La Senda del Oso (The Bear Route), Proaza

After a hard day yesterday, when we visited Oviedo & Gijón, I was looking forward to doing some walking today and was hoping for a car-free day...

Toño, out host, encouraged us to do the bear route, saying that we'd be walking through a beautiful forest and that we'd likely see some of the three Asturian bears along the way. Sounded interesting.

At the edge of the town we crossed the bridge, and turned left, where we found Oso Goloso. It's a small café, which also provides bicycles for rent. Prices were tempting, €9 for the whole day, but we preferred to walk. The girl in the shop actually recommended a route going the other way, towards Entrago, saying that it was a more beautiful route, but it was a 14km walk and we hadn't planned for that. Had we known it before, I'd have been more interested in that.

Especially after the walk we did.

It was summer, after all. It was hot, the river was a gentle flowing stream, and it wasn't as green as I'd expected. The bears were actually in an enclosure - there were three of them - in a valley, and the path was some way up. We couldn't go close to the enclosure.

To be honest, it was rather sad. I don't like zoos much, especially when the animals are in small cages. Here, they are a bit freer, but it must be terribly boring for them. They're still enclosed, after all. This day was so hot that we couldn't see any at first - they were all hiding in some shade or other, I suspected.

And then, we spotted it.

A lonely bear (As usual, click on any image to see a larger version)

I didn't have a lens long enough to zoom in close. I could crop the photo, but I prefer to share this view as you can then have an idea of their enclosures.

Later, it came a little closer. Or it could have been a different bear, I couldn't really tell. There were several enclosures, but I think they're inter-connected.

A bear posing

After passing the enclosures, we carried on for a while and then decided to turn back. It was very hot and it didn't look inviting enough for us to carry on. On the way back, we saw all the three bears, although not together except for these two.

Asturian bears

They were walking back into the shade, and so were we...

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!

Morning walkabout, Casco Viejo

The plan was to walk around Casco Viejo in the morning (in Spain mañana extends to the afternoon ;) ) First, we need some breakfast. We headed for the market, hoping to find a café inside, but the only one that was there appeared abandoned. There was no sign on the door. So, I'm not sure if they were closed for their holidays and was doing some renovation work or the crisis had hit them.

The Ribera market itself is interesting. It must be the most spacious market I've been in. Perhaps the lack of columns and the illumination contribute to this feeling, or perhaps it gets really busy when the locals come back from their summer holidays. The building looks fresh so renovation must have been completed not that long ago. The goods they sell look equally fresh, especially the fish! But, we haven't got a kitchen...

You could see the photos I took of the market in this post.

We decided to have breakfast in a café across the market, Palacio Arana. I think we were clobbered. Some cafés (and this is one of them) offer a reduced price for set breakfasts but we were charged for individual items. 3 breakfasts of toast & croissant: €16.45. If you want breakfast, go somewhere else; go to Plaza Santiago, where there are a few. Café Liverpool is supposed to be quite decent. I went once to Bizvete, and they were good. Opens early. They offer all kinds of milk, including skimmed and lactose-free.

It's actually quite difficult to walk around Casco Viejo, because the streets criss-cross each other, and you're likely to either go around in a circle or go too far out and you won't want to turn back. In any case, the streets of the old quarter look pretty similar, full of shops and restaurants. We just walked around, doing a bit of shopping, until we decided to eat because it was getting late.

Casco Viejo

Colourful shop window

Where we stopped for lunch was Hatari. You can do worse than this. It wasn't bad. We weren't very hungry and we didn't want to spend much. They were advertising their menu of the day for €10.90, which was decent. When I found out that they also offer half a menu of the day, even better. For this, you can opt for either the starter or the main course. The menu includes bread, drinks and dessert. Unfortunately, half menu doesn't mean half the price of the whole! They didn't say that nor did I ask. I guess I foolishly assumed that half would mean half the price. The starter half menu was €6.50, and the main course half menu was €7.50.

Food was nothing to shout about, but it was fine. Service was ok, too.

We carried on walking after lunch and the only interesting event was this group protesting over some thing or another. Probably against traffic would be my guess. Bilbao, in fact, has cycle lanes everywhere, so I'm not sure what they're complaining about.

Bikers protesting about something

Parque de los Patos (Park of the Ducks)

Continued from Guggenheim, Bilbao, Part Two

The rest of the day, we walked, walked, and walked in spite of the searing heat. Of course, we stopped here and there. Walking around the Fine Arts Museum, chilling out in the duck's park (Doña Casilda Iturrizar park, nicknamed Parque de los Patos for the pond where ducks and other waterfowl can be seen frolicking around the fountain), strolling under the pergola, breathing some oxygen from this English-styled park...

Doña Casilda Iturrizar park

The park was relatively quiet, after the masses in the Guggenheim. Have you noticed how parks are never quite full with tourists? They're too busy rushing around, or being rushed around, from point to point, that by the time their tour ends, they just want to plonk themselves down on their beds or sofas. No time for ordinary things like parks - they can get them at home.

Me, I love parks. I love observing people, observing the things they do. Lovers, families, friends...

Still peckish after the semi-disastrous lunch at Zubizuri, we stopped for some coffee and ice-cream at a café the name of which I can't remember. Then, carried on walking. We came across a couple of lots where they displayed models of the lampposts used in the streets of Bilbao. Interesting. I'd noticed how pretty some of their lampposts are.

Streetlamp

Eventually, we got back to the apartment. I wanted to catch Guggenheim at sunset, so I set out on my own with my tripod. My legs were begging me to stop, but expecting rain any time, I didn't want to risk leaving it until the following day. Besides, I cherish the time I get to be alone, just me and my camera, especially during my favourite time of day...

"There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are." Ernst Haas

First tour

Continued from First morning.

By the time we left the apartment - and this habit would repeat itself throughout the journey - it was past midday. Not the best time to walk; not the best time for taking photos. Having said that, when you're in a place for only a few days, you don't have much choice. You can only do so much in any given time and you can only be in one place at a time. This was the planned route.

From Arriaga to Guggenheim

We walked through the park, past San Nicolás church and the town hall, then turn right to catch the Funicular Artxanda up to the summit of the Artxanda mountain. The fare was 0.95€ one way, the journey, a minute or two.

Such is the influence of technology these days that the person before me was trying to swipe his paper ticket somewhere to let him through. He swiped it here and there and the barriers didn't react. I said, no, mate, just push them. Like this, see? Haha. The good old revolving barrier. Reminds me of kids touching first versions of Kindle and getting annoyed that nothing happens.

A short, steep climb and we're there. Looking down on Bilbao. Green, even in the summer heat. Remember what I mentioned about the midday light? Here's how Bilbao looks like.

Bilbao in harsh daylight

At a different time, under different light, here's how it can look like. See the difference?

Bilbao under more flattering lighting

We chilled out for a while, walked around the park, trying to find a shaded bench to sit on.

Mount Artxanda Park

Sometimes, when the light is harsh and shade is scarce, working in monochrome may be the more interesting option.

We hung around for a few minutes, then made our way down again. My verdict? It's a pleasant park, the panoramic view can be interesting. The time of day is important. If, like me, midday is the only option, you won't miss much if you skip the trip. A better time, I'd say is either in the early morning, just before sunset, or perhaps the best option, at night.

The route continues...