TRAVEL WISE REPORTED BY CAIT ETHERTON DECEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020 75
before had sealed an opening of a cave. They returned with full
gear and managed to make their way inside. When they did, they
were surprised to discover that one cave opened onto another,
and then another. On the walls, they found a magnificent series
of Cro-Magnon cave drawings, dating back more than 10,000
years. Another mysterious drawing was made some 30,000 years
ago, according to carbon dating.
Although the site has been validated by waves of experts,
its existence continues to raise more questions than have been
answered. Why, I find myself wondering, were drawings made
in precisely the same place some 20,000 years apart?I PONDER THAT OVER LUNCH 15 minutes to the north, on a spit
of beach. Güeyu Mar restaurant is a glorified shack marked by a
huge plastic kingfish mounted over the doorway. Abel Alvarez,
chef and owner, has been grilling fish here since 2007.
His menu consists of whatever the boats have brought in
that day, supplemented by seafood in metal tins that Alvarezhas preserved himself. There’s no meat of any kind, nor rice or
potatoes, just seafood and local vegetables and excellent bread
rolls. I eat razor clams and sardines, then grilled cockles and
kingfish. I drink Asturian wine, which barely existed a decade
ago, from the inland winery Dominio del Urogallo, the best of
the few producers clustered on the western side of the province.
The blend of three local red grape varieties has the stony fresh-
ness that I usually associate with cool-climate whites. Crisp and
salty, it tastes like the sea.
Rain is falling again; when I step outside I see a vivid rainbow
arcing from the trees atop the steep hills down to the water. Then
I pivot inland. I stop in the hill town of Cangas de Onís, where a
much photographed Roman bridge spans an unhurried stream.
From there the next morning, it’s a short trip to Covadonga,
which is one of the most historic spots in Spain. You could make the
argument that modern Spain began when the advance of the
Moors was halted here by the Visigoth nobleman Pelagius, the
founder of the Kingdom of Asturias, in 718.A-66A-64
A-8A-820 mi
Bay of Biscay 20 kmTito
Bustillo
CaveDominio del
UrogalloTorre de Cerredo
8,688 ft
2,648 mC
o rd i
l l e ra^ C a n t á b r i c a
Cabo PeñasNEGRÓN TUNNELAEROPUERTO
DE ASTURIASPICOS DE EUROPA
NATIONAL PARKGijón
Oviedo
La SalgarRibadesellaAvilésCovadongaLlanes
VidiagoSotresCudilleroCangas de Onís
ASTURIASLEÓNLUGO
CANTABRIAPALENCIATravel Wise:
Asturias, SpainWHAT TO KNOW
Asturias is part of Green Spain,
a designation reflecting the
province’s pristine, verdant
landscapes and cooler, wetter
climate. A network of trails
covers the region, headlined by
the Camino del Norte, the
quieter northern branch of
Spain’s famous Camino de
Santiago. Running from the
French border to Santiago
de Compostela, it skirts such
Asturian highlights as the tidal
blowholes of Vidiago and the
Paleolithic Tito Bustillo Cave.WHERE TO EAT
Casa Marcial
This restaurant in the rural
village of Arriondas has earned
two Michelin stars by offering
modern takes on traditional
Asturian cuisine, spinning out
dishes like sea urchin asparagus
and celery panna cotta.
casamarcial.comGüeyu Mar
One block from the beach in
Ribadesella, restaurant Güeyu
Mar ushers the sea right across
the threshold with a fish- and
shellfish-dominated menu that
includes lobster, razor clams,gooseneck barnacles, baby
squid, and fresh fish prepared
two dozen ways. gueyumar.esLa Salgar
Esther Manzano’s Michelin-
starred Gijón stronghold treats
diners to sea bass with cider
cream, beets with seaweed,
and scrambled eggs with cave-
aged Cabrales cheese.
lasalgar.esWHERE TO STAY
3 Cabos
This modern-meets-rustic hotel
gazes over three capes (cabos)from coastal cliffs west of
Oviedo. Six century-old farm-
house rooms feature beamed
ceilings, cowhide chairs, and
patterned tilework. Bicycles and
kites are free for hotel guests.
hotelrural3cabos.comLa Casona del Viajante
Ideally located near the Picos de
Europa National Park and Astu-
rias’s cities, the nine-room
Casona del Viajante is a historic
casa indiano, or 19th-century
mansion built by former Asturian
expats and distinguished by its
art nouveau touches. Stainedglass windows and an original
hand-carved staircase lead to a
veranda breakfast; try the fresh
fruit, grown on-site. lacasona
delviajante.comGO WITH NAT GEO
See Europe’s oldest known
fossils and the medieval
Asturian town of Santillana del
Mar on National Geographic’s
10-day “Human Origins”
expedition across southwestern
France and northern Spain.
natgeoexpeditions.com/explore;
NG 888-966-8687
M
AP
S^
AN
D^
CR
AI
G^
M
OL
YN
EU
X,
C
AR
TD
EC
O
;^ P
AR
K^
DA
TA
F
RO
M^
TH
E^
W
OR
LD
D
AT
AB
AS
E^
ON
P
RO
TE
CT
ED
A
RE
AS
(W
DP
A)
,^ M
AP
D
AT
A:
©
OPENSTREETMAPCONTRIB
UTORS,
A
VAILABLE^ UNDEROPEN^
DATABASELICENSE:OPENSTREETMAP.O
RG/COPYRIGHT