The Hike to Cristo

My chance to return to the mountain came quicker than I thought it would. A friend of the group, Sam, who studied in Oviedo last semester, offered to take the UMass crew tothe very top.  There, stands a giant statue of Jesus Christ. Every day on my walk to school, I see the small figure looking down at me. So, when I learned about the excursion, I jumped at the opportunity.

We all met in front of the university early Saturday morning. Sam, a small blond haired girl from Ireland, led us up the same pathway Taylor took us on a few days earlier. The sun shown again and I found myself in only a t-shirt after a few minutes. What a perfect day for a hike, I thought.

Within an hour we traveled past all I saw on my first journey into the mountains. We encountered some of the Romanesque churches of Oviedo,and stopped for mini photo shoots.  Santa María del Naranco (the first church we saw), built in 848, is a two story building used as a royal chamber known as the “aula regia.” It is where the court of King Ramiro I held royal councils. The church features triple arched windows and stone carved columns illustrating plant motifs, which is typical of the Romanesque style.

A few minutes up from Santa María is San Miguel de Lillo. Ramiro I built the church in the 9^th century as a royal chapel. It is famous for its animal and geometric motifs. These churches are said to be two of three most interesting historic monuments in Asturias.

As we continued to climb higher, I enjoyed the view of the growing city behind us. We reached a paved road that would take us to Cristo. We walked for about another hour before the statue became visible. The last stretch before we reached the top was a steep hill. I sighed as I watched my friends climb with ease. I mentally kicked myself for not working out as I began the ascent.

Santa María del Naranco

Ten painful minutes later I stopped.

I was at the top. I made it.

I felt overwhelmed as I stared as the massive replication of Cristo. He was huge! The high altitude proved to be more than chilling, and as my hair whisked in all directions, I knew we wouldn’t be staying long. I took in the view, gave myself a quick pat on the back for all the physical activity I managed to complete, and then got a picture with Him.

We headed back down to lower ground not long after for a quick lunch. It felt good to sit down and eat after three hours of straight walking. After we replenished ourselves, we began the trip to town. The excitement from seeing Cristo slowly drained from my body and exhaustion set it. By the time Taylor and I reached home, it was close to 5 p.m. We ate lunch in silence, too tired to talk. As I laid down for a much needed nap, I couldn’t help but smile as I thought of the other great adventures that would come.

San Miguel de Lillo