In “Cathedral” Cave

Last week our friends, Leah and Cliff, came to visit from Connecticut. Mid-week, I got a text from Judy, the adventurous owner-operator of Spanish Steps, asking if we wanted to join her for a cave hike in the beach town of Oviñana, less than an hour from Gijon. Judy told us that Mario, one of our favorite guides from our many retreats at Judy’s place, Hotel Fuentes de Lucia, would be leading this hike as part of his guiding company, Guias de la Cordillera Cantabrica. She said that Mario highly recommended this hike. Our friends were enthusaistic about joining us, so we said, “Yes!”

The day of the hike happened to be Rocky’s birthday as well, so we thought it sounded like a great way to celebrate. We made reservations to eat lunch at El Faro, one of Rocky’s favorite restaurants in Cudillero, not far from the cave hike so that we could continue the celebration all day.

On the morning of the hike, we arrived in Oviñana early to check out the beach. We parked near an old fishing boat that had been retired and was on display at the viewpoint overlooking the beach and then hiked down to the water on a gentle, winding trail. I stopped about 3/4 of the way to the beach, deciding that we would probably be taking this same route to the cave. I wanted to be on time, which in my mind (and often to Rocky’s annoyance) is always early, to meet the group. Rocky, Leah and Cliff continuted on and walked across an expanse of polished white rocks to the sandy beach. I watched them and took some photos from the trail, mesmerized by the beauty of the beach below. The day could not have been more stunning. The sun was shining but the light breezes kept us comfortable.

Eventually we all gathered back at the boat where Mario and his wife, Pili, explained the hike they had planned for us. Mario recommended we all wear hiking boots or sturdy shoes rather than hiking sandals because the trail would be rather steep. It was not the trail to the beach we had done earlier, after all. We carried water shoes and sandals as well as light jackets with us in our packs to use when we got to the cave. In describing the trail, Mario mentioned there would be three distinct parts: the first part of the trail would be lots of small, loose rocks; the second part would be steeper and have bigger loose rocks and finally he said, we would rappel down a steep cliff.

He stared at all of our blank, slightly-stunned faces at that point. I wasn’t sure if I understood his Spanish correctly until he started chuckling. He was joking about rappelling down the cliff, he said. Actually we would be climbing down a ladder that he and Pili had rigged up earlier in the day instead. At this point, I remembered Eleanor Roosevelt’s famous quote, “Do one thing everyday that scares you.”  Climbing down a steep cliff even on a ladder would likely qualify as something that scares me, I thought. We trusted Mario who assured us that he had not lost anyone over the cliff yet, so we joined him in laughing and started the hike.

Thinking back over the last two years, I’d say most of us have faced something that scares us every single day. Just going to the grocery store was cause for fear in the ealy days of the pandemic. For Rocky and I, moving to Spain this year, has provided more than the normal amount of fear-inducing moments. The difference was that we were choosing this scary hike as part of Rocky’s birthday celebration. Nothing says, I’m not going to let my age stop me from living life like shimmying down the side of a steep cliff!

As we started walking, the trail immediately descended towards the water and it was difficult to keep our footing on the loose rocks. Leaning forward, we inched along, careful not to grab the prickly bushes that lined the trail because they were painful and no help at all. Mario asked us to wear masks for this stretch of the trail so that we could stay close together and lessen the chance we might knock rocks loose with our boots and send them flying into someone’s head who was hiking below us. I wondered if he was referring to the possbility of an avalanche but pushed that thought away, reminding myself that I was already doing one thing that scared me today and experiencing an avalance wasn’t on my list.

Although it was safer to lean forward, I encouraged myself to look up and take in the view from time to time. The trail was narrow with not much room for error on the water side but with magnificent views of the coastline for miles. I noticed we all stopped chatting and concentrated on our footing. Rocky has struggled with vertigo off and on over the past year. I prayed he was feeling very sure-footed today.

At some point when the trail transitioned from the smaller loose rocks to the bigger loose rocks, Mario stopped to ask us how we were doing. I don’t know what we looked like when he turned around but he said he was reminded of something his grandmother used to say, “Estamos como una noche que no cenamos.” Translation: We are like a night when we don’t eat dinner. He was grinning so I wasn’t quite sure of the meaning. Indeed I was hungry already from the exertion but is that what the phrase meant?

Later on he explained that people living in the most rural parts of Asturias where his grandmother lived, often did not get to eat much during the day because they were working in the fields. They might have a picnic or little snack but their main meal was at night after a full day of hard work. If they did not get to eat dinner for any reason, it was awful because they would go hungry and not have the energy to work the next day. So the phrase, “Estamos como una noche que no cenamos” actually means, we are feeling awful!  When Mario turned around to check on us, we must have looked a bit bedraggled or depleted from the hike. He was bascially laughing at us, in the nicest possbile way, for being a bit wimpy.

Eventually we got to a landing of sorts, a large flat rock that had enough room for all 15 of us to sit down. The landing rock was inclined enough towards the water, though, that standing up caused me to feel like I was pitching forward so I stayed seated. I couldn’t even look at the other people in our group when they stood up because it looked so precarious.

Mario encouraging us down the ladder

Mario grabbed ropes and tied himself in at the top of the ladder explaining that we would take turns climbing down and that we were very close to the cave now. Pili would wait for us at the bottom of the ladder to help us get to the next landing rock. At this point I was so excited to see the cave that the idea of climbing down a ladder did not bother me as much. Just at that moment though, my friend Leah, whispered to me that she was afraid of heights. Yikes! Bad timing to find that out. Thankfully, she managed to get down the ladder, one rung at a time, definitley checking off her one scary thing for the day.

A few more steps and we were in the narrow passage that would eventually lead us into the cave. Mario grabbed each of us by our forearm as we hoisted ourselves up to the opening of the cave, one by one. Finally, we were inside and it was spectacular. As our eyes adjusted to the diminished light, we could see the first of the openings that led to the ocean. A  inviting natural pool formed by the rocks there, just the right size for Leah to take a quick swim. She looked like a beautiful mermaid in this setting!

Mario oriented us to three separate openings that connected the cave to the ocean. Then, he led us to the largest space that had been created by eons of waves, storms and swirling water entering the main entrance with such force that it carved out a large domed basilica-like ceiling 120 feet high. As a result, the locals who have ventured here, call this cave the cathedral. The floor of the cave is covered with smooth rocks of varying sizes that are thought to have been knocked from the ceiling during powerful storms over many centuries. Falling from a few spots in the middle of the cathedral ceiling were small drops of water thought to baptize anyone who stands under them.

Getting to the baptism area was tricky because the stones were smooth and slippery but eventually Rocky found himself in the right spot looking up to find the water droplets. A big drop landed on his forehead, as the light from one of the smaller cave entrances backlit him. Watching this happen felt like a very holy ritual. After all, this was his 64th birthday. The first year of his retirement and a year marking a move to a new country. The country of his ancestors. To the locals, being baptized in this cave is considered symbolic of becoming part of community. For Rocky it looked like a form of rebirth, a chance to become something new that he’d never been before.  A chance to step into a life he’d only dreamed about to this point.

As we left the cave that day, Mario impressed upon us that not many people from Asturias have ever experienced the inside of this cave because the access is so difficult. We felt lucky to have had the opportunity even though we have only lived here for 6 months. What a magical place. As we watched Mario and Pili remove the ladder from the cliff after all of us had climbed back up, we understood just how special it was that they had created this easier access for all of us that day.

Climbing back up the trail took less than half the time it took to get down. Our footing was sure, our hearts were happy and our bellies were definitely hungry. We had planned to change clothes and clean up a bit before going to El Faro for lunch. We weighed the options and decided we would be better off going straight to the restaurant dressed as we were. We did not want to miss out on our lunch!  We arrived five minutes late to find they had given our specially-reserved terrace table away already. Luckily, they could accomodate us inside at another table. Probably best to hide the four stinky, dirty cave-dwellers inside the restaurant anyway. We ordered a mountain of seafood and ate every delicious morsel of it. Each of us had been altered in some way that day and we will remember the shared experience for many years to come.

We have not celebrated Rocky’s 9/11 birthday for the past 20 years without thinking of the 2001 tragedy, another moment in time that united us all. Maybe without forgetting the victims of 9/11, we can honor them by living our lives to the fullest. Maybe we can meet and overcome our fears instead of being consumed by them. Maybe we can help each other reach new heights (or new depths in the case of the cave hike), transforming our everyday experiences into a celebration of the miraculous. If the past two years have taught us anything, it is to not take life for granted.

What one thing will you do today that scares you?

From the author:

Thank you to Judy Colaneri for inspiring us with her adventurous ideas! The first time I hosted a yoga retreat at her hotel in 2017, it changed our lives. It is because of Judy and her husband, Juan Carlos, that Rocky and I now live in Gijon, Spain. www.spanishsteps.com

Thank you to Mario and Pili for leading us on this exciting adventure while keeping safety in mind. They guide many adventures in northern Spain. Please check out their website if you’re looking for safe and adventurous outdoor fun. http://www.guiascantabricos.com

On Saturday, September 18, we start our fourth Spain Yoga & Hiking Retreat at Hotel Fuentes de Lucia. As in the past, Mario, will be one of our hiking guides. We can’t wait to share some of our favorite Quiros valley trails with our guests and to try some new ones as well. I promise you that the trails we hike on retreat are spectacular but not dangerous!  More about that retreat, I’m sure, in a couple of weeks!

Armchair adventures are fun and can even be exciting but if you’d like to join me in person instead of just reading about our trips, consider attending one of the upcoming 2022 retreats. We will be returning to Bordeaux, France in May; hiking and yoga for the first time in Chamonix, France in June; and returning to more hiking and yoga in Spain in September. Book early as many of the 2022 retreats are already close to full.  http://www.globalyogatrips.com

Like great seafood?  Try El Faro Restaurant in Cudillero. Better be on time for your reservation though! http://www.elfarocudillero.com