Northern Spain. Cantabria, Picos de Europa and the Pyrenees.
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We moved on from France and pointing the campervan west, we passed through pleasant French Basque country and down to the Spanish border at Irún and on to the motorway which seemed to be variously names E5, E70 and E80 to confuse the tourists - it worked. Undaunted we pressed on in deteriorating weather past smoky Bilbao to Laredeo but not the one with the famous streets where we found a large, regimented and expensive campsite. Nice geography slightly reminiscent of the North Wales coast but spoiled by pollution and over development. Next day we continued west in drizzle and cloud past the shipyards of Santander and after a couple of false starts eventually located the N611 south from near the town of Torrelavega. The weather improved and ugly developments thinned as we headed south with the mountains of Cantábria on our right. Branching right across some very flat countryside we arrived at the town of Cervera de Pisguega and its deserted but well appointed campsite. With the aid of Robin Walker's Cordillera Cantábria guide we completed pleasant walks in fairly unchallenging countryside but it proved impossible to obtain a walking map of the area and we found Robin's sketch maps, er, challenging on their own.
In need of a little culture for a while we left the hills and drove to the city of Burgos where we stayed in what was probably our noisiest site ever. Across the busy dual carriageway was an airport, to the right a pallet factory and behind us, a building site. Still, being next to the road it was possible to use cheap public transport into the city centre. The old town was very attractive with river, statues (El Cid), gardens and an amazingly ornate Gothic cathedral, picture 1. Outside, the cathedral is of a rather complex shape but the inside takes ones breath away. The Gothic embellishments are the product of three generations of a family of builders, originally from Cologne and of the local Gothic master artisans Gil de Siloé and his son Diego (1495- 1563). It's also very large and we took about an hour to wander around.
Unsated, we moved to the nearby city of Leon, a pleasant city centre despite the road works, to visit the cathedral there, picture 2. Leon cathedral dates from 1253 and is smaller and less ornate than Burgos but what it lacks in size it makes up for with it's stained glass windows which totally dominate the interior. Standing inside the west door it's possible to see through the choir to the alter without interruption and the light from the windows gives a rich tonal colour to the interior as the sun moves across. There are other sites to be seen in Leon and the frescos in the basilica of San Isidoro should not be missed. Left, the interior, the picture does not do the windows justice.
Near the cathedral is the Casa de Botines, a neo-Gothic building with turrets topped by witch's hats, an early work created in 1889 by Antonio Gaudí, of Barcelona cathedral fame. Three, Suzy checking out what he's reading.
Eastern Leon
Cathedraled-out, we headed back to the hills. From Leon we headed NE to Riano and the Embalse de Riano, a relatively modern reservoir that has submerged the old village. The campsite there was closed and despite it being well sign posted it didn't look like it had ever been open. Undeterred we turned west to Boca de Huérgano where there was a delightful little campsite, adequate and clean facilities and even a bar. It was also almost deserted.
This proved to be a good base for walking in the area though we had to use the campervan to get us to our starting points. The lack of decent walking maps was still a problem and we had to rely on Robin Walker's sketch maps. Four, lost on route 6.12 when we turned right from the valley too soon. Good walk though over pathless conglomerate peaks where eagles fear to tread. On route 6.9 the ascent of Pico Yordas, the Matterhorn shaped peak near Riano we were doubly troubled by new tracks and on the final section an inability to make the description fit the terrain. Picture 5, Pico Yordas and Riano.
Picos de Europa.
Now north through the dramatic confines of the Rio Sella gorge to Cangas where for the first time in Spain we were able to get some good quality walking maps. The weather became showery, probably torrential in the hills and we did some walking on the strip between the Picos and the coast and visited the pleasant sea side resort of Ribadesella. Walking was pleasant but not very traveled by the look of some of the paths. Eventually, more in hope than judgment we headed inland, back down the rainy Sella gorge and over a pass to Posada de Valdeón near the end of the Garganta del Carres, another famous gorge. The weather improved but the camping at Posada looked a bit damp and drab so we squeezed the campervan up the LE245 to beautiful campsite at Santa Marina de Valdeon where we stayed for several nights.
Next day we managed to get the campervan to within a few 100m of the village of Cain that marks the start of the footpath through the Carres gorge. I think I could have made it but Suzy was whimpering and threatening to get out and walk.
The Carres gorge was an excellent walk, see picture 6, in some places the path is cut through tunnels and into cliffs and criss crosses the river far below on tiny bridges. The path turned out to be far from level and rose several hundred metres before dropping down to the road at Puente Poncebos. Ideally this was a linear walk but there and back made for a good day out.
Back to Santa Marina and a walk into the hills. The prominent scoop in the hills opposite the campsite, Canal de Chavida caught our eye and the map suggested that it could be made part of a circuit. We parked a little way up the road and soon discovered that there were no paths. Still the objective was clear and we eventually made the col. Over the other side it was total desolation, karsts country littered with ridges and shafts and very slow going. Thanks to my uncanny route finding ability it all turned out well in the end (somehow) though the section from the col, behind Tore del Ho yo Liordes could prove challenging in the mist.
Picture 7, the Canal de Chavida, and 8, Suzy at the col, looking slightly appalled by the next section.
We did further walks in the area and moved round the range to a pleasant campsite neat Potes but the weather turned unsettled and the peaks remained obstinately in the cloud. One of the fun trips in the area was La Ruta de Treviso. This was an amazing and sometimes exposed, 800m ascent zigzag path from the village of Desfiladero de la Hermida to the pretty village of Treviso. For most of its life until well into the 20th C this path was the only access to the village though it now has a road. The route is said to be used daily by the Treviso postman. We never saw him! Nine, Suzy, some of the zigzags are visible.
Pyrenees. The Ordesa Gorge
From the Picos de Europa we wandered our way back towards the Pyrenees eventually landing up at the village of Torla close to the famous Ordesa gorge. Here there was an excellent campsite close to the village and although private vehicles were not allowed into the gorge during the summer months there was a regular bus service. Torla wa a beautiful little village though I suspect that it becomes a bit of a nightmare once the summer holidays start.Picture 10 is Torla from next to our campervan.
The gorge is a beautiful; place and well worth the hype. We walked through the woods, past cascades, along the gorge, to the Horses tail waterfall at the end of the valley where it opens out into a green bowl and the path begins to rise steeply towards Refugio de Góriz, see picture 12. We turned right to follow the high level path along the south side of the gorge. This was a wonderful track, with splendid views, picture 13, and very flowery, I've never seen so many Edelweiss, even in Austria. From the Miranda de Camilla the path drops in endless zigzags back to the car park.
There are endless waterfalls in the upper valley though they are often well hidden, picture 11 shows some smaller ones that were not. Higher in the valley beyond the tree line there are green meadows, a waterfall called the Horses Tail and views of Monte Perdido 3348m which is on the border with France.
On a following trip we tried to climb out of the gorge up the ravine visible behind the deer. All went well until we reached 20m rock step right at the top. Walkers ahead of us were using Via Ferrata gear, we were unequipped and Suzy refused, probably rightly so. We traversed the hillside on a delightful tiny path that eventually led us out onto a recognised trail and a descent back to the valley.
After another day we moved on a little, did a bit more walking and eventually recrossed the Pyrenees on the A138 back into France.
The show 'aint over 'til the fat lady sings, see the France page.