Once upon a time, a young woman found herself far away from home in a strange land. Although she lived in a beautiful city, she missed the forests and hills and rivers of her home. So her friends arranged to take her into the wilderness outside the city for a visit. They brought her to lakes surrounded by snow-capped mountains that stretched as far as the eye could see. They walked along clear rivers spanned by bridges that had stood for thousands of years. They visited small villages, where birds sang even in the winter and everything smelled like warm grass. And they stopped at a holy cave, with a waterfall just underneath, cascading into the pool below. Next to this waterfall was an old, mossy fountain with seven spouts. The legend says that anyone who drinks from all seven spouts will find true love within the next year. So the young woman drank from the fountain, and went off to continue living her happily ever after - no matter what happens in the next year.
I spent two weekends recently exploring places so beautiful, only a fairy tale could accurately depict them.
My friend and her family took me to Covadonga, in the Picos de Europa National Park. A striking rose-colored basilica sits on top of a ridge, set against forested mountains. An apparition of Mary is said to have appeared in a cave there, during the fighting between Christians and Muslims. The site is now a small chapel built directly into the rock. And just like the fairy tale says, a waterfall emerges from the cliff directly underneath to fall into a pool below. Where there is indeed a narrow path that leads to an old, mossy, stone fountain with seven spouts that are reputed to bring true love. Where I did indeed drink. The unromantic side to that story is the sign warning that the water isn't purified and how wet and muddy you get in the process, but I had fun with it.
We drove through the mountain roads to two nearby lakes, Enol and Ercina, to have a picnic lunch and take a walk. Asturias is breathtakingly beautiful, reminiscent of the Scottish landscape in places. We ended the day in Cangas de Onís, a small town boasting a Roman bridge arching over a beautiful river that runs with salmon every spring.
I went to Coviella with another friend the next day, to visit her parents' farm. Coviella is a tiny town in the same area as Covadonga, on the fringes of the Picos and overlooking the Sella River. It's full of tiny, winding dirt roads separating adorable houses where everyone seems to have cows in their backyards. My friend taught me how to feed orphaned bunnies milk out of a dropper, and let me hold a lamb. I got to ride through the meadow on her horse Copito (Snowflake). Her mom took us to Lastres, a port town with stunning views of the bay, just to take a walk around. We stopped at a stunning overlook of the Picos, where you could actually see the fog coming in off the ocean to drift between the peaks.
The next week I borrowed a bike and fought the 2 kilometers of hills to Parque de Invierno, where there is a bike path I have wanted to complete for nearly five months. It seemed like around every bend there was something that made my breath catch. The 7-kilometer path runs through forests and farmland and tunnels cutting through the ridges to end at a bridge overlooking a stunning, classically Asturian landscape of village, river, forest and rolling hills dotted with cows. It was one of those crisp fall-like days when the air is sharp and the light is soft, and food somehow tastes infinitely better when eaten on a damp picnic table under the trees. I was exhausted by the time I'd made the 9-kilometer return journey, but well satisfied with having finally met my goal.
Asturias has truly become my idea of paradise. It has the perfect climate, like living in an eternal mix of spring and fall days. One of my favorite things about northern Spain is that birds sing and flowers bloom all year, which makes everything feel like a dream in January and February to this Michigan girl. It has rivers, mountains, forests, farmland and the ocean - all right here. The cities are beautiful and peaceful; the towns are even more beautiful and peaceful. Every day I become more and more enchanted with living here.
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