![\"SidraEscanciadoGrupo\"](\"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/SidraEscanciadoGrupo.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"SidraPouring\"](\"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/SidraPouring.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"SidraEscanciadoJohn\"](\"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/SidraEscanciadoJohn.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"SidraTree\"](\"http:\/\/johnkwhite.ie\/caracolas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/SidraTree.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe current record<\/a> from August, 2013, is 8,061 people, shared by sidra-loving Asturians in their annual group pour on La Playa de Poniente (one of the westernmost beaches of Gij\u00f3n). In line with Asturian accounting, however, they stop recording newcomers soon after breaking the previous year\u2019s record, so as not to elevate the numbers beyond reach for next year\u2019s pour. It\u2019s a group hug Asturian style. With practice, only about 10% ends up on the floor (or beach).<\/p>\n Of course, Gij\u00f3n has more to offer than just fabulous apple-fermented juice. There is La Playa de San Lorenzo, one of the longest city beaches on the Spanish north coast with a 5-km walled promenade (el muro<\/i>) that defines peace and tranquillity in the middle of its 250,000 strong city population. While not ablaze with excessive temperatures as in Spain\u2019s Mediterranean Costa del Sol, San Lorenzo is home to the more refined sun-worshippers, walkers, and surfers alike.***<\/p>\n For the archeologically-minded, there is a Roman wall, Roman baths, thatched Asturian homes, and even a few 20,000 year-old cave drawings, only an hour\u2019s drive up the coast to Llanes. One can also get to Bilbao or Santiago de Compostela easily by car along the Autovia del Cant\u00e1brico<\/a> or as far as Bordeaux or Porto in a day.<\/p>\n Other must-sees include a walk through Cimavilla, the oldest part of town, and then up to Eduardo Chillida\u2019s modernist Eulogy to the Horizon<\/i> statue (El Cerro) with its sweeping views of the conchal Cantabrican coast. The Universidad Laboral, designed by Luis Moya Blanco, conjures up thoughts of another Spanish Escorial, and is the largest building in Spain by surface area.<\/p>\n To others, the outskirts or afueras<\/i> is where Asturian charm best lies, in its coastal nooks and crannies, in its pastoral country sides, in its rural villages. But for most, the beauty of Asturias is in its people. You can walk the beaches, see historical sites, but all you have to do is share a sidra<\/i> with a local and you\u2019ll be hooked.<\/p>\n John K. White is an Irish-born Canadian writer now living in Gij\u00f3n. He is the author of <\/em>Do The Math!: On Growth, Greed, and Strategic Thinking<\/i><\/span><\/a> (Sage, 2012), The House of Words<\/i><\/span><\/a> (Tuttle House, 2013), and <\/em>Caracolas<\/i><\/span><\/a>, a blog about his ongoing adventures in Asturias.<\/em><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n In Asturias, cider (or sidra) is a way of life. There are 22 officially designated apple varieties which can be pressed into almost 100 different brands made by small farmers and larger empresas alike. I can\u2019t say I\u2019ve had every … Continue reading <\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n* The Protected Designation of Origin<\/b> or PDO apple varieties include acid, acid-bitter, bitter, bitter-semi-acid, sweet-bitter, and semi-acid (acidas<\/i>, acida-amargas, amargas, amarga-aciduladas, dulce-amargas<\/i>, aciduladas<\/i>), comprising 22 different apples: Acid (<\/strong>Durona de Tresali, Blanquina, Lim\u00f3n Mont\u00e9s, Te\u00f3rica, San Roque\u00f1a, Raxao, Xuanina, Fuentes), Acid-bitter <\/strong>(Regona), Bitter<\/strong> (Clara), Bitter-Semiacid <\/strong>(Meana), Sweet-Bitter<\/strong> (Coloradona), Semiacid-Bitter<\/strong> (Panquerina), Sweet (<\/strong>Verdialona, Ernestina), Semiacid<\/strong> (Carrio, Solarina, De la Riega, Collaos, Perico, Prieta, Perezosa).<\/h5>\n
** Asturians drink over 50 litres per person per year (possibly the highest consumption in the world). Excellent information about sidra<\/i> is available at Sidra de Asturias<\/a> and Ciders of Spain<\/a>. There is also an excellent interactive Museo de la Sidra<\/a> in Nava, where you can watch an apple being pressed, a cider bottle being corked, and even play the traditional Asturian bagpipes. El Museo de la Sidra defines cider as “both a beverage and a rite.” When you go, check out Casa Colo<\/a> in nearby Ceceda for a meal.<\/h5>\n
*** Asturias and the Green Coast escaped the worst of the over-development madness along the south coast of Spain. Check out \u201cWhy the crisis could be good for nature<\/a>,\u201d Juana Vi\u00fadez, El Pa\u00eds<\/i>, August 9. 2013.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"