San Martin de Ondes revisited
Hello dear friends near and far,
Frank and I are once again on our way South, our 4th winter on the road… our Honeymoon continues.
On November 5th, we board the ferry from Plymouth to Santander in northern Spain, and, just like every year, we seem to reach the ferry in a state of near exhaustion – the UK interlude has been a long 6 months, packed with activities and work, plus several Tango-related jaunts to Germany on my part. It’s been very good, we’ve worked hard to fit everything in and we’re ready to tumble into our quite different winter rhythm.
I don’t have any sea legs to speak of, so after watching a film in the boat cinema, I’m off to bed, trying to fall asleep before the sea gets too wild. I don’t mind it being wavey, as long as I don’t have to be upright!
The sun is out and the sea is calm when I wake up, so I venture up to the sundeck where I bump into Sky from Totnes, who is on his way to the west of Portugal, via Benfeita and Pardieros, visiting Clio et al (see our chapter in 2014). We arrange for him to meet us when we come off the boat, to hand over a little gift for Clio and for Lisa of the Llamas.
It’s strange just how small the world is, and how there is a net of travellers spanning across. it is when we have these kind of ‘chance’ encounters that I feel like we are tapping into an ancient network of trade and information, a sense that Europe is not that big after all and information can travel even outside the realm of modern technology.
Sky tells us that the area around Benfeita suffered greatly from a huge forest fire a few weeks ago, the flames of which just touched the edge of Clio’s land. We think of all the people we met there three years ago and hope that all have survived the fire in good health, and that the Llamas survived the fire too. It must be a very scary thing to experience! Our friends in Portugal, if you are reading this blog chapter, we send you our love!!! Please get in touch and let us know how you are!
Despite it being a detour of over 200km, we can’t resist revisiting Asturias and the lovely people we met there three years ago, so coming off the ferry, we turn right onto the motorway towards Gijon.
Our first stop is Ribadesella, a little fishing town at the foot of the Picos de Europa. I’ve been ill for the last couple of weeks and am still fighting a hacking cough, so we go on a cycle tour along the promenade where large waves crash and distribute fine clouds of sea spray. I breathe deeply – this is just like the inhalations that we were sent to in Spiekeroog, an island just off the coast of northern Germany, when we were children. the inhalations were quite boring – we had to sit in a room and breathe in sea mist. This here is much more fun though, dodging the waves on the bicycle.
Before we set off again, we call Mada on the phone. It takes a bit of detective work to get in touch with her, as her old number doesn’t work anymore, but eventually we get hold of her and arrange to visit her that evening. It is lovely to hear her surprised delight when she realises who is calling her. We spend an evening together at her house in a little valley near Aviles, sharing food and stories, catching up with what has happened since we first met three years ago.
The next morning, the three of us travel on to San Martin de Ondes to visit Pepe (If you haven’t read our blog before, do read the chapter about Pepe, it was a very special part of our first journey).
It is impossible to arrive in San Martin without someone knowing straight away. Pepe’s sister sees us first, and later she tells us that upon seeing us, she thought: these people remind me of those travellers from England. She said she recognised our way of moving, but it didn’t occur to her that it could actually be us.
Pepe is still very much Pepe as we met him the first time, although he looks much healthier and happier than last time. All in all, there is something timeless about San Martin. Every day is the same and yet every day is new and fresh. Pepe and his brother Ben Hur go out and tend to the animals or clear pathways in the forests to retrieve precious pieces of wood, a cow is being born and there are more bear tracks to be seen just outside the village (and bear shit! – check the photos in the album, the link is at the bottom of the chapter). Pepe’s house has new wood carvings and the two brothers go and eat lunch at the sister’s house at exactly 1pm. We are generously invited to join the meals this time, so we have the pleasure of sampling the excellent favadas of Pepe’s sister.
Pepe has a herd of over 40 Asturian ponies up in the mountains. One day we go up there to try and find them, but we are greeted with a wall of fog, so after an hour or so of climbing up the Camino Real, we turn back.
The weather is steadily worsening, and one morning, there is a dusting of snow on the nearby mountain tops, so we decide to leave.
After a quick pit stop in Belmonte de Miranda to grease Emma’s nipples and to visit Monica and Xema, the organic farmers, we head out of the valley to join the Ruta de la Plata, the Silver route, that will take us South all the way down to Sevilla.
For more photos of this chapter click here
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We’ve had a dusting of snow around Princetown and it’s set to be cold all next week. Enjoy the southern air! You seem to be getting back into traveller mode quote well Xx