Archez - a lovely village in the Axarquia

Going back to the bog with the Eyes on the Bog project which is being run by the IUCN National Committee on Peat Restoration, we thought about the wonderful trip to Asturias we did in 2021.  I stayed in a little hamlet called Nubledo.  It was very rural, but the trains were great, and the bus trip from Oviedo was beautiful.  I was aware of the peat banks at Cudillero which were on the coast and I was interested in how they fared in the different air than at Dunnet Head on the most northerly point of  Scotland.  However, the trip was somewhat tortuous, although the countryside is beautiful.  Cudillero itself is a bustling town, and not quite what I expected. The bus journey was interesting. It is only 43km from Nubledo to Cudillero but buses were few.  It was a holiday, and the town was very busy, and it was impossible to get anything to eat.  The day was glorious though, and I decided to walk out to the peat banks.  It turned out to be a lot further than I thought and I knew I had to be back at Cudillero by 18:00 for the last bus back to Aviles.  So, in fact, I never did get to actually see the peat bog at all.  I did though have some very interesting encounters with a donkey. 

It is a long time since I have written anything on here, so thought it was time.  It must be impossible to walk in the heat in Spain this year and some people  are probably praying for "winter" already.  However, will there ever be a winter as there was over 20 years ago when we used to sit on the balcony of our finca in Competa, drinking gin and tonic, even on Christmas Day. The weather has changed considerably since then, all over the world. The jury is out.  It is hot in those hills and although one can rest under the olive trees the sun soon shifts round so you are no longer in la sombra.  In any case, you are supposed to enjoying the glory of your surroundings and enjoying chatting to the local people, most of whom are probably hiding in their air conditioned fincas, these days.  Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun, or any time during day light at all really.  As the skies do not often darken in the summer, unless there is a storm.