First off, please accept my apologies for not being able to find symbols to use with place names!
After leaving Bizkaia (Basque Country) we traveled west along Spain's Atlantic coastline to Gijon in the principality of Asturias. With two days of good weather we camped opposite the city in a pretty meager, but open, private campground. The view was terrific (see above)!
We spent a few more days at another private camping facility, but in a little cabana (say summer camp cabin) while waiting through rainy days for my later meeting in Tineo with Pablo Garica Osendi (officer and member) and Jesus Rodriguez Bueno (President) of El Banzao, an anglers' organization based in Tineo, Asturias (see link at right). This group formed in 2003 around the pillars of river and brown trout conservation, promotion of angling, and aquatic invasive species control. Since its formation it has engaged in a number of river cleanup, spawning habitat creation, crawdad (from the US) trapping projects as well as creating a year-round fishery at El Arenero, a former sand quarry pit (aka the Sandbox). Pablo and Jesus were very gracious with their time and told me a lot about El Banzao and then took me to visit El Arenero to see first-hand the fishery and the club house/cafe.
While I was visiting with Pablo and Jesus, Gretty and the boys explored Tineo, which seems to date from the 13th century. Perched on the side of the Narcea valley, it is a beautiful town and the people are very friendly. The empanadas are delicious! That evening we traveled to Vega del Horreo (an horreo is the small granary shown in the image above), a very small mountain village in La Cordillera de Cantabrica, where we stayed at the Hostel run by Ecotur (see link at right and image above). Really nice people run the hostel and business, but a good command of Spanish is essential if you plan to visit (mine has been improving drastically!).
Wanting to move to a drier climate, we then traveled over the mountains to the Principality of Castille-Leon where we found just what we were looking for - another closed campground that took us in for the night along Rio Luna (Moon River). Acequias (ditches) for irrigation, a large reservoir that innundated a number of rural villages, and fantastic geology and mountain scenery. Even had frost in the morning on our tents!
We're now in Salamanca after visiting Zamora (really cool plaza in the former, and cool castle in the latter) and will leave tomorrow for Toledo. I will meet with the technical officer of UNIPESCA in Madrid next week who also has his own business specializing in aquatic science and services. Looking forward to it.
Hasta Luego all! Dave.
After leaving Bizkaia (Basque Country) we traveled west along Spain's Atlantic coastline to Gijon in the principality of Asturias. With two days of good weather we camped opposite the city in a pretty meager, but open, private campground. The view was terrific (see above)!
We spent a few more days at another private camping facility, but in a little cabana (say summer camp cabin) while waiting through rainy days for my later meeting in Tineo with Pablo Garica Osendi (officer and member) and Jesus Rodriguez Bueno (President) of El Banzao, an anglers' organization based in Tineo, Asturias (see link at right). This group formed in 2003 around the pillars of river and brown trout conservation, promotion of angling, and aquatic invasive species control. Since its formation it has engaged in a number of river cleanup, spawning habitat creation, crawdad (from the US) trapping projects as well as creating a year-round fishery at El Arenero, a former sand quarry pit (aka the Sandbox). Pablo and Jesus were very gracious with their time and told me a lot about El Banzao and then took me to visit El Arenero to see first-hand the fishery and the club house/cafe.
While I was visiting with Pablo and Jesus, Gretty and the boys explored Tineo, which seems to date from the 13th century. Perched on the side of the Narcea valley, it is a beautiful town and the people are very friendly. The empanadas are delicious! That evening we traveled to Vega del Horreo (an horreo is the small granary shown in the image above), a very small mountain village in La Cordillera de Cantabrica, where we stayed at the Hostel run by Ecotur (see link at right and image above). Really nice people run the hostel and business, but a good command of Spanish is essential if you plan to visit (mine has been improving drastically!).
Wanting to move to a drier climate, we then traveled over the mountains to the Principality of Castille-Leon where we found just what we were looking for - another closed campground that took us in for the night along Rio Luna (Moon River). Acequias (ditches) for irrigation, a large reservoir that innundated a number of rural villages, and fantastic geology and mountain scenery. Even had frost in the morning on our tents!
We're now in Salamanca after visiting Zamora (really cool plaza in the former, and cool castle in the latter) and will leave tomorrow for Toledo. I will meet with the technical officer of UNIPESCA in Madrid next week who also has his own business specializing in aquatic science and services. Looking forward to it.
Hasta Luego all! Dave.
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