2100 EURO PER PERSON
Spend a week of walking and artwork with us. Unpack, unwind and savor the comforts of home each morning and night while sketching and painting the beautiful Asturian countryside on this eight-day holiday. We have the flexibility to go where the mood takes us according to light and weather.
With mountains, rivers, and fertile farms as our backdrop, we travel daily by foot, stopping to paint or sketch under the guidance of artist and art teacher Eric Santoli. We are proud to partner with him on this venture. Our subjects will be as diverse as the landscape that surrounds us: sleepy village plazas, a farmer moving his cattle from pasture, impressive pre-Romanesque churches, alpine lakes, ancient country mills… maybe even an open-air ‘mercado’ on a busy morning.
Introducing Eric Santoli a traveling landscape painter and returning artist at Fuentes de Lucia Retreat Center. If you’re an artist and looking for some new inspiration, join us for this 8-day Plein air painting workshop. You will learn everything from how to simplify the infinitely complex landscape to capturing marvelous color and creating a strong sense of light in your oil paintings. Each day will be spent exploring the beautiful countryside while observing the way light dances across the landscape. Among the many topics discussed will be: drawing, value, hue, chroma, composition, and edge control. Whether you are new to painting or a more advanced student, will help push your skills to the next level through demonstrations, lectures, and one-on-one critiques! I hope you will join us on this incredibly fun and informative 8-day outdoor painting adventure!
Create your masterpieces and memories as we explore the villages and trails of Asturias.
What’s Included
- All transportation during the retreat
- 7 nights of hotel accommodations with en-suite bathrooms (limited single rooms available)
- Painting tuition
- Guided walks in the surrounding mountains and river valleys with bi-lingual guide
- Healthy breakfasts
- Delicious dinners with wine
- Light hands-on cooking classes with Chef Juan Carlos
PRIVATE tailor-made trips are available upon request. Please ask us for details.
Itinerary
After breakfast, we’ll have a discussion about what we’ll be viewing and painting that day. We will follow local hiking trails along established footpaths, ancient trade routes, through steep canyons, along the Senda del Oso (a converted rail track) and explore the beautiful coast of Asturias. Plan to hike approximately 6 kilometers per day enjoying the tranquility of the surrounding area.
Day 1: QUIROS
Spanish Steps will meet you in Oviedo at 3 PM at the bus station. We recommend you sleep one night in Oviedo to enjoy this beautiful city. From Oviedo, we will then head south through the Trubia River valley basin in the Ubiñas Mountains, part of the massive Cordillera Cantábrica Mountain range. There we will walk along part of the Senda del Oso (Bear Trail), a 30- kilometer walking and biking trail recently converted from rail tracks into Via Verdes, or Greenways, for the pleasure of walking in nature.
We will review art supplies together as a group, followed by a demonstration by Eric Santoli of painting and drawing principles. Participants will be able to take notes and learn about the history of painting en plein air during Eric’s demo.
The Hotel Rural Fuentes de Lucia, in the hamlet of Faedo, will be our home for the week. It is set on a hillside of this lovely, green valley. Be sure to build in some time to visit the Bellas Artes Museum and the Cathedral in Oviedo before leaving Oviedo. Any art supplies can be purchased at the Edelweiss Stationery and Art Supply store on Calle Milicias Nacionales, 5.
(4-6 kilometers – Dinner included)
(Dinner included)
Day 2: QUIROS
A narrow footpath, a long-distance farming route, out the backdoor of the hotel will be the start of our morning walk and painting session. After 30 minutes of walking through the chestnut forest, we’ll stop at a series of old watermills where we can contemplate nature and the gentle light of autumn. Our first painting session at the old watermills where we can contemplate nature and the gentle light of autumn. Painting session will last 2 hours based on changing light conditions.
After lunch, we’ll pick a place to paint on the grounds of the hotel and enjoy the natural beauty of the Quiròs Valley.
(5 kilometers – Breakfast and Dinner included)
Day 3: ALBA & SALCEDO
The scene from across the valley shows us the Aramo mountain range, part of the Cordillera Cantabrica. This morning, we’ll get a lift up to the meadow where the Chapel of Alba is located. A short uphill climb will take us to an expansive pasture with 360 views. We will setup for a painting session of the Chapel of Alba. We’ll enjoy a picnic lunch before relocating to the village of Salcedo to continue with our painting.
Eric will give a lecture in the evening on the history of Spanish art.
(4- kilometers – Breakfast and Dinner included)
Day 4: RICABO
A short drive up the valley brings us to the remote village of Ricabo, hunkered in a dramatic position beneath the highest peaks of the park. We’ll pick a spot in this ancient village to capture on canvas. We will continue sketching in the afternoon the scenery and sights. If you’re feeling energetic, you can opt to follow part of a long-distance trail which will lead us back to our hotel, the Relics Route, a highly protected religious pathway used to transport relics from Jerusalem, by way of Toledo, to Oviedo. During the Middle Ages, the capital of the Kingdom of Asturias was, a cornerstone of Christianity in the Iberian Peninsula, a land primarily dominated by the Moors. The destiny of the relics was the Holy Chamber in the Cathedral of Oviedo, since declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. The track contours the valley, connecting the sleepy hamlets of Ronderos, Villamarcel, Coañana and Faedo and varying between stone pathways banked with mountain shrubs and chestnut trees and tiny country lanes. If the the weather allows, we will be afforded views of the mountain Gamonal and the Sierra de Aramo where we walked yesterday.
(12 kilometers of mountain trail – Breakfast and Dinner included)
Day 5: SAN ESTEBAN PRAVIA TO PLAYA
AGUILAR
Thursday is market day in Pravia, and we will
sketch in the market, learning to capture
movement and life in your work. We’ll buy
ourselves some picnic supplies before heading to the coast for a gentle walk on the CAMINO DEL NORTE to the secluded beach of Playa Aguilar. The van will pick us up and scoot us ahead to Cudillero, one of the most picturesque fishing villages in all of Spain. It is best known for its hanging houses with brightly colored eaves and windows perched on a horseshoe of steep cliffs around the port. We will take some leisure time here to soak up the atmosphere and paint.
(6 kilometers – Breakfast and Dinner included)
Day 6: LAS XANAS
From the hamlet of Villanueva, a pretty village with a medieval bridge, we’ll stop for a coffee in the bar before heading up into a gorge called El Desfiladero de Las Xanas; the most popular route in this valley with good reason. Climbing steadily, a well-planned path hugging the sides of this canyon will take us up to the hidden village of Pedrobeya where we’ll feast on a lunch of the famous Asturian bean stew, Fabada. After a short siesta under a tree (weather permitting) we’ll head back down through the gorge. We will have a painting session before or after the siesta, depending on how everyone feels.
(9-18 kilometers – Breakfast and Dinner included)
Day 7: BERMIEGO TO BARZANA
From Bermiego, famous for its decorative horreos (corn cribs), we will set out on an adventure through the Ubiñas mountains. The first stop will be the 1000-year-old yew tree said to have magical powers. We’ll station ourselves around the chapel and the tree to gain perspective on this natural wonder and bring them to life on our canvas. Later, we’ll find a spot in Bermiego to paint and enjoy the scenery. After lunch, we’ll enjoy the views from Cuañana, one of our neighbouring villages with a plethora of horreos and old-world hand tools.
In the evening, we will go over our work and what we accomplished. Final thoughts before we depart in the morning.
(6 kilometers – Breakfast and Dinner included)
Day 8: After breakfast, we will drive you to Oviedo to arrive by 10 am.
Distance: 21 Km.
* This itinerary may (most probably will) change due to weather, festivals, spontaneous side trips and group ability.
** After each day’s description, you will see a number indicating the number of kilometers we cover. There are days when we are hiking in the hills and may not have easy access to the support van. We will try to provide an optional hike if you feel that the hiking in the hills maybe too difficult. This is not an endurance race; we want you to have a great time!
**** We have the luxury of spending the entire week in the same hotel.
Video
Location
Gallery
FAQs
How many miles do we hike per day?
We average between 4-6 kilometers per day. A lot depends on the group dynamics and how much you would like to walk. I encourage people to ride in the van if feeling fatigued or to walk more miles if they have the energy or simply to kick back at the hotel with a good book if you feel so inclined. With Spanish Steps, we have the luxury of a fully supported van, which can pick you up at certain points on many of the scheduled walking trails.
What kind of hotels do we use?
Our basecamp for the week will be a newly restored farmhouse in the tiny hamlet of Faedo in the county of Quiros, south of Oviedo in Asturias. Visit www.quiros.es for a tour of this beautiful, mountainous area. All bedrooms have private bathrooms, TV’s, phones, and either a balcony or patio. Visit our website for more information: www.spanishsteps.com.
Is there WIFI at our hotel?
Yes, free WIFI is available in the hotel rooms and main house, bust since we are relatively remote, the signal is not super strong.
How many meals are included?
All breakfasts and dinners are included in the price of this tour. Please be sure to let us know in advance if you are a vegetarian or have special dietary needs. Lunches are at your own expense. Each day we will either stop in a local village to buy picnic supplies to eat on the trail or walk to a restaurant to have lunch.
How does one get to Oviedo?
There is an airport near Oviedo (OVD) with regular flights from Madrid, Barcelona, and other points in Spain and Europe. There are international flights from London and Paris.
o For train information within Spain, visit www.renfe.es.
o For bus service, visit www.alsa.es.
o We strongly encourage you to sleep one night in Oviedo.
What kind of equipment should I pack?
I will supply you with an equipment list of basic items to pack. There really is no baggage limit on this tour since we are staying for one week at our Hotel Fuentes de Lucia. Hiking boots/trail shoes will be your most important items to pack. Please be sure your boots are well broken in. We will be sending you a list of basic art supplies to bring with you.
How do I access spending money/how much should I bring?
Most expenses are already built into Spanish Steps trips. Extra snacks and beverages at the cafes and stores are additional. A meal in a café will cost you between 12 and 20 Euros. Most people travel with an ATM card. Money machines are everywhere in Spain but be sure you know your PIN number (not letters) before departing the US or home country. DO NOT bring Traveler’s checks.
Should I leave a gratuity for our guides?
This is a very common question my clients ask. As a person working hard in the service industry to please the traveler, a gratuity is much appreciated by the staff members at the end of the tour. The common industry standard is approximately 10 Euros per day from each guest per guide (80 Euro per person.)
What is the average age of the group?
The average age of the participants on Spanish Steps trips is 50 years old during the spring and fall months but younger during the summer months. Most trips are a mix of a 40/60 ratio of men to women.
What is the terrain like?
There will be some long, slow climbs through farming areas but not Himalayan or Rocky Mountain-like terrain. The paths are well-worn and are not difficult. We walk along a lot of secondary farming roads, through forests of chestnuts, hazelnuts, and apple orchards.
Is there a single supplement?
All accommodations are priced on double occupancy. Some people would like to be matched with a roommate. I cannot guarantee a match but will try to place you with someone if there are any requests. The price of the single supplement is 400 EUROS per person. Single rooms are limited.
Can you provide references?
We would be delighted to share with you some references from former clients who have walked with us. If you would like to contact any former Spanish Steps participants, let us know by calling us. Check out our Customer Comments on our website at www.spanishsteps.com.