Asturias, the bio-region
Officially the Principality of Asturias (Spanish: Principado de Asturias; Asturian: Principáu d’Asturies), is an autonomous community in north-west Spain; bordered by Cantabria to the east, by Castilla y León to the south, by Galicia to the west, and by the Cantabrian sea to the north. The Cantabrian Mountains (Cordillera Cantábrica) form Asturias’s natural border with the province of León to the south. In the eastern range, the Picos de Europa National Park contains the highest mountains, rising to 2,648 metres.
The biggest cities are Oviedo (Uviéu), Gijón (Xixón), and Avilés.
Asturias has been inhabited by Homo erectus, Neanderthals and finally by modern humans, since the Lower Paleolithic era.
The key features of Asturian geography are its rugged coastal cliffs and the mountainous interior. The climate of Asturias, as with the rest of northwest Spain, is more varied than that of southern parts of the country. Summers are generally humid and warm with considerable sunshine but also some rain. Winters are cold with some very cold snaps. The cold is especially felt in the mountains, where snow is present from October till May. Both rain and snow are regular weather features of Asturian winters. In coastal or near-coastal areas, daytime high temperatures generally average around 12 °C (54 °F) – 13 °C (55 °F) during winter and 22 °C (72 °F) – 23 °C (73 °F) in summer.
La Ventuca de Coya, the venue
La Ventuca de Coya, is a traditional Palacio de Indianos, “Indiano’s” was the colloquial name of Spanish immigrants in America who returned rich and built big houses back home. The recent owners are a retired elder couple who have been very active along the years in alternative health practices, learning courses & taking care of their home.
It’s a three-storey building with a homely atmosphere, located in a village called Coya in the municipality of Piloña. Sleeping takes place in shared Rooms for 4 and in a few rooms for 2. All with cotton linens. The place has two diaphanous wooden workrooms of 30 m2 and 120 m2 and a dining room with large windows and beautiful mountain views, and of course a simple but beautiful garden and terrace surrounded by forests, meadows & farms.
HOW TO GET HERE
Your mission is to get to Infiesto, were we will pick you up by taxi to bring you to the venue.
– You can come by bus (check ALSA) or Train
– You can come by plane to
- Asturias (Oviedo) airport (2h bus away) From Asturias airport you have to go to Oviedo, there are buses and trains from
there to Infiesto. Both stations are on the same high street. *** Just ask*** - Santander airport (3h bus away) From Santander airport, there are only 2 or 3 buses (or trains) a day to Infiesto (final destination Oviedo)
- Madrid airport (5 hours train away + bus) *Sometimes the best and cheapest option is to catch a cheap flight to Madrid and come by train . It is a beautiful train and you will see many different Spanish landscapes.
*Suggestions*
For Portuguese participants there are direct flights from Lisbon to Asturias with TAP.
For Italians and Belgium participants there are direct flights from Rome (Ciampino) and Milan (Bergamo) or Brussels (Charleroi) to Santander with Ryanair.
For the rest of the countries, there are connections via:
– London Standsted to Asturias Airport (Easyjet) or Santander Airport (Ryanair).
– Lisbon (TAP airlines) to Asturias Airport.
– And more expensive options via Barcelona (Vueling.com) to Asturias.
*IMPORTANT REMINDER*
In all the cases bear in mind that the last connection you can take is:
From Santander Airport CATCH THIS BUS at 15.10 passing through Santander at 15.30 and arriving at Infiesto at 18.00
From Oviedo CATCH THIS TRAIN 16.30 arriving at Infiesto at 17.25.
From Infiesto you can take a taxi together (5 min).
Please try to arrive to the venue place from 15:30 till 18.30 p.m on the arrival day, the 16th.
On the departure day, avoid if possible, flights earlier than 11.00 a.m (flying from Asturias
airport) or earlier than 14.30 a.m ( if you fly from Santander), so you can have enough time
to get there by bus.
