Spain: Oviedo

San Isidoro el Real

"La Lechera" (The Milkmaid)

Oviedo Cathedral. August 2017

The strongest memory I have of Oviedo is the arrival from Lisbon. Portugal had been hot with brilliant sunshine. I arrived to a much cooler and cloudy Oviedo (via a budget carrier like Ryan Air - can't recall - the flight was ridiculously cheap). The plane entering a cloud bank after flying through bright sunshine right until the last minutes of the flight. It was like traveling to another world.

After I got into the city from the airport (by bus) and situated in the hotel, I set out to explore (and also bundled up relatively speaking - it was cold). I knew next to nothing about the city except that it was in the north of Spain and that was a region I wanted to explore. While Lisbon had been awash in tourists, Oviedo had almost none. Although important historically with a lovely old center, the city does not figure on many people's itineraries. In spite of the cloudy, damp weather, I loved walking around the old town. Perhaps it felt refreshing after the punishing heat of Lisbon.

Oviedo is unique in Spain because it does not have Roman nor even Visigothic roots. Oviedo dates to the 8th century where it was purposely set up to counter the Moors by the last remaining Christian kings of the north coast (an area the Moors felt was poor, hard to reach, and not worth conquering). Oviedo's old town is largely original and its heritage buildings sometimes date from the 8th century although most are of medieval construction. Most importantly, Oviedo "felt" different from every other place I had visited in Spain. The architecture was different, the food was different, and the overall feel was "un-Spanish". I liked it.

I kept thinking: it was from lowly Asturias (Oviedo being the center) that the "reconquista" of Spain started. Given that I was living in Saudi Arabia at the time, I was greatly interested in who those people were that finally managed to wrest control of Spain from the Moors. Oviedo also made for a great place to make day trips to places along the coast. In short, I felt happy and satisfied that a city, about which I knew nothing and had chosen based on a cheap plane ticket, ended up being such a great destination.

Another strong memory is entering the cathedral (parts of it are extremely old). I tried to visit on my first walkabout only to find it has a steep entrance fee. I decided to put it off until later. As luck would have it, I woke up early one morning for a stroll and the cathedral was open to "anyone" (the ticket office was closed). I very tentatively explored the interior (I shouldn't have worried - only very old parishioners were there). Locals were praying inside. My visit on the down low was just dumb luck.

Oviedo remains one of the most unique cities I visited in Spain mainly because it is so unlike the rest of the country. Of course it has things that all Spanish cities do - a big cathedral, a main plaza, lovely old buildings - but there is a quality to the place that is different. Asturias is NOT Castille or Aragon - it is Asturias.

I set off to explore the coast the next day - the Costa Verde. It is green for a reason - a lot of rain. I soon experienced that directly.