A week in El Cuetu, Asturias for work and play, beautiful Llanes, Jadoua's story, Eladio's birthday, Póo Beach and other stories of the week.

 Madrid, 28th September, 2025

In Asturias this week - Playa de Póo

Good morning again, this time from home in Madrid. 

Last Sunday found us in our house in El Cuetu in Asturias. We went there to check on the house and sort it out after another summer of renting it on Booking and Airbnb. As you probably know we had a lot of  trouble with our last cleaner but thankfully found another one and mainly went to sort out the bed linen and many other little tasks that were needed.

We decided, however, to go into Llanes in the morning as rain was only forecast in the afternoon and we had to make the most of the sun. Asturias is an area where it rains a lot and the weather can change by the hour. So off we went to the pretty and rather posh seaside town of Llanes. There was no one on the Sablón beach near where we parked but I still took a photo as I love it. One day we must bathe there. 

Playa del Sablón, Llanes

Llanes was once a walled city in medieval times and there are remnants of the castle. The Asturian architecture is unique to the area but similar to the rest of the north coast, stone houses with beautiful balconies and windows often painted different colours. Add the sea and the surrounding mountains and you get one of the pretties towns in Spain.  Here are some examples.

Typical Asturian architecture in Llanes as seen last Sunday

We walked the pretty streets lined with interesting shops and lots of people and made our way to the main square which numerous period dramas have used in Spanish cinema. Called Plaza Parres Sobrino we always have coffee at a bar called La Galerna. And here I am having coffee there that day.

Coffee in Llanes last Sunday

Right opposite is the lovely gourmet food shop, Aramburu which I can never resist and last Sunday was no different. I got some of their cured beef (cecina), home made meat pie, fresh eggs and some chocolate biscuits. We would have some of that for dinner that night.

We came home for lunch and as soon as I had finished my meal, I set about tackling all the linen that was there and which we had brought. I spent a good 2.5h organising and counting towels and sheets. I didn't finish the job the end of our stay.  I was not born to be a housewife, I can tell you but no one else could have done the job.

Monday came and brought more rain. We spent part of the morning in Posada, our nearest town. There I got Eladio's birthday present, more sun glasses - I don't know what he does with them all. We also visited the excellent ironmongers which is a bit like I imagine Aladdin's cave is. They have literally everything and every time we go we always seem to need more things from Ferretería La Plaza. We had coffee of course and then did the dreaded food shopping which included lots of household and bathroom products for ourselves and future guests.  Coming home we felt like birds taking twigs to their nests. It's a bit similar I think. Eladio says we were playing at houses. The afternoon was spent counting more linen and I counted 29 bath towels - more than enough. I ordered lots of stuff from Amazon which was all delivered before we left. I did try to buy some of the items locally but couldn't get them so had to carry on feeding the beast. Bless my husband, Eladio, he did some sewing in the afternoon and mended a pillow case while I made some vegetable soup for our evening meal. I always know the summer is over when we start eating winter soups boohoo. 

We were so engrossed in our tasks that I, at least, didn't pay much attention to the news but of course read the headlines so followed the big UN General Assembly. Did you know that there are 193 member states? That's the whole world except for the Vatican City and Palestine. Palestine was much on the agenda this week and it was good to see Emanuel Macron recognise the state of Palestine, following in the footsteps of many other big countries. There are now 157 countries that recognise Palestine. But from recognition to reality there is a huge stretch because of the firm opposition of Israel and of course the mighty US, with Trump at the helm. Israel continues to annihilate the Gaza strip, killing up to a hundred people a day and a death toll of more than 56.000 since October 2023, nearly 2 years ago. Did you see the photo of a young boy carrying his toddler brother running away from the bombs? This is it.

A Picture says more than a thousand words. This photo embodies the suffering of the people of Gaza

It has stayed in my mind; the total determination of such a young boy  to save his baby sibling and their desperate circumstances. That makes counting towels a stupid task while people in Gaza lack all basic needs. I read that the boy's name is Jadoua and that he and his brother have been rescued by an Egyptian NGO.  I am glad to know the siblings and their family are safe. But what about all the other people suffering like them. When will they be rescued?  And where will they all go if Gaza is destroyed and becomes Trump's new building project which he plans to turn into a resort. The world looks on aghast and accuses Israel of Genocide but doesn't or can't do anything to stop it. Madness. 

I slept quite well in El Cuetu which I can't explain as the room is tiny compared to ours at home and I don't like the pillows but I got more shut eye than usual which is great. 

Tuesday came and it was Eladio's birthday. Is he really 81? He doesn't look it. We met when he was 35 and I was 23 and we have been together now for 45 years, half a lifetime. I gave him his glasses hahaha and we went out to lunch as you will read. Today we are celebrating it with the family and I am making fish and chips; everyone's favourite.

The rain went away and the sun came out just on time for my husband's birthday. We went into Llanes again where I had booked a table at El Mirador de Toró by the beach of the same name. We enjoyed the walk there and I had to have a photo of the birthday boy. Notice the typical Asturian architecture of the lovely houses in the background. If I had my life again I would love to have bought one of them but they probably pass from generation to generation and are never on sale.

The birthday boy in Llanes on Tuesday

For the record he is wearing one of his three Marks and Spencer long sleeved rugby shirts. This one is years old and still going strong. When Eladio was born in 1944 in rural and poor Montrondo, he had never heard of Marks and Spencer; of course not. 

And here is the Playa de Toró, the other beach in Llanes which I love too and hope one day to bathe in.

Playa de Toró, Llanes

The restaurant overlooks the beach and has stunning views. Here are some photos of the birthday lunch which was splendid, especially as it was washed down with local cider which we both love. We are not beer drinkers but do like the occasional cider, especially in Asturias.

Photos from Eladio's birthday lunch in Llanes 

Eladio chose a bisque soup and fabada (local bean stew) and I chose clams in garlic followed by a divine lobster salad which my husband admitted he should have ordered too.

We walked back by the port through the town to the car park enjoying the views and the sunshine. Here is another photo of the birthday boy and it's by the port, another lovely place to visit in Llanes, pronounced "yah . ness" with the stress on the first syllable and not "lanes" as in streets as an English lady in the village pronounced it. She had her first lesson in Spanish when I told her it was "yah - ness", hahaha.

Eladio by the port in Llanes on his birthday

That day Trump and many other world leaders were at the UN in New York. Would you believe that Macron got stuck in traffic as roads were blocked off by the Presidential motorcade. The French president got out of his car to talk to the NY Police and even rang Trump on his mobile. In the end the roads remained blocked and he had to walk 30 minutes to the French Embassy. Funny story eh? Even funnier but not nice is the story of what happened to Donald Trump when he entered the UN. The escalator got stuck and then the teleprompter did not work. He is now saying it was all part of a plan to sabotage his visit. Really? 

I don't know how they slept with all the world's woes on their shoulders, but I slept well again and woke up on Wednesday to another sunny day in El Cuetu.  I carried on my task of counting and sorting the sheets and I finished it. We didn't know how to store everything until Eladio came up with the brilliant idea of putting planks across chairs in the attic, storing the linen, etc in storage bags (thank you Amazon) and covering it all with a big sheet of plastic. This is what the attic looked like when we had finished.

This is how we have stored all the bedding, linen etc. 

I did an inventory and sent it to the new cleaner along with lots of instructions on how to prepare the house for guests. There are now 29 bath towels, 11 hand towels and 22 sets of bedding; again more than enough.  

Pleased with ourselves, we spent the rest of the morning enjoying Póo beach, that lovely fjord like cove surrounded by mountains near Llanes. We had coffee at La Farola del Mar with views of the dry beach as the tide is always out in the morning. This is another of my happy places and I have chosen one of the photos we took for this week's feature photo. Here are some more.

Views from La Farola del Mar on Póo Beach

Believe it or not some people were bathing and I met a group of people from Ireland who had swum in the sea. It was 19ºc so not warm enough for me but for the Irish it must be. 

We walked on the beach and then up to the cliffs, another happy place and took more photos.It is glorious up there and whoever comes with us to El Cuetu gets to see it too.

Views from the cliffs above Póo beach

We went home for lunch and spent part of the afternoon tackling the terrace - I cleaned all the outdoor furniture and covered it in the garage, Eladio did the weeding and pruned the plants. He also tackled the attic, the garage and the cupboard under the stairs; a job  we had never done since we bought the house 5 years ago. We chucked out so much junk and made two visits to the recycling centre in Póo. 

 I had a spare hour before dinner and went to see my neighbour Loli who used to clean the house before she got Parkinson's disease. She now has problems with the hip but is always in a good mood. We had a great chat together until it was time to say goodbye. Loli is a good neighbour and we are glad to have her looking out for us while we are not there. Gracias Loli!

On Thursday we spent part of the morning in Posada where I had my coffee that day in the sun. We made purchases at the ironmonger; this time a new parasol for the terrace and a portable barbecue. We took the old parasol to the recycling centre and we gave the iron barbecue to a rag and bone man who just happened to be passing. 

By the end of the day we had finished nearly all the jobs we had come to do. Next time we have to paint the radiators and no doubt there will be other tasks. We both spoke about keeping on the house or selling it with all the work it entails but we wouldn't know what to do with the money as we are not savvy about investing it in financial products. It all seems so risky to me. The house in Asturias and the apartment in Santa Pola might be hard work but they are also a modest investment and places we can stay  whenever we feel like it. We are blessed in that way. 

Friday came and just before we left, Héctor, my handyman from a nearby village, came to mend two of the blinds. Only when he finished his job could we leave for Madrid. Its a long journey home - 506km but it's all motorway. Just before we left, I took the last of the rubbish to the container up the road and while doing so spied snow on the mountains - the Peaks of Europe, or in Spanish "Los Picos de Europa" - with mountains around 2.500m high.  Until then I didn't realise we could actually see them from El Cuetu but we can. They are only 14km away. People love the location of our house because it is equidistant from the beautiful beaches of the Llanes are and the Peaks of Europe. It seems the snow came early this year. Just look.

The snow capped mountains of the Picos de Europa as seen from El Cuetu on Friday morning before we left. 

And here is my last photo of our trip. It is a view of our house from the top of the road. Notice the granery (hórreo) on one side and the pile of logs on the other and our house in the middle. 

La Casa del Cuetu - our house at the end of the road. 

We must have set off at around 10.30. Our first stop was for my coffee which when we are on the road is always accompanied by toast and butter, a treat for me which I love. I think toast and butter is the most delicious food which I don't usually eat for obvious reasons - my figure, hahaha. I'm quite happy at the moment with my figure, or rather my weight - my figure is awful - as I can get into lots of clothes and don't look fat at all. Thank you Mounjaro. You are the best thing since sliced bread, hahaha. 

The other stop was for lunch at Asador Siboney in the medieval town of Arévalo in the province of Segovia. We both had roast suckling lamb. Sorry if you are anti meat eaters but I love my meat, especially lamb. This was it. Divine again.

Roast suckling lamb for lunch in Arévalo on our way home on Friday 

We arrived home in the middle of the afternoon to much warmer weather. If it was 20ºc in El Cuetu it was 26ª at home. It was lovely to see Suzy and Pippa of course. I had missed them both. Suzy had been well accompanied for a few days by her bosom friend Copi and they had actually had a party at home in our absence. That was good to hear. It was not good to hear that my daughter was still feeling so depressed. She describes it as having "anhedonia" - a state where you feel no joy. She also has acute stress and missed both choir and her singing lessons while we were away. I hope she goes to her choir rehearsal today. How I long to see a smile on her face. She still thinks she has ADHD on top of everything else but to really know we need a diagnosis. It's so frustrating not being able to help and  of course I felt guilty for being away. 

Yesterday, Saturday was our first full day home and we resumed our daily walks. After our long journey I didn't want to go anywhere and just to chill out at home. The house was full of guests but none of them seem to use the kitchen so we hardly saw them. Thanks to them we can live in this splendid house. 

And today is Sunday and we shall be seeing our grandchildren for Eladio's birthday lunch. I look forward to that but must get on with the preparations. So I shall love you and leave you until next week.

Cheers once more,

Masha