Parador de Santo Estevo to Parador of Corias

Today we had a four hour drive from the Parador de Santo Estevo in Galicia to the Para de Corias in Asturias. We saw a lot of beautiful and interesting scenery along the way. The weather varied from pouring rain to sun.

Leaving the Parador of Santo Estevo in the rain

A lot of the road today was windy, narrow, and mountainous. About 20 minutes after leaving we stopped at this great vista point.

Narrow main road and a mirodor (scenic viewpoint)
High above the Sil River

Later we saw a sign for a Roman tunnel and had to check it out. According to this website the Romans built the tunnel in the second century A.D. to get at the gold brought down by the Sil River.

The side road to the Roman Tunnel
The Túnel Romano de Montefurado

Our next stop was Las Medulas, an area where the Romans used water to wash away an enormous area of mountains to get the gold out of the soil. They built extensive tunnels then filled them with water at high pressure and collapsed the mountains.

Going into the Visitor Center
A display in the visitors center
We drove up to a parking lot then hiked up to a viewpoint
La Medulas – the terrain left after the Roman mining

After stopping for groceries, we finally arrived at the Parador of Corias. The monastery’s size is the third largest in Spain. A sign in the lobby says that the Oseira Monastery that we visited yesterday is the largest.

Spanish monasteries listed by size

The Corias monastery has beautiful big hallways and rooms. The library is gorgeous.

Our room at the parador of Corias
The Corias Parador Library

We had a picnic dinner in the room and played cards.

Dinner
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Author: marionvermazen

I am a traveler, hiker, avid reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, Spanish and French language student, knitter and genealogist. I am retired after working for almost 30 years in the Computer Industry. I live in Reno, Nevada with my husband Duke.

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