picos de europa – stinky cheese, cider and bean stew

After three days of trekking we decided to take a rest day. We also needed to find some more supplies so we headed off to Arenas de Cabrales, which was only 6km away. Unfortunately as there was no path to follow it meant tramping along the road (it goes without saying that there wasn’t a bus service either!)

Our clothes and kit were still damp from yesterdays drenching but they soon dried out as we clumped along the road, it wasn’t busy but I was glad to get off it when we got to town.

We made a quick visit to the tourist information kiosk, and then we found ourselves a place for the night; a delightful room in a pensionne on a small square. A flurry of activity followed; kit was hung up, socks and smalls washed (along with the people who’d worn them), and with shopping bag in hand we set out for a tour of the town.

This area of Asturias in famed for it’s stinky blue cheese called Cabrales, cider and a bean stew called Fabada. The dish is made with white kidney beans, chorizo, morchilla and saffron. We bought some Cabrales cheese, restocked our supplies and tried some cider whilst avoiding a downpour.

The funny thing about Arenas is that it’s billed as the gateway to the Picos and it reminded us vaguely of Betwys y Coed, especially with the weather being a bit damp. There were even (not very good) gear shops to faff around it.

At that fashionable hour that Spaniards go out for dinner we headed out for what was the best food of the trip; a humongous bowl of Fabada, washed down with a bottle of agreeably robust local red wine.