To Asturias to try and escape the heat, political turmoil in the UK and in Spain, bathing in Poó Beach, meeting up with Kathy and Phil, double earthquake in Venezuela and Olivia has been sent there, visiting Comillas, and other stories of the week.

El Cuetu de Meré, (Llanes) Asturias, Sunday 28th June, 2026

With Kathy and Phil on  Monday in San Vicente de la Barquera, a pretty coastal town in Cantabria

 

Hi everyone from El Cuetu in Asturias on our last morning here. My father always said "all good things come to an end" and he was right.

We came here last Sunday to try and escape the heat of Madrid but that turned out to be only partial. OMG how hot it has been in Spain this week including the north coast which is usually so much cooler. In Spain we are used to extreme heat but not so early in the summer. It seems to me that it gets hotter every year. In the UK they are also having a heatwave which is unusual. When I lived in the UK I well remember the famous heatwave of all time, the one of 1976.  It lasted on and off from June to August and was the hottest I had ever known it. At home we spent a lot of time in the garden sunbathing and cooling down using a hose pipe. I must dig out photos of that period.  On the bright side here this has meant we were able to bathe in the sea for 3 days running something practically unheard of in Asturias.

Politically, this week has been a total turmoil. Kier Starmer, after much pressure from the Labour Party decided to resign. It looks like he will be replaced by the Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham.  In the UK he will be the 7th PM in a decade which says a lot. Starmer resigned when things got tough. Meanwhile, the Spanish Premiere, Pedro Sánchez, is dug in, refusing to step down even as his administration is hit by one corruption case after another. This week his wife Begoña was ordered by the judge to give in her passport and his right hand man, Abalos and his subordinate, Koldo, were sentenced to jail for 24 and 19 years respectively. Sánchez, meanwhile, posted a video on TikTok about the heatwave. He should take a leaf out of Starmer's book, resign and call elections now!

This week too marked 10 years since the Brexit referendum. Since the vote to leave, I had to apply for Spanish nationality in order to regain European citizenship. I have lived in Spain since 1981 and am married to a Spaniard and thanks to Brexit we would not be allowed to retire in the UK. Plus, although, being British born I didn't get a say and could not vote as I had lived outside the country for more than 15 years. I often wonder if Brits in my situation had been allowed to vote, maybe the outcome would have been different. On 23rd June, 10 years ago, I cried. My father, who was 97 and living with us was appalled. He fought in the Royal Navy  in WW2 for peace and unity in Europe. Brexit made everything he did lose its value. Enough said because this issue makes my blood boil. 

Enough of politics too and back to our journey to Asturias which was so pleasant in the new car. It was Sunday 21st June and the summer solstice. We stopped for a picnic in Alar del Rei, a pretty village by the River Pisuerga in the province of Palencia. Here is Eladio enjoying our lunch outdoors.

Picnic in Alar del Rei on our way here last Sunday

We couldn't believe how hot it was in the village - 35ºc - when we arrived. Thankfully, the house was cool. After settling in, we watched Spain beat Saudi Araba 4-0. It was too hot for wine and pistachios on the terrace even at 10 p.m. Imagine. We arrived to no Internet which made me cross as we pay a monthly fee yet hardly ever use it and when we did it failed. The provider is my previous employer, Adamo and I have to say they responded fantastically and came the next morning to fix it.

On Monday morning I woke up to find the Nespresso machine didn't work either and had to resort to decaf tea, a very poor substitute. If you know me, you will know I need my morning coffee to function. Thus we drove to Posada for me to have a coffee in the bar. I immediately ordered a new machine from Amazon which arrived on Wednesday and meanwhile bought filtered coffee for my breakfasts. We had to come home for the Adamo man. Only after that were we free to go to one of my favourite places here, Poó Beach. I know it has a funny name but there is nothing funny about it. It's lovely and more like a lagoon and very safe to bathe in.

We are spoiled for a choice of beaches in the Llanes area but for me Poó beach takes the biscuit. Let me tell you why. It is a unique sheltered beach famous for its funnel shape and is actually a small estuary.  At high tide it becomes like a lagoon with no waves. At low tide the water recedes and becomes a wide open area of sand with water to paddle in  or walk in until the still water reaches your waist.  At low tide you can walk to the end of the estuary and think you were somewhere in Costa Rica. Surrounded by lush green cliffs and fields and its views of the Picos de Europa mountains make it a magical place. So  I was determined to get my first swim in the sea this year in Poó.

Bathing in Poó beach on Monday. 

We couldn't stay long though as we had a lunch appointment with our dear friends Kathy and Phil who were camping in their van, Vera, in San Vicente de la Barquera. This pretty coastal town is actually in Cantabria but is a 25 minute drive from Poó. We got a bit lost but made it and picked up our friends whom we had last seen in Keighley not so long ago. It was great to be reunited in Spain. I had booked a table at a restaurant called Boga Boga which AI told me was the best but I'm not so sure. The best thing was that it was nice and cool inside. No way could we have eaten outside because of the heat. Later we went for a walk around the harbour and had our photos taken by a Portuguese couple with whom I practiced my rusty Portuguese. I have chosen one of them as this week's feature photo. Here is another, this time with Kathy and me by the same sign.

Kathy and me in San Vicente on Monday

I got a marvellous ice cream I shared with Eladio and then did a bit of shopping in my favourite gourmet store in the area; Aramburu. I bought eggs, meat pie, chorizo and other local produce to consume here and take home for the girls.

I was keen to see the campsite in San Vicente where we drove our friends back. I used to camp with the Girl Guides and even with Eladio when we first met.  I think in another life I would like to have had a camper van. 

Lovely to see Phil and Kath in their natural habitat, on the road in Europe with their camper van. They are very organised. 

We left our friends to set up their camping space and drove back stopping at Posada at the ironmongers where we go to so often. Eladio needed tools for weeding and that is what he did when we got home. There was a lot to do and he also needed to revive the geraniums and hydrangeas to make the terrace look more welcoming.

Eladio sprucing up the terrace

Hydrangeas often grow wild in this area, well, in the whole of the north coast and never need any sprucing. Just look at this lovely bush growing wild near our terrace which I wish was ours.

Beautiful blue hydrangeas growing wild on their own at the back of our house

We had a little siesta too and on Monday we were able to have a drink on the terrace - our wine and pistachio moment; so important to us.

On Tuesday the awful 10th anniversary of Brexit, I refused to be upset and to enjoy our time here. We had come to spruce up the house, garage and terraces and prepare it for the influx of guests in July and August but we had also come to enjoy ourselves. 

Tuesday was another beach day and off we went to the Playa de Poó again where I got a bit burnt, despite lathering myself with sunscreen. It was hot again but Eladio did not go in the water. I did, of course. He sat reading the news on his phone. He is immersed these days in Spanish politics and follows the horrible corruption cases very closely. His favourite topic is the Zapatero story,  Spain's former left wing PM who is also embroiled in money making scandals. It may be the human condition to be greedy but honestly I ask myself didn't this man and many like him, already have enough with a life stipend and pedigree of being a former Prime Minister? Did he really need more? No, he was just greedy. I should add a greedy socialist which doesn't add up does it? Anyway, this is Eladio on Poó beach that morning.

Our spot on Poó beach on Tuesday morning

We came home at around  1.30 and I had a wonderful shower followed by a simple lunch in our little kitchen.

On Wednesday we went to Poó Beach for the third day in a row. I enjoyed my swim, our walk to the end of the estuary and a coffee at the Farola del Mar hotel with the most wonderful view.

Coffee with a view on Poó Beach on Wednesday

This time, and finally, Eladio took the plunge and really enjoyed his bathe. 

It might have been the sun and the heat but I managed two siestas that afternoon with which I caught up on a lot of needed sleep. There was a thunderstorm in the early evening which cooled the atmosphere. At last the extreme heat had gone. I had a pleasant catch up with my neighbour Loli on our terrace that evening before dinner. She is a lovely woman who takes care of our house so well. It is not her job to do so but she always looks out for us. 

On Thursday we woke up to the terrible news of a double earthquake - i.e. one after the other, that hit parts of the capital city Caracas. As if Venezuela didn't already have enough woes, an earthquake had to happen and make life even worse. The country is not equipped to deal with a disaster of this magnitude and so of course help has come from abroad but too late in many cases. The death toll rises every day and all those thousands of people missing can only be dead under the rubble which once were their homes. How long will it take for them to be rebuilt? Who will know much more is our daughter Olivia who was sent there yesterday evening for her programme, La Hora de la 1 on TVE1. She herself was only told on Saturday and had little time to prepare and was a little worried as her voice had gone. We are immensely proud of her for being chosen to cover this dramatic story on TV and wish her all the luck. As far as I know she joined a flight organised by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs as there are no commercial flights after the earthquake. We later heard she boarded a plane jointly organised by Repsol (providing logistics) and Iberia (providing the plane and crew). Apart from rescue people and 9 dogs, only authorised RTVE journalist were on board. The flight was to Valencia about 200km from Caracas from where they will have to travel by land to the capital this morning. This is her with the blue cap, boarding with her companion Sagrario who was formerly the correspondent in Cuba and Argentina; good company.

Oli boarding the special  flight to Venezuela yesterday evening. 

We will be following her movements with great anticipation. 

We didn't go to Poó that day.  As it was much cooler - it went down from about 35c to 20ºc that day, so we decided to do something different. We went to the coastal town of Comillas, not far from San Vicente. It is famous for its University (now in Madrid) and before that for its Seminary for aspiring priests, like my husband's brother, Toño. But it is also famous for one of the few Gaudí buildings outside Catalonia, the "Capricho (or whim) de Gaudí". It is one of his earliest works and is a marvel of a building with so much imagination. It was commissioned by  a wealthy lawyer, Máximo Díaz de Quijano who made his fortune in Cuba; thus an "indiano". Sadly, he only lived one week in the Palace before he died. Quijano loved music and botany and invited Gaudí to create a "bachelor" pad reflecting his passions. He also wanted to outwit his brother in law, the Marques of Comillas by building an eye catching, colourful and exuberant house or palace, compared to the Marques' more traditional Neo Gothic one. The local population were shocked when it was built in the 1880s. Its green and yellow sunflower tiles, together with red bricks and a Persian minaret were seen as a scandalous showing of wealth and flashy taste. Today it is viewed as a marvel and I agree.

So let me show you some of my photos of that fascinating visit and of that vibrant modernist villa, a real Gaudi "caprice" or capricho as it is called in Spanish. 

Gaudi's capricho palace in Comillas

After a long and rewarding visit, we walked to the Palace of Sobrellano, next door but entered it from the gardens from where there is a great view of the old Seminary turned University and built by the Marques of Comillas for poor pupils to become priests. Very noble of him. I took a photo of Eladio with the view in the background for him to send to his brother, who, by the way, although he had lived for a while in Comillas  never visited the  Guadi Capricho house. 

Eladio in Comillas with the old Seminary in the background

If I loved the Gaudi Palace I did not like the Marques' palace at all. It is very ugly. This is it.

The Palace of the Marques of Comillas is so ugly compared to the Gaudi Capricho

From there we walked back into the centre of the town which also deserves a mention for its beautiful Cantabrian architecture. Here is a picture of one of the squares where I had a coffee before the cultural visits.

Typical Cantabrian architecture can be seen everywhere in Comillas

It makes sense that the people of Comillas found Gaudi's palace an eyesore at the time compared to the architecture of the area, so typical of Santander. I love them both. 

We had booked a table for lunch at a restaurant once recommended to me by my friend Gerardo who knows the area very well. Called Ciclo en Ruente it is in the small Cantabrian village of Ruente, not far from Comillas on a lovely mountain road. We loved the village, the restaurant and the food. Here are some pics to remember that day.

We loved our lunch in Ruente (Santander)

On our way back on the fantastic A8 motorway that stretches along the whole of the northern coast from Galicia to the Basque Country, there was a torrential rain storm which cooled the air of course but was a bit frightening. Our car behaved wonderfully. The windscreen wiper is automatic, thank goodness as we haven't worked out yet where the button is on the steering wheel. Eladio has been reading the manual poor guy and honestly we could do with a one week intensive course to find out all the car can do which is a lot.

We came home to a much cooler village but later the sun came out and I was able to have my weekly Facetime call with Amanda outside under the parasol. We spoke for 2 hours at least and then were joined by Eladio and Andy. We laughed a lot which did us all a lot of good. Later came wine and pistachio time followed by a small dinner. 

Friday dawned and I was up at 6.30. That morning I bought our tickets to Bristol in September and then spent some time looking for accommodation, helped by Amanda and Andy bless them.  They went personally too see the places we had found online. I took my weekly dose of Mounjaro or rather injected it which is very easy. I then did some washing and thanks to Eladio we were able to open the washing machines when the cycle finished. I may be good with phones and televisions but often washing machines stump me. That's probably because I hardly ever use them haha.

The sun came out and it was a very warm day with temperatures reaching 26ºc, much nicer than 35ºc I have to say. That day we drove to Posada to get some fruit and visit the Friday market which is nothing to write home about. From there we drove to Llanes, our nearest big town and the nicest in the area. This was the Sablón beach which we saw after parking; full of people.

The Sablón beach in Llanes

We hadn't been to Llanes since September last year nd it was good to be back. We headed straight for our favourite bar, La Galerna, for my morning coffee. That is another of my happy places and here I am enjoying my coffee.

Coffee at La Galerna in Llanes

We sat and enjoyed the atmosphere for a while after which we walked back to the Sablón beach and up the rugged stone steps to the San Pedro walkway along the top of the town with great views. But it was hot and we didn't walk to the end. Here are some pictures of that beautiful but too hot a walk on Friday.

Our walk on Friday along the Paseo de San Pedro which was too hot for our liking

So we skipped it and drove back to Posada. There we did the boring annual shop of all the products needed for our guests this summer; loo roll, bathroom and kitchen products. The list is endless and this shopping is always a bore and a pain but has to be done. 

I made steak and chips with a salad for lunch which had me feeling full until breakfast the next the day. The afternoon was quiet. I spent time sorting out stuff in the attic for the cleaner and then wrote much of this week's blog post. I also did some ironing of the clothes I had washed in the morning. I felt like a real housewife which I am not really. 

Saturday came and it was our last day here.  Spain had played Uruguay in their last knock out match at 2 am that night. They won 1-0 and are through to the last 16. Late that night England played Panama and beat them 2-1 and also goes through. 

We did go to the beach again but to a very special one, one of Loli's favourites and one I was keen to see. Called La Playa de la Canal - the Canal beach -  it gets its name from its shape rather like a canyon. The high rock walls that surround it make it look like a canal, hence the name.  It is really a rocky cove and a wonderful quirk of nature that turns it into a small lagoon with just one wave on the sand as the tide comes in. We had to drive to Villanueva de Pría, a tiny village full of houses decorated with wild hydrangeas, park where we could and walk about a kilometre to the cove. It was a hot day and we trudged along the path which didn't look as if it led anywhere until we had arrived. We had to walk over big stones to make our way to the sand and sea and this is the picture that greeted us.

Playa del Canal - see what I mean about it looking like a canyon

There were very few people there which was a blessing. This is rural northern Spain, not one of the Costas and there is a huge difference. We put our chairs on the sand. Here is Eladio posing for me in front of this spectacular cove with his hat on, refusing to go in the water.

Eladio sitting on the Playa del Canal yesterday morning

I did go in and loved it. In fact I went in twice. Eladio caught me on camera to prove I did

Me in the sea yesterday at the Playa del Canal

It was a wonderful place to be and one more to add to places to go in the area. As I said earlier we are spoiled for choice when it comes to beaches and other places too. I had tried to book a table at a restaurant in a nearby village but was not lucky. Thus we came home to make a simple meal of fried eggs, ham and rice followed by strawberries and cherries; not bad at all.

I managed a short siesta and woke up to another headache which would put paid to any wine on the terrace on our last evening in El Cuetu.

I didn't sleep well and wondered how Oli would sleep. I woke up at around 6.30 on Sunday morning to learn she had already landed and wondered how she and her team would make it to Caracas. I do hope she is not in any danger but then that is the nature of a correspondent but it will be very exciting for her.

Soon we will be leaving too so I must get on and make my breakfast and do our packing. I look forward to going home but not to the heat that is awaiting us.

That's it from me now for this week which has been most enjoyable.

Cheers for now, Masha