Tales of a Student Traveler and Spanish Myth Buster: Discovering Asutrias: Gijón and Covadonga/ Discubriendo Asturias: Gijón y Covadonga

The province and autonomy of Asturias has so much to offer other than the beautiful city of Oviedo, where I live. I have been fortunate to be able to visit two distinct but beautiful places in Asturias: Gijón and Covadonga.

Gijón is a coastal city in Asturias. It's one of the biggest cities in the province and borders the Cantabrian Sea, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean. This city, being on the coast, was very important during the Roman empire and after. Remains of Roman baths and other fortresses are accessible to see and experience some of the history. The market in the center of the city, full of artisan cheeses and breads, complimented the lively colorful buildings and the roar of the sea. After visiting the beach, I headed over to the Museo del Pueblo Asturias with a friend. The main building held artifacts dating from the 1800s to the years under the dictatorship of Franco. The entire museum was composed of various buildings dedicated to various aspects of Asutrian culture, like the music, the animals, and the famous sidra (cider). There are also various typical Asturian infrastructures such as hórreos and chozos. These huts and houses high off the ground were used to store grain and other harvests. Also, they served as shelters for the workers of the field.

After a long day of walking all around Gijón, we took the half an hour trip by bus home. It was an incredible trip that I'm looking forward to doing again.

Another day trip I took with friends was to the village of Covadonga. This small town has a legendary reputation of being the last town to hold out against the invading Muslims, ultimately defeating them. Legend has it that the Virgin Mary appeared to the soldiers and helped with the conquest. Because of this, a shrine sits to her in a cave overlooking the village. In fact, the entire village is a shrine to the Virgin. An incredible cathedral also looks over the village and part of the Picos de Europa. We later took a ride up into the peaks to see the majestic Lagos de Covadonga. These two lakes are side by side, only separated by a hill that is home to sheep, goats, and horses. The tall mountains stretch out in the distance covered in fog. An old mine also calls the lakes home and we were able to go into part of the mine and see it. The whole trip just reminded us of the beauty of Spain and really what a wonderful world we live in.

I love living in the province of Asturias and I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to study in what I think is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Asturias: natural paradise.