Our time in the northern town of Llanes has been filled with adventures, ranging from trekking to surfing and enjoying the company of local Spanish teens at traditional festivals.

Our first adventure took us to the Covadonga, a breathtaking national park with sparkling lakes, grazing animals, and hiking trails for miles. In addition to the natural wonders of Covadonga, students explored the first Spanish capital city, Cangas de Onis, and learned more about the Spanish reconquista through the sacred cave of Covadonga and its basilica. Students enjoyed traditional Asturian and Spanish cuisine afterward, including fabada, flan and arroz con leche.

Later in the day, we walked through a beautifully forested area to visit a local queseria and farm to learn about artisanal cheese-making and try a variety of goat and cow products ourselves! We met the hundreds of goats on the farm and enjoyed a lesson on the process of cheese and milk production. Even though students overall preferred the cheese made from cow milk, students enjoyed trying the strong-smelling and strong-tasting goat cheese as well.

The following day, we left land-bound activities for the sea to try our hand at surfing and stand-up paddle boarding! Preparing first on land, students practiced the 4-step surfing technique and then gave it a go in the water.

To finish off the spectacular day spent among the waves and sun, we ventured 30 minutes from Llanes to the town of Pancar to join in the celebration of El Festivo de San Pedro. Through asking locals of Pancar, students learned that El Festivo de San Pedro is the first big festival of the summer and that the neighboring towns all gather in Pancar to celebrate together. One of the most riveting parts of the celebration was when locals placed la joguera—an enormously tall tree—into a small river. Once that happened, suddenly the townspeople began to capture, drag, and throw their friends and family into the river too!

At the festival we also became friends with several Spanish teens. We loved getting to know them and learned so much about what it’s like to be a Spanish teenager in a small town like Pancar.

During our last night in Llanes, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at la Hacienda de Don Juan. Students continued to be curious about Spanish cuisine, diving into dishes featuring octopus, cachopo, and croquetas.

With all these fun and exciting memories we say goodbye Llanes and hello to our next stop, Fuente Dé!

— Katie & Desmond