I would never have had Northern Spain on my radar had I not competed in the IFSC World Sport Climbing Championships in 2014, which was held in Gijon. I really needed a break at the end of the summer and was deciding between the Azores and Northern Spain. In the end, I opted for the lazier option, as the Azores required planning around ferries between islands and that sort of thing. I had (and still am) been dealing with back and sacral pain and for a while, I was not sure if I could even go. As usual, I decided, fuck it, let’s do it.

We based ourselves in Oviedo in Asturias and San Sebastiàn/Donostia (in Basque). Oviedo is not a place on many tourist’s radars and Northern Spain is certainly different geographically, climate-wise, and culturally in some ways to the rest of Spain – I dig it. The weather was not very cooperative but we managed to achieve our aims of going to beaches and hiking while in Oviedo. Oviedo is a great base; not too far from beautiful beaches and decent hiking nearby. We wanted to go to Picos de Europa but it was a bit far and the hike we wanted to do would have been just a mud bath.

Because both mountains and the ocean are important to me, having them both be proximate was wonderful. Really makes me think about moving there…not quite sure how though given my current work and school situation :-/

San Sebastiàn (Donostia in Basque) was very different. I loved how proud the Basque are of maintaining their culture. I mean, they are only one million people or so, yet they maintain their language and traditions. San Sebastiàn looked like an older, wealthy, but grungy city. I’m sure people love the narrow winding alleys filled with places to get pintxo. The place is, after all, the food capital of the world. That is not what draws me to the city. Really, it’s the beaches nearby.

I will admit, there was a sense of longing, sadness, and loss…that I would never be able to surf again. I am not 100% sure that is true. Guess I will not know until I try, but I’m not sure where.

The other main beaches in town are La Concha and Onderetta. The former is very long and seems to be the “town beach”, which is pretty ace. The latter seemed a bit lower-key. I really enjoyed morning swims at both. It’s a pretty great lifestyle; wake up, walk to the beach for a swim, get breakfast (that isn’t expensive), and then settle into the work day. Trying to figure out how I can make that happen but, again, the licensure requirements for becoming a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) make things very complicated.

Perhaps I am wrong, but whenever I am in Europe (especially Portugal, Spain, Italy) I sense that people’s attitudes towards disability are different to those of North America. I feel that I am less open about my accident and explaining my disabilities, 1. because of the language barrier, and 2. feeling like people just won’t understand. E.g., why I have to consistently miss dinner parties because I am dealing with my bowels. It also seems like people with disabilities are more “hidden”. Perhaps that is because accessibility is a real issue in these areas. Of course, the task of making old towns and cities more accessible is more challenging than young cities in America, where, for one, space is less of an issue. Other European countries seem to have fantastic infrastructure for people with disabilities, e.g., Norway? People’s attitudes towards disability are a significant factor in deciding where I want to eventually live.