August

August was up most of last night with extreme abdominal pain and vomiting.  (Aren't you all glad you are keeping up with the blog?)  HaHa.  Losing his dinner did not relieve the pain as would be expected with a stomach virus and the pain has moved from his belly button area to his lower right quadrant.  We are watching and waiting to see if it may be appendicitis.  Isabel has, of course, told me this AM that her husband will drive us to the hospital in Ribadesella if necessary.  We could actually walk there but that would seem a bit cruel.  If surgery were indicated we would need to go to Arriondas, a nearby town.  Ironically, this is the town where we were supposed to go this AM to begin our canoe trip down the Sella.  At least we are here long enough that we can try again for a canoe trip.
We will wake August soon and re-evaluate the situation.  And of course we will keep everyone informed.

Isabel made dinner for us last night so she was worried that it made August sick.  I assured her that could not be the case.  She made Spanish tortilla, which is not what we think of as a tortilla.  Spanish tortilla is like a thick frittata or a solid omelette made with potatos, cheese and eggs.  She also made Ensaladilla Rusa, Russian Salad, another common Spanish dish.  This is made with hard boiled eggs, potatoes, peas, tuna, green olives, mayo, carrots, roasted red peppers.  I had this for lunch the other day and Isabel's was far superior.  Carlos, her husband, opened and poured cider (sidra) made by a man in town.  He poured it the traditional way, holding the glass down at his hips and pouring from above his head.  One pours about and inch or two into the cup, drinks most of it, leaving a bit at the bottom to toss out onto the ground.  My understanding is that this is to wash the glass for the next person to drink.  Oliver says we didn't really need to wash the glass because Spencer accidentally broke it after his first sip.  For dessert, Isabel made arroz con leche, rice pudding.  This was delicious!  She uses cinnamon, lemon and a little anise to flavor it.
If ever any of you want to come to Ribadesella, I bet it would not take much convincing at this point that El Cueto is the place to stay!
 Time to check on August.....