Colombres

Travel Spain: Asturias -- Nature's Paradise

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• published: 20 Jul 2010
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May 30, 2010 greeted me again with brilliant sunshine. My host Lucas at the Posada de Babel, my rural hotel, had given me some tips as to where to go on this gorgeous day. So I set off and went eastwards along the Asturian coastline, past the golf course of Llanes and various coastal lookout points to the mountain town of Colombres. This scenic town is the location of the famous Museo del Emigrante. which focuses on the phenomenon of Asturian emigration to countries such as Cuba, Mexico and Argentina. During the second half of the 19th and early 20th century Asturias experienced a major wave of emigration, and many of these emigrants, particularly those that had found great fortunes abroad, the so-called "Indianos", returned and built various mansions and grand villas. Indeed, the Emigrant Museum in Colombres itself is housed in an opulent villa built by a local emigrant who had struck it rich in Mexico. The entire town of Colombres is a showcase of architecture created by these Indianos. Altogether the town features 12 major buildings that were created by these successful emigrants, which include the church and the city hall. Indianos would also often invest in and improve the local city infrastructure, for example, they would install the town's electrical supply and sewer system. After a visit to the Museum of Emigration I went on a walking tour of Colombres and visited many of these impressive manor houses that are conveniently signposted through town. Then I headed back to the coastal village of Pimiango where I tried to find the Cueva del Pindal, a prehistoric cave. I never found the entrance to the cave, but I stumbled across a beautiful sea-side park with gorgeous views over a shoreline of steeply dropping rocks. To return back to Llanes, I headed back into the mountains, part of the northeastern Picos de Europa, and drove through a serene landscape of high limestone peaks, covered with green meadows full of grazing cows and sheep. I returned back to my hotel, the Posada de Babel, in the early evening after a drive through the scenic Cares Gorge. Reyes, the hotel's chef, prepared a delicious vegetarian meal for me, consisting of baby potatoes and freshly harvested green beans, followed by my favourite dessert- rice pudding. I was joined by another hotel guest, an older gentleman from Mexico with Asturian roots who had come to do some business here in the land of his ancestors. Asturias had shown itself from its best side and I was sad that I had to leave tomorrow.