Eclipse starts at Oviedo at 20.27 on 12 Aug and last 1 min 48 secs. The sun sets around 304 degrees
Hotel Palacio de Luces
Palacio de Luces, a 16th-century palace in Asturias, between the Sierra del Sueve mountains and the Atlantic coast. The palace itself has been restored, its exterior preserved, and its interiors — plus the necessary modern additions — venturing into contemporary design, resulting in a visual experience that admits of a multitude of influences. There’s a fairly elaborate spa, and guests are invited to explore the coast via bicycle. But even with all this as context, it’s Tella, the modern gastronomic restaurant, that is arguably the main attraction, with a menu that dives deep into the specific flavors, recipes, traditions, and ingredients of Asturia, all under the direction of chef Francisco Ruiz — and, for a more casual experience, there’s La Palmera, the hotel’s well-loved gastrobar. It is 2.8 km to Mirador del Faro
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Monday August 10
We left the Salamanca hotel before noon and had a 3 1/2 hour journey to the north of Asturias.
The beginning of the journey was somewhat boring as the scenery was very flat and just full of the stubble of recently harvested fields. There were very few trees,but then we got into the mountains, and it became more inspiring. Then finally we went through a 19 century heavily industrial area with zinc mines, before reaching the coast. There we turned eastwards and headed to the village of Luces, where our next hotel, the Palacio Luces, was situated. But we had great problems finding the entrance into its surrounding walls and we were not amused by the time we finally did get to the right gate, having spent 20 minutes or so going round and round the perimimeter of their estate. But after the initial gormless receptionist had shown us in, things began to improve and the place seemed really quite nice. There were about 30 to 40 rooms most of them in a new building.
We had a bite to eat in the room and then eventually went for a walk about 6 pm to investigate the Lighthouse on the coast, supposedly only a mile distant, where we thought we might watch the eclipse in two days time. It was actually a bit more than a mile and we did not quite make it but we decided we would return in the morning in the car, although we realised that on the 12th (the day of the eclipse) we would have to walk from the hotel as there were police restrictions on cars.
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Back at the hotel we got changed and went and had a cocktail in the bar and investigated how high the sun would be from the gardens at 20:30 in 2 days hence. We found that we would be able to see it quite easily from the hotel and would not need to walk to the Lighthouse. Interestingly we met the hotel management who were out there themselves checking position of the setting sun to find the best place to put chairs for guests to watch the eclipse.
We then ordered some anchovies to go with our cocktails but these were not available even though we could see where they were processed from our bedroom window. So we had a cheese platter instead on a really pleasant table overlooking the picturesque herb garden. Then back to the room for a coffee and bed.
Tuesday August 11
I had a swim at 9 am, David coming down with me for the first time visit there. I was slightly disappointed with the indoor pool as it was so dark and had a large white screen all the way along one end, which I felt could’ve been improved . Further the water was very hot. But I did my 10 lengths and a few exercises and then found a shower. Then back to the room for a coffee and a bite of breakfast there.
We then went out and stopped at Villaviciosa, a cider producing town. We walked around this without finding much evidence of cider, but there was a Botero like sculpture of a hat with apples in. We went into the market which was mainly empty but still had fish, meat and a few vegetables around the outside part of it, but the central portrait portion of this covered market was empty. Perhaps there is a larger market there one or two days a week. We then went on to Tazone‘s, supposedly a quaint fishing village, but we were unable to find anywhere to park near the village so had to give up.
In the afternoon we drove to Lastres, a coastal village only 2 km from the hotel. Here we parked in a field on the outskirts and walked into the town and down the steep slope to the harbour and the beach. Then back up some steep stairs and more slopes to get back to the car.
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| The Botero like Statue | Lastres | The boys enjoy a cider |
Once back at the hotel, we enjoyed another coffee and spent the afternoon reading. At 6 pm. I had a siesta ready for our dinner in the restaurant at eight. Just before dinner we investigated the spa lawn where the eclipse viewing was going to take place the following night and found that this gave as good a view of the eclipse as the view from the other lawn that we had inspected the previous night.
There was no tasting menu in the restaurant but we thoroughly enjoyed our meal of a shared portion of artichokes with a gorgeous sauce. Then I had hake and David had a lamb stew, followed by a tasty brioche and yogurt ice cream dessert. This was accompanied by a bottle of local cider then a coffee before retiring into bed and once again forgetting to write this diary.
Wednesday Aug 12
I went for a swim at 9 am and then we had a coffee before going out by 10 to get to Playa de la Griega, a beach where there were dinosaur footprints fossilised in the rocks. Our visit was ruled by the time of low tide, and we had to be there before the 11 am low tide, the best time to see these footprints. Here again we had difficulty parking. But eventually found somewhere in the far side of the village. We had at least a kilometre walk back to the village and along the shoreline up some inclined paths above the beach. And from there we descended to the footprints.
They were discoverered in 1969 a geology student at the University of Oviedo. While spending his summer vacation near Colunga, he noticed unusual large depressions on the coastal rocks. These were later confirmed to be fossilized dinosaur tracks, known as ichnites. The tracks date back roughly 150 million years to the Upper Jurassic period and include some of the largest sauropod footprints ever found in the world.
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Then the long walk back to the car again and we set off for another town in the region called.Ribadesella, But here again it was absolutely impossible to park, and after sitting in a traffic jam 15 minutes we escaped back to the hotel.
Once back at the hotel, we walked to a nearby bar which we had seen when we had walked to the the Lighthouse a couple of days previously. We sat in the garden of the bar and enjoyed anchovies and a bottle of cider - very pleasant. Then an afternoon of reading and a snack in the room. At 7:30 pm. We went down to the spa lawn where they have put chairs for the eclipse viewing. Unfortunately it has been cloudy practically all day and we did not even get a gap in these clouds as the eclipse took place at 8:30 pm. We did however get the benefit of complete darkness during totality. There were about 30 people from the hotel out on the lawns, chairs were provided and several glasses of cava if required. We followed this by having octopus, in their outside bar area.
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| We sat on the hotel lawn, everyone expectant | The cava was ready | We were ready |
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| the boys were ready | But the sun was not ready. It was cloudy, so we could not see it | .....but it did go pitch dark |
Thursday Aug 13
After a really sleepless night, I surfaced by 9 o’clock and went for my swim which I enjoyed, very peaceful there first thing in the morning. We went out about 11 to find the UNESCO Church of San Salvador de Valdediós. But this took a lot of finding. It was a far side of Villavisiosa and the cars GPS only took us to the postcode . Once in the area we had to use the phone and initially it registered the wrong Iglesia to San Sebastian: there were four of them in the area. But the countryside was very interesting during this search for the church so we were quite happy: it was hilly and we saw fields with pastures and cattle and lots of grain stores. Eventually we got to the right church and this was within a kilometre of where we had been originally! We bought the senior citizens entrance ticket for €6 and this included a audio guide that worked remarkably well.
It was a really magnificent site. It had been the home of Alfonso the third of Asturias around the year 900. It became a monastery in the 16th century. Today there was also a hostel which was used for pilgrims walking the Camino de Santiago between the months of May and October.
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Returned to the hotel soon after 2 pm, we discovered that our room had not been done and even once it was done there were still only four coffee capsules. In the early evening we bumped into the manager who confirmed that he was really short staffed and had to hire chambermaids from Madrid. We read for awhile in the room and downstairs. Later we went out to Lastres again and to see their mirador We parked in the same car park and walked r 800 m to the mirador. There was indeed a great view over Lastres and is harbour.
We then looked for a bun shop but of bun shops there were none. By this time the sun had come out again and there would have been a decent eclipse if it were to have been on this day.
We went down to the outdoor bar area around 8 pm and thoroughly enjoyed a very good hamburger between us although the chips were not up to scratch. Then a creme brûlée, which was also very good, before going back and enjoying another cup of coffee.
Friday Aug 14
A peaceful swim at 9 am in the indoor pool with underfloor heating, which in the end I came to quite like although the views were not anywhere near spectacular. But I was usually all alone and this morning there was peaceful classical music too then a quick sauna before coming up for a coffee.
We went out around 11 and went to the Jurassic Dinosaur museum a few miles along the coast, this turned out to be a really huge concern with a enormous highway built specially for it, of at least a mile long and wider than any other road in the area, other than the motorways. There were many statues of dinosaurs in the grounds and then the entrance was under €5 which we thought was very reasonable. We did not really learn a terrific lot about dinosaurs other than that they were very many different types of them and they did not all live at once and that they had been wiped out by volcanic activity that had stopped the sun getting through the atmosphere for several years.
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After this, we headed to the beach at Faille, On the other side of the estuary to Tazone. Here there was plenty of parking , with boardwalks leading to the beach We had a pleasant stroll both along the boardwalks and the beach itself for 40 minutes or so. Then we indulged in fruit smoothies and a portion of ham croquettes: the former were really good.
Back at the hotel around 3 pm we were astounded to find the room had yet again not being made up during our absence. We had a long chat with the hotel office manager, no duty manager being present for the day. At 5 pm, we went out again and parked near the lighthouse and went for a walk down a track that we had discovered on Monday but this time with me wearing trainers and carrying my stick: even so it was quite difficult for me. There were several people camping down there.
The dinner at 8 pm was not as good as Tuesday night’s dinner but enjoyable all the same there office manager came and chatted to us and then informed us that they were donating Tuesday night‘s dinner to us due to all the problems we had had!
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The Beach at Faillle |
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| The track below the lighthouse |
Saturday Aug 15
My early morning swim was not quite as successful as the other mornings, as not only did the pool not open till almost 09.10, but also only then after another guest had been to report the non opening to reception. Once open there were two other splashy swimmers in with me and there was no music. Then a coffee before setting off just after 10 am. for Condom in France