Asturias, Euskal Herria & France Cruise - Avilés Page

Sunday 25th May 2014

After a much calmer night, the ship crept into Aviles by about 8. It filled the end of the port & the locals came out to see it. I do not suppose a bigger ship could berth here. Clearance took some time but we were off at about 0915 & walked the short distance into the old town. The first ‘sight’ was the 17thC Palacio de Camposagrado, which unfortunately, had coloured plastic ribbons wound round it but the map said it was the ‘most significant Baroque building in Asturias’. We walked round by the St. Francis Church (13thC).

St. Francis from the ship

St. Francis

Camposagrado Palace

Then, up to the Plaza de España, just to see a religious procession disappear down a side street. We had coffees (good, €3.40 for 2), then we saw a religious procession disappearing down a side street from the Plaza de España, main square.

Typical side street

Religious procession

From the Plaza de España

We had coffees (good, €3.40 for 2), then went round to the theatre, which is from 1920 but looks Baroque.

The Town Hall	More of the Plaza de España	Theatre
Back to the main square, we went up the Calle de Galiana, which has workmens’ covered open galleries to work in light out of the Sun, which appeared now & then during the day. At the top is another square, steepish, not square with a granary in the middle & surrounded by old buildings. This is the Plaza del Carbayedo, the old cattle market. Back down, we found the gross Palacio de Balsera Music School. Described as ‘modernist’, it is the fake Baroque palace of some crook who got rich in WWI & built it in the 1920s.	Iglesia de San Nicolas	Looking up the Galiana
Galleries in the Galiana	In the galleries	Down the Galiana
Granary in Plaza del Carbayedo	Round the Plaza del Carbayedo	Palacio de Balsera Music School

San Nicolas & the Music School are in a square which also has the Cultural Centre, which has public facilities, like the Library. We went North to see the St. Thomas a Becket Church (! why him?), the market, closed, & the oldest church, the Iglesia vieja de Sabugo, the fishermen’s church started in the 13thC. Locked, I managed to sneak a photo when an organised tour came out. There was a bronze of an enormously fat woman on the way back to the ship for lunch.

The square on the Galiana

Cultural Centre

St. Thomas a Becket Curch

Iglesia vieja de Sabugo
The Fishermans' area	Fishermans' cottages	The Monster

The surprise as one sails into port is a cultural centre by the berth designed by Oscar Niemeyer, into which we went. There was an interesting steel & bronze sculpture show, where all the pieces were finished, no welding showing. This was in the blob but the main building showed a journalist’s war photos. Not very pleasant.

Oscar Niemeyer's new Cultural Centre

Round the Plaza del Carbayedo

Palacio de Balsera Music School

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Port 1 - Leixoes

Port 2 - A Coruña

Port 4 - Santander

Port 5 - Getxo

Port 6 - Bordeaux

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