Second Excursion

This past weekend we went on our second group excursion to Covadonga, Los Lagos, and Ribasedella. 

Our first stop was Covadonga, which is the evolved version of "Cueva De Doña" or lady of the cave (pretty sure that's what he said). Covadonga is located in the Picos de Europa, a large mountain range in the Asturias region. It was a pretty steep and winding climb for a tour bus! The first sight on the way to the top is the cave with a church built into the rocks above it:

There was a service going on in the church. The pews are outdoors. 

According to the locals, if you drink from each of the seven streams in this fountain, you will be blessed with marriage within the next year

Magical love fountain

Little waterfall

View from the fountain

 It was a little cloudy and rainy (of course), but such a beautiful place! and VERY popular. There were tons of tour groups there. As you drive up the winding road, you can catch glimpses of the beautiful basilica built at the top:

Bad light for photos :(

Once we reached the top, we got to go inside the basilica and get a great view of the surroundings from the top of the hill 

Someone said their host parents got married here. How cool would that be

Beautiful interior

I wish we could have stayed longer, but it was getting a little foggy and we still wanted to see the lakes even higher in the mountains. It turned out to be A LOT foggy and the road was barely bid enough for a huge tour bus. Problem was, there were tons of them coming down. Blind corners, steep drops + no rails, tiny roads, and limited visibility. Scariest ride of my life... We ended up surviving, with only a little motion sickness. Too bad you could only see about 10 feet in all directions! 

There's supposedly a lake behind us...

Even though we didn't get to see any lakes, I kind of liked the walk in the fog :) After the less harrowing trip down the mountain, our next stop was Ribasedella, a small fishing town on the coast. 

Little boats (and big boats) everywhere

Picturesque! 

Bridge to an island in the inlet

La Playa

It was a little too cold for the beach and the caves were closed for lunch (wth right! Everything closes for at least two hours for lunch in Spain. Even grocery stores.), so we just walked around, saw what there was to see, and tried some excellent crab :) Pretty good day! Next weekend: I'm headed to Barcelona for some more Gaudi!