Coroa to Santilana del Mar……more Picos de Europa

September 26th

Had a great nights sleep, breakfast was comprehensive, hard-boiled eggs, ham, cheese, yoghurt and 4 breakfast cakes etc…..the lady owner being quite sure to make sure we knew that the cakes were homemade…..pretty good for 45 Euro per nite.

Car is parked in front of the Casa …..these rural overnight places are really nice. As a side note, the fit and finish of the lodgings would put our wood products industry to shame ….the mouldings, doors are all solid wood with really sharp-looking handles, locks etc. not to speak of the ceramic floors and walls (bathrooms) all of good quality and well installed. In any event we are off….

Today we will be hiking the Cares Trail which runs in between the Cantabrian Mountains and is referred to as the “Divine Gorge” of the Cares River, The pathway is at mid-height of the canyon which means you are roughly 1000 feet up the canyon side and it is approximately 15 kilometers in length. Considered one of the most beautiful natural sites in Spain with caves, bridges and pathways sculpted in the rock. It was built in 1908 to service hydroelectric needs and as a winter “bridge” for two villages (Cain and Pinocebos) otherwise inaccessible in the winter.

We are starting a the Cain end and it takes us almost 2 hours to get there with, yes, you guessed right almost the entire time being spent navigating twisty, windy roads

…..got to the trail head, found a good parking spot and we are off. Again we are blessed with beautiful weather: blue sky and excellent hiking temps….this place could get mighty hot in the simmer. It really does live up to its billing and we stop every few hundred meters to gawk at the scenery,

One of the 2 bridges we will be crossing, in the distance:

…and close-up:

An idea of the path as it runs along the gorge wall:

….one of the many tunnels en route and in some you have to bend over, or, you will smash your head into the rock (a young woman ahead of us did just that and was not a happy camper !!…sorry no pics)…

by the way some of these are longer and with no lights so it gets funny especially when you have comers and goers in the same tunnel lots of pardons and bumps in the nite:

….in about one and half hours we are about halfway and it is time to turnaround and head back…

It is a fun hike and there are lots of almost exclusively Spanish families, couples, old/young out enjoying the day with everyone jolaing /buenos diaing each other when passing….as well kids having a riot “echoing”, as the canyon provides an excellent opportunity for this sport. On occasion we pass some goats who look on amused at the spectacle…

Another view of the path which in many places is carved out of the rock face:

….back at the trailhead, and, it is time to get going, we still have about a 3 hour drive to get to our overnite destination. Fire up the Clio and we are off, leaving the village there is a small bridge we need to cross and as we approach we notice about 40 Vespas (yes those from the event we wrote about last nite, obviously they are having a rally and Cain was their destination) I let a bunch of them to pass us. Suddenly I notice 2 SUV’s on the other side of the bridge, a car with trailer on the bridge going in their direction and some 15 of the Scooters all around us and the balance behind us …all revving their engines but no one going anywhere…..not good…suffice to say there is not enough room for 2 vehicles to pass each other!! No option but go in reverse, in what is effectively a laneway with stone walls on both sides…pushing my way through the crowd of Vespas behind …..what a zoo, Annie is gently encouraging me not to freak out…..finally,all is sorted out, the big SUV’s pass us yelling out a big gracias and we are truly off in a cloud of diesel and whining, screaming Vespa engines….WHEW!! ….again, i am sorry to say pics of this event are not available although a short video would have many enjoying a chuckle at our expense!!

After that it was bit anti climatic as we made our way through the Picos to the town of Potes where we were beckoned to enjoy a cold one:

…..but we had to move and finally we were on the autopiste, which in due course spat us out in Santillana del Mar, our overnite spot. A bit of a challenge to find the place as Miss Charm was a little confused towards the end, but no matter, our superior human intellect took over, and, ole!, we are at the Posada Herran.

Yet again a nice place, this time costing us the princely sum of 35 Euros, albeit without breakfast. Went into the Old Town, this was about a 1 km walk from the Posada and we enjoyed a short walkabout before the restos opened:

and, then after a  brief tour of the menu cards in front of each restaurant

a nice dinner ….three course dinner with a bottle of wine 25 Euros…..

 

and the “home” (a bit of a challenge, as we took the wrong route but after some tense interpersonal moments) got home safe and sound.

Super day and super tired !!!!!…..