'd seen in the photos.

Apartment Xardón, El Mirador del Oso, Proaza

All the apartments had been painted in strong colours, but I loved them. The whole house had been tastefully decorated, both style and colours being appropriate for the rural setting.

The side window overlooked neighbouring houses and gardens. The double bed was large and fairly comfortable (I knew I wasn't going to get a firm mattress!), bedside tables and lamps on both sides, a full-length mirror adorning a side wall, and there was even a valet stand!

Don't forget that we arrived very late and had to have dinner first. These photos were taken well after midnight; I was depending on what lighting there was and so I didn't manage to take photos of everything in the apartment.

Sofa bed

The sofa bed folds out easily, and it's big enough for a couple, but you'd better ask Toño if there are four of you. Being on the top floor, we had a rooftop window, which was low enough for us to peek out at the fields (and the cows) and the mountains beyond, yet high enough not to bother us. Under this window, there's a small round table.

Toño practically runs this place all by himself, including the cleaning! It was immaculate, incidentally. He very kindly had a pear cake ready for us, but since we managed to have dinner, that accompanied us in the next couple of breakfasts. The cake was delicious!

The open kitchen is small, but sufficient for a short stay. We didn't need it except to boil water. A kettle would have been handy, Toño! I also found this part of the apartment a little dark, especially if you need to be cooking. 

The shower cubicle was a tad too small, and there weren't many places where you could put your toiletries and stuff. You can put them on top of one wall of the cubicle, but it isn't very convenient if you're short.

The one unfortunate aspect of this wonderful apartment is the free wifi internet connection. Being on the top floor, and the router being on the ground floor, the waves aren't strong enough to reach inside the apartment. Go out onto the landing, and you're ok. Rather inconvenient though. Having said that, the mobile network service works fine in the whole house. So, if you really need the free wifi, confirm that there's connection in the apartment you're being allocated.

Perhaps if Toño could relocate the router to the landing of the first floor, the connection might reach everyone?

Place: El Mirador del Oso

Booking: AirBnB 

If you're not registered with AirBnB, use this link and get €19 credit for your first booking!

Location: 

Verdict:  Highly recommended!

Asturias, the land of cider, the land of calories!

The next stop was very close to San Vicente de la Barquera, and we got there easily enough. What we saw, we hadn't expected.

What the previous town lacked in allure, this one made up for it. Llanes had that quality of excitement that caught me by surprise. Had I known this, of course I would have skipped San Vicente altogether and came straight here, even though this shot I took there just about made that stop worthwhile. Having a coffee break here would have been much more appreciated, I was sure.

Ironic then, after extolling it in such manner, that I didn't take a single shot! Looking back now, it could have been because there wasn't sufficient light.

Llanes was a very busy town. It was bustling with activity and I was lucky to find somewhere to park, just by the small train station. We had a little walk around the centre, constantly keeping an eye on the time, which was moving too fast. By then, I had already given up hope on arriving at our final destination before dark, but still, we couldn't arrive too late - we might be unable to check in! There was also a beach, but we didn't have time to take a look as it would have meant deviating from the centre and we weren't sure how far it was.

So, we mingled with the people for a while, and stopped long enough to buy a box of biscuits and pastries from a busy patisserie. At least if we arrived too late for dinner, we wouldn't die of hunger! Strange that almonds seem to be the star ingredient and Asturias hasn't got any almond trees to boast of! What's more surprising is that I don't even have photos of those pastries! All the more reason for having to go back there in the future!

After Llanes, we drove through Ribadesella; I'll have to say that I don't remember much of it. To put it down will be unfair as we weren't there much. We basically didn't have any more time. We had to move on. In fact, I'd programmed a stop or two more, but it would have been crazy. And, as it turned out, the route wasn't so straightforward, but, this time, Google Maps didn't fail me. Thank goodness for that. When it works, it's a dream, simply amazing. It brought us to where we needed to be, from where we had to make a phone call to our host.

Actually, in retrospect, it wasn't the petrol station where we should have been. The one our host, Toño, told me about was the one at the entrance to Proaza; the one at which we arrived, from where we made the call to him, was still miles away! Like 15 or 20 minutes' drive away. In the dark.

Yes, it was late. Very late. By the time we arrived, it was about 11pm! Toño was great. No problem at all. We had to have something to eat and he brought us to what was possibly the only place that was still opened at that time: Bar Gloria, it was called. I think, anyway. I've just found that out by placing myself in Google Earth. Quite incredible. It's like walking down the same road again!

It was late. Photos aren't that great. But, welcome to the land of cider and calories!

Cider, sold only by the bottle

Calories, calories! No, I didn't eat all of that!