Agosto

Wow, August was insane! It's October and I haven't had the energy to write about August until now because nothing has slowed down since then. Anyways, enough with the excuses, I had such a lovely time beginning the month of August with Dave, Pete's and my road trip back to Asturias from Porto. We had a nice few days on the road of leisurely driving and stopping whenever something peeked our interest. I was verye xcited to see Galicia (a province I'd never explored before), and the first stop along the way was Gerês National Park, where we took in the greenery and the crystal clear water. After Gerês we stopped in Lobios to get in the nearby hot springs, but alas they springs were too hot for us :( so instead we just enjoyed our picnic lunch! The last stop of day one on the road was Ourense, where we stayed for the evening and had a wonderful night out on the town. We wandered the narrow streets and found a nice spot to sit outside and have tapas and soak up the life of the village. On the wander back to the hotel we stopped at another bar for a nightcap that Dave insisted Pete and I try, licor café. I enjoyed the Galician specialty, but I don't know if I'll be ordering it again any time soon. All in all, I really enjoyed seeing Galicia and it was indeed as beautiful as everyone told me it would be. 

Gerês National Park

More of the park, and Dave and me in the background.

The water was insanely clear!

The beautiful streets of Ourense

Walking back after dinner.

I enjoyed seeing all of the Galician independence street art. This one was spotted in Ourense!

Oh and one last one from Porto that I neglected to put up in my July post, double cats!!

On our second day on the road, we spent time exploring the coastline of Asturias, which I am consistently more and more impressed with. Upon leaving Ourense we drove straight north to Cedeira, where we had a wander about and some amazing patatas bravas for lunch! Then, in typical Spanish fashion we followed that with a nap. Once we woke up we continued east meandering along the coast, stopping next in Ortigueira to have another look of yet another beautiful village. And lastly we stopped in one final place, O Porto de Bares, for an afternoon coffee and more epic views. After the coffee break we decided to head towards Viveiro to find a hotel for the night, but little did we realize they were hosting a metal festival. Literally every hotel in town was booked up, absent one expensive one, and naively we thought we would carry on to Ribadeo assuming they would have vacancy. Long story short we arrived to Ribadeo only to find that all but one of their hotels was booked up, however we managed to snag the last free room in the village after Dave feverishly ran around in the rain searching for a warm bed to lay our heads to rest. After getting our room we went out for a nice meal and drinks, and called it a night. 

The beach in Ortigueira was quite picturesque.

Sometimes I get a smile out of him, but then other times not.

I loathe both cold water and being picked up.

A successful selfie!

Black Aeonium - the most recent discovery of plant life for me, and I think they're super cool!

The view from our hotel was really lovely when you could see through the fog/mist. It was by the harbor.

The next morning we woke up and after breakfast headed to Cudillero, a village that would impress even the most unimpressed. We wandered around the tiny streets and found a nice place for lunch so that Pete could try arroz negro, which I had talked up quite a bit. Post lunch we headed back towards Gijón to return the car, Johnny picked us up, and we went back to Cerezaléu for a relaxing evening of food and drink. 

Cudillero!

Upon arriving back to Cerezaléu, we had 3 nights there before Pete had to head back home. We spent the remaining days taking it easy, enjoying the scenery, eating good food, and sharing laughs. And then sadly it was time to say goodbye to Pete, and that meant Dave and I had no excuses not to get back to work. While I feverishly typed away at my thesis some more, and ultimately conquered the task at hand, Dave did loads more on the house! In the time where I would otherwise have likely smashed my computer out of frustration, we found time for walks, leisurely lunches with Johnny and Rocio, or sometimes a run if I felt so daring. We usually ate dinner with Johnny and Rocio as well, and that always left us laughing with all of their stories. We also binge watched Breaking Bad, not that it's a highlight of August per se, but now we at least understand all of the hype.The other highlights of August included Dave's old friends, with whom he used to live with in Gijón (Pete and Lewys), coming over for a visit for 2 nights. Pete and Lewys' visit mostly involved rounds of Cards Against Humanity and siting around the bonfire. And lastly the only other residents of the village moved out, and Terre and Pepe used their departure as a good excuse for a party. Terre made a massive paella and lots of friends and family came around for an afternoon lunch filled with drinks and lots of tapas. It was really great to get to experience a proper village paella lunch, and Terre was so generous as to make Dave and me a vegetarian paella. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking...

Tinto de verano became a new favorite of both mine and the caballos.

Check out how legit this paella is! It was massive!!

Johnny, Juanjo and Pepe indulging in mariscos (seafood)!

All smiles for veggie paella

We brought Johnny back a bottle of port from Porto and he was clever and used the beautiful wooden box as a display case for his ship in a bottle!

Sunny views of the backyard

Dave taking in the views.

Self timer success!

And to round out the picture set, the improvements Dave made on his home! Dave worked really really hard at leaving his house in a suitable state so that when we come back next it will be ready to enjoy! This entailed solar panels, as I've mentioned before, painting walls, ripping out the bathtub (subsequently that entailed creating an outdoor shower), selling his car etc etc. And here are his lovely photos to show off his work!

The horreo, which doubles as the washing line because one musn't forget to mention all of the potatoes also stored actually within the horreo.

The horreo also functions as a wood store. 

The living room when you first walk into the house. Dave made the coffee table this summer.

Off to the side of the couch are the stairs, which Dave had to affix the bottom step, and he also pained the stairwell.

The kitchen, which is along the tiled wall on the right of the photo above. Dave had to transplant the faucet across the room.

Looking from the stairs out at the downstairs. You can see Dave's solar power lights in action in this photo.

The view from the top of the stairs, you can see the food storage, and the fuse box on the right. I'm very proud of all of Dave's wiring and figuring out how to get solar in the whole house.

The view from the top of the stairs. You can go into the bedroom, or the office, which is the door to the right. The bathroom is also in the far right corner, which you can't see.

Dave transformed this space into an office this summer, creating a makeshift desk and putting up the chalkboard for us to write down tasks to accomplish.

The bedroom. Dave put in the shelf on the back wall, and the bookshelf type thing in the back right corner.

Looking from the opposite corner of the bedroom. You can see the doorway to the office and then the doorway to the stairwell.

The view from the backyard. The fire pit and hammock are the centerpieces.

The view from the village at dusk, it's perfect.

Then at the end of August I had to go back to Finland to wrap up loose ends and complete the last required tasks of my Masters! It was a bit surreal to go back to Finland one final time not knowing when, or if ever, I'll find myself back there. Two years can go by shockingly fast I've learned, and it was really crazy to go through everything from the past two years and sift through what I wanted to keep and discard etc. Anyways, my week in Finland was really nice and I even got to work a final couple of shifts, go on some nice runs in the crisp Finnish air, have a final sauna, and see friends one last time. Here are the handful of photos I snapped from my last week there..

I really like flying into Finland, it's always really gorgeous views from the plane of all of the islands!

I took pictures of Helsinki to say goodbye to the city that treated me ever so well. This is a love bridge, where lovers place a locket.

My job always led me to really beautiful spots in the city that I would have otherwise never discovered on my own. The harbor in Helsinki is always lovely.

The famous Helsinki cathedral at night is when it looks best because it's not laden with tourists.

The newest piece of street art in Helsinki... pretty funny if you ask me.

Then I had to go to Lahti (where I originally moved to upon arriving in Finland) to present my Master's thesis work to my supervisor, professors, and fellow students. The presentation went really well, and it was a great confidence booster to feel really competent about a subject I've been studying for the better part of 2 years now.  I also submitted the written portion of my thesis, and my hands are now free of my Master's work, officially!! It was the best feeling I've had in ages hitting submit on everything, and I celebrated with a classmate and drinks on my balcony, it was perfect! I am now waiting to hear back about the grade I've received on my thesis, but I'm not sweating it, I know I did well, and am confident my grade will reflect my efforts. 

Saying goodbye to my campus in Lahti. Moi moi for now!

And saying goodbye to Lahti in general. This is the harbor in Lahti, on the massive Lake Vesijärvi.

Thank you everyone for all of your support over the past two years, you all were my lifeline as I embarked on this journey. I know I was a bit crabby, unpleasant, frustrated and melancholic at times over the past two years, but it feels remarkable to have accomplished this goal. Overall I had 2 of the best years of my life; I met people who have forever changed my life, and had experiences I never thought I would have. I am so thankful for everything that Finland ever brought to my life. Kiitos paljon, Suomi! Moikka for now.

Quiet walks in the snowy forests of Finland were one of my favorite things. I hope to find myself there again someday..