Oviedo
Friday, May 23, 2014
9:24 AM
Words couldn't describe my excitement when the plane landed in
Asturias and was greeted with the familiar surroundings of the airport I'd traveled to and from years ago. We were excited to have a more relaxing time where at least I was familiar with my surroundings and the people and that we could
if need be, communicate effectively in their language. I was getting excited to
see Cruz and Tino and kept stealing glances our the luggage claim to try and
spot them. For some reason Claire's luggage came in a different spot, so we
were freaking out that it had been lost.
After we had everything we headed out
and I immediately saw Cruz's head of think black curls. It was a joyous reunion
and things fell back into place in no time. In the car ride to her pueblo, she
caught me up on anything I'd missed with her, Tino, the family, and life in
Oviedo. I quickly realized I wasn't as sharp at my Spanish as I thought I had
been- but soon the fluent speech came back to effectively communicate. When we
got to her house in Llantrales Tino was waiting. It was so great to see them-
everything was exactly as it was. Tino was making fun of my accent and
recounting stories of when I'd studied abroad two years prior. After catching
up over tea and cookies, Claire and I desperately ran for the shower to freshen
up and start a load of laundry. The shower was hot and I was in a home. It was
the most comfortable and cleanest I'd felt all trip. I seriously felt like a
new person. After we got ready, Tino let us know that we were going to walk
with Nikita to Grado, a very close pueblo near Lllantrales where Cruz taught.
It was their graduation ceremony tonight and Cruz wanted us to hear the choir.
It was extremely entertaining- at this high school graduation there was a small
band that gave the exact vibe of school of rock. Claire and I nearly expected
Jack Black to come out behind the alter and steal the mike. In this tiny church
this band played and sang "Highway to Hell".. probably not the most
forthcoming graduation song, but it was great- especially because few of the kids spoke English. After this we went to a bar and
had a drink catching up further. We got a lesson in Spanish wines reminding us
that the two most famous were Ribera del Dueno, and Rioja. Tino started telling
his famous dirty jokes and in no time we were all laughing and having a blast.
After our drink we went back for dinner where Cruz prepared chicken and a
salad. This being the most well-rounded meal we'd had all trip, I ate like a
king it was simple, yet so satisfying. We had yogurt for dessert and spent time
talking about what we were going to do in the following days. I left it up to
them as my entire intention of the trip was to spend as much time as them as
possible. After dinner we watched TV together for awhile (usually what Cruz and
I would do in Oviedo if we ate a late dinner) then decided quickly we were far
too tired and went to bed.
The following morning we woke up mid-morning and made ourselves
some breakfast. Cruz was teaching and Tino was at an appointment. We sat around
eating and waking up until Tino came up and told us to change so that we could
go on a walk with Niki. We headed off in his van to a part of a trail called,
"Camino de Saintiago" which is very famous and well known in Spain
that takes a few weeks at least to completely walk in the country. It was a pretty
walk with many trails that faced the mountains and the river. We walked for a
long time, making a loop in a nearby town to stop and look at Roman ruins. Tino
pointed out bones and even a skull that had remained in the gated ruins for
forever. The weather wasn't the best, but we walked back anyway missing a
rain-storm right when we returned. As we returned we hung out while Tino and
Cruz prepared lunch- lomo, vegetables, and a salad. It was once again delicious.
I'd forgotten how great Cruz' cooking was, and even more so in the past week,
what a balanced meal and vegetables were. After this we cleaned up and got
ready to go on a trip to Aviles. One of the three towns that makes up the
Asturias region. The other one besides Oveido is Gijon, and I'd gone there
plenty when I had studied abroad. This town was the smallest and so cute! It
was near the coast and had a really pretty old part of town. It was chilly and
windy and after we completed our walk around we headed to Oviedo to do the old routine of Tapas and Wine. We met up with Cruz's cousins Beatriz and Ciano who I'd
been accustomed to being with us during our usual routine years ago. We met up
at my favorite arrozeria. It was the most crazy feeling- it was honestly like
nothing had changed at all. I was with great people immersed completely in a
different culture and language in a city that seemed out of a story-book. I got
the same feeling standing looking at the cathedral that years before I took for
granted walking by everyday on my way to class. I was hoping the night would
never end as we tried different Spanish wines and tapas with each new bar. It
was fabulous.
We woke up earlier this morning to make sure we could do our walk
through the hills and countryside with Cruz. One of her old friends
happened to be visiting so we quickly got acquainted then went on our way. We
were greeted with a warm sun which was a nice change from the typical Austurian
weather. We hiked from one pueblo to another taking upward trails with scenic
views of the rolling lush green hills. It was one of the moments I mentally
snapped for a future moment. When we returned hours later we found Tino slaving
over a delicious lunch over the grill. We had fall off the bone ribs, chicken,
salad, sidra, and so many desserts. Tino once again teased me about my incomprehensible English accent and we all sat around for quite some time.
Finally, Claire and I showered up and headed back to Oviedo by train to meet up
with my friend Ruben who I'd met two years ago that still lived there. It was
great- we got drinks and I got to introduce Claire to croquettas- a cheese and
ham ball. We caught up and I soon found out that another one of our mutual
friends, Raul originally from Spain had gotten married, and unbelievably so,
was living in Iowa. CRAZY. The afternoon went far too quickly, but we had to
return to Oviedo to meet Cruz and Tino out to watch the Copa Final de Europa
between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. 
I knew we were in for a crazy night as
two teams from Spain had impressively so made it to the final. I wasn't disappointed. The tapa bars were packed, the atmosphere crazy, and the TVs blasted.
In dull parts of the game Cruz and I talked about how much we enjoyed solely
looking at the players or about how she was trying to find me a Spanish
boyfriend so I could visit more. The game was excellent, one I really enjoyed
watching. The ending even more so. In the last thirty seconds Real Madrid
scored to make the score 1-1 and the place went absolutely ballistic. It could
not have been more of a Spanish way to end our visit in Oviedo. The highlight
of the night was when Real Madrid won and a bar was blasting their team song
out into the street. Hearing the music Cruz and Tino seized their opportunity
to dance in the street. It was so adorable I couldn't get enough of it. I
dreaded the night's end because I knew that 5:00am flight would come too soon
and I was just feeling back in the swing of Spanish life and couldn't imagine
leaving Cruz and Tino a second time. 
Inevitably so, my alarm went off and Cruz peaked in to make sure I
was up. The ride to the airport was somber- the weekend had been so perfect it
didn't seem remotely possible that it could be over. We got to the airport a
little late and after waiting in lines to check in, Cruz and Tino still wanted
to sit and have a quick coffee. Claire and I exchanged nervous glances but I
was unable to say no. Naturally they are always on Spanish time with the
"no pasa nada" mindset. After chugging orange juice noticing our
flight was boarding I said difficult goodbyes. I couldn't stay too long without
getting tears in my eyes, but Tino made me say "I'll be back" like
the classic Arnold line. They waited for us to clear security and
gave us one last wave. It was terribly sad, but knowing deep down that I would
be back eased my thinking. In a zombie-like state we headed off to Barcelona-
our last destination. 
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