DESCENT OF THE RIVER SELLA FOR THE DISABLED

Río SellaThis has nothing to do with the famous International Descent of the River Sella. Although part of the route is the same, this descent is a pioneer event in Spain for canoeing, adapted for people that have physical disabilities and which is celebratd every year on the Sunday before the International Descent of the River Sella takes place.

The route is 15km long and starts at the Escuela Asturiana de Piragüismo (Asturian Canoeing School), and ends in Llovio (Ribadesella) under the bridge of FEVE.

The first part of the route of 10km, which is not part of the race, serves as a warm-up and which participants can enjoy this wonderful river. After they regroup and rest, the canoeists have to race the last 5km, each fighting to reach the goal they have set themselves before they set off from home; after all, it’s all about having fun and finishing the route whenever they do, but definitely reaching the finish line. The slogan says it all: GANA QUIEN BAJA (you’re the winner if you descend the river).

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MOUNTAIN BIKE ROUTE – MONTES DEL SELLA

Cuevona de Cuevas del AguaAsturias is well-known for its wealth in: history, culture, gastronomy… But one of its main strengths lies in its natural surroundings, which attracts an endless number of tourists throughout the year that look forward to enjoy it.

There are many ways you can enjoy the country-side of this region: hill walking, rock climbing, mountian biking…

This time, we shall enjoy this acclaimed tourist attraction by mountain bike as we ride a 60km route that runs through the municipalities of: Ribadesella, Parres and Caravia. You can also walk it, but in which case you will have to split it into two days, at least.

This route was designed by the Bike Maratón Montes del Sella mountain bike group, who celebrated their second marathon on 10 April 2011 with approximately 600 participants.

II Bike Maraton Montes del SellaAs I have only done this route once – on the day of the Bike Marathon – I’ll tell you about my experience. But first, I should mention that part of this competition ran through private property, so I shall mark an alternative for you on the map so you don’t pass through there.

At Playa de Ribadesella, a charming fishing village in east Asturias, we set off towards Cuevas del Agua; passing alongside the famous Cave of Tito Bustilloand crossing through the enchanting cavern of La Cuevona de Cuevas del Agua, which was lit all through the cavern with candles, expressly for the II Bike Maratón Montes del Sella and which left us with goose-pimps – such a captivating image it was.

Once at Cuevas, we advanced along a track to the private property I mentioned above – to avoid it you would have to continue along the main road for a while. As we ascended Cuevas to the road, we were privileged to see some spectacular views over the River Sella and the surrounding hillside.

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Mountain Bike Route: Infiesto – Covadonga

Ruta en bicicleta de montaña desde Infiesto hasta Covadonga por el Camino de la Reina.

Ciclistas esperando por el trenIt is undoubtedly a very pretty and entertaining route, perhaps a little long… but it is worth the effort.

It runs along the Camino de la Reina, (the Queen’s Way), which by-the-way, is properly indicated and is of a medium-low difficulty which means it is apt for everybody (if you want to walk it, I recommend you split it up into two days, as it’s approximately 40 Km).

At 9.45am on the 13th of February 2011, I met up with some friends at the FEVE train station at Arriondas, with the idea of taking the train to Infiesto (capital of the municipality of Piloña), where we would begin our excursion.Ciclistas en el tren

We went aboard, taking up almost an entire waggon. In Sevares, another group of cyclists got on who were heading for the same place. Once in Infiesto, we saw that we were quite a good number of sportsmen and there were still more to arrive.

At 10am, now a group of approximately 50 people, we got on our bikes and set off towards Covadonga; it’s cold and it looks like rain, but we are very keen to do the route.

After passing Cardes, Valle (charming little villages), La Revoria, Lledó and El Perón, we arrived at Villamayor, the first point where we regrouped and took a break.

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TRADITIONS: THE NATIVITY SCENE OF CUMBRES

Picu PienzuIt has been a while since I last wrote about a traditional custom, so here is one that has been around for quite some time and takes place now during this festive season: “The Nativity Scene of Cumbres”.

It’s a long-standing tradition that almost all mountaineering groups share and which is carried out during Christmas.Belén de Cumbres Tandem Sport

As its name suggests, the Nativity Scene of Cumbres, involves the group climbing up a mountain and placing the nativity scene in a place at the top of the mountain. The norm is that each mountaineering group has a favourite peak to take the nativity scene to, which means that you will very likely see numerous nativity scenes in dotted around different massifs.

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NATURE: THE SIERRA DEL SUEVE (THE SUEVE MOUNTAINS).

The Sierra del Sueve is found between the municipalities of: Piloña, Parres, Carávia y Colunga; which all belong to the Principality of Asturias.

The Sierra del Sueve is one of the limestone formations in Europe that is closest to the sea, and its highest summit is Pico Pienzu (1159m). Sailors tell that when they were some 10 miles from the coast they could see this sierra, which makes it an important landmark.

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