We visited the village of Garabandal on 18th September 2023. The Garabandal apparitions are apparitions of Saint Michael the Archangel and the Blessed Virgin Mary that are claimed to have occurred from 1961 to 1965 to four young schoolgirls in the rural village of San Sebastián de Garabandal in the Peña Sagra mountain range in the autonomous community of Cantabria in Northern Spain. The Virgin Mary in this series of claimed visitations is often referred to as "Our Lady of Mount Carmel of Garabandal", because her appearance and dress looked like portrayals of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The bishops of Santander have yet to identify anything to indicate an occurrence of supernatural nature.
We visited Covedonga on 18th September 2023. Tradition and History associate the origins of the Kingdom of Asturias with two names: Pelayo and Covadonga, a protagonist and a setting in which, at the start of the 8th century, a series of episodes took place – a reality for some and legend for others -, considered to be the first rebellion of northern Christianity against the Moorish control established on the Peninsula a few years earlier. The Valley of Cangas de Onís, the Picos de Europa and the Auseva mountain, would have witnessed the rebellion chosen by Pelayo as leader -three centuries ago this year-, and which would soon be responsible for the legendary military episode (battle or skirmish), on the slopes of this small mountain.
Sin embargo, el Obispo de Bilbao aprueba la devoción a la Virgen María de acuerdo con el Magisterio de la Iglesia, bajo la advocación de Virgen Pura Dolorosa en .
