With the big adventure behind us now and our calves still reminding us, we were understandably feeling like a gentler activity the next day (our last in the mountains) and I suggested that we drive to Cangas de Onis and catch the tourist shuttle up the mountain to the remote Lagos de Covadonga (the Covadonga Lakes.)

The road is described in my guide book as “not a road for nervous drivers..” and in the high season it is blocked altogether when the shuttle bus plies the route. We arrived at the shuttle departure point, could see the bus stop but no sign of activity and the boom gate positioned to block traffic from starting up the mountain road was open. We asked some people that we saw driving down and they said that the shuttle hadn’t started the season yet and the road was “ok but had lots of slow traffic.”

How hard can it be I said and being the adventurous type, off we went.

It started well, a few hairpin curves, relatively wide, saw a few cars and BIG buses coming down, a piece of cake.. but, in order to gain the 1000m in elevation that it does, it then gets pretty hairy. Very steep gradients, the road cut into the side of the cliff in places, massive tour buses coming down at very inopportune times and the occasional cow or three wandering down the road completed the picture.

 

 

At one stage we could see a large traffic jam ahead us on the road and I decided to pull in to a look out and let that pass. The views were spectacular and after a couple of large coaches had come down we thought it safe to continue up the mountain, however, a little further up we came across the reason for the traffic jam. A rental van had tried to avoid an oncoming car on a particularly narrow stretch and the right hand wheels had gone over the edge and whilst not a sheer cliff it looked precarious. The driver and his passenger were waiting in a safe spot for rescue and as we passed Russell went a whiter shade of pale than he had already been and there was silence from Fiona in the back seat. 🤦‍♀️ I was actually enjoying the drive, my only regret not being able to appreciate the view.

After encountering a bit more traffic and a few more cows, beautiful Lake Enol, the larger of the two main lakes, came into view and it was worth every heart stopping moment on the road.

 

We drove up and over the hill and Lake Ercina came into view, complete with a tiny restaurant and a fair amount of day trippers and some serious hikers.

We parked the car and had a bit of a wander but the ground was VERY wet underfoot (somehow I was wearing hiking sandals) and Fi and I were also still recovering from our epic walk the day before so we didn’t venture too far.

(We were to realise later that the respiratory symptoms and tiredness we all came to feel over the coming days was in fact Covid! It made Fiona and I even more proud of our achievement on the Ruta del Cares which was in retrospect Day 1 😢)

Some time later and safely off of the mountain, we decided to investigate the easier to access but no less well known sites, the first of which was the Santa Cueva de Covadonga or Holy Cave of Covadonga.

“THE SHRINE WITHIN THE HOLY Cave of Covadonga is dedicated to the Virgin of Covadonga. But though the cave is now linked to Christianity, it’s believed it was first a site for prehistoric pagan worship.

Covadonga is an important site in Christian history. It was where Christian forces in Iberia defeated a Muslim army at the Battle of Covadonga, marking the beginning of the Spanish Reconquista.

According to Christian tradition, the cave was where Pelagius of Asturias, a Visigoth nobleman and founder of the Kingdom of Asturias, found a statue of the Virgin Mary that a hermit had erected. The statue then later miraculously helped his forces defeat their enemies. According to another version of history, Pelagius and a group of Christian refugees sought refuge in the cave, where they found safety and fed on honey from the bees that lived there. The Christian troops then returned after their victory at the Battle of Covadonga to place the statue there.”

Whatever you believe it is an important spiritual site and we climbed the stairs to where several people were worshipping in the tiny chapel before continuing through the tunnel which connects to the precinct dominated by the spectacular Basilica de Santa Maria la Real de Covadonga.

Built between 1877 and 1901 and constructed entirely of pink limestone it is a magnificent Neo- Romanesque Church that dominates the skyline. We had a look inside (less magnificent) and then made our way back down the hill to the car and then on to Cangas de Onis.

Crossing the car bridge and walking back over the (quite steep) Roman bridge was enough for us today (with our soon to be confirmed Covid symptoms 😜) and we headed back to our accommodation just over an hour away.

This was our last day in the mountains so we had a bit of packing up and consolidating to do before moving on the next day, this time to the beautiful city of León.

Since we had decided to include the Picos in our itinerary many months ago, Fiona and I had been committed to doing the Ruta del Cares (Cares Gorge) hike, also known as La Garganta Divina, the Divine Gorge and a very apt description it proved to be.

It follows the deep gorge created by the Cares River from the village of Poncebos to the village of Cain and return for a total of 23.6 kms – the route from village to village by road is approximately 100km and nearly three hours on winding mountain roads.

So, we were faced with a dilemma, not sure if we were up to the return trip by foot, how to get back?

We arrived into the tiny village of Cain just in time for lunch and our serving of the local signature dish of fabada, (fat white beans) was ENORMOUS and defeated all of us 😂

Fiona and visited the restrooms (the last one for 12kms!), zipped up our coats and posed for pics at the beginning of the trail before waving goodbye to Russell who was going home with our guide, they would meet us at the other end.

After a lovely sunny morning sadly the heavens decided to open and it began raining as soon as we began walking! The rain would accompany us for about three quarters of our hike, not ideal but character building…

Fiona had tragically left a (“perfectly good” she told me) rain jacket in Australia and so the emergency poncho came out of my bag and actually did a surprisingly good job although we didn’t look like the most professional walkers on the trail 😂

With the weather just not cooperating I eventually packed the camera away and relied on the more ‘all weather’ iPhone as the rain became steadier. I still managed to take so many photos it is really difficult to cull them so please indulge me and I hope you appreciate (quite) a few of this magnificent region and probably one of the highlights of our whole trip.

There are some ‘passwords’ required at various points along the way which resulted in Fiona having to stare down the ‘local trail guides’ but we managed to get past without anyone going over the edge 😂

At the deepest part of the gorge the river is 1.5kms below and the sense of grandeur is breathtaking, with or without rain being able to experience this is an absolute privilege.

The last little stretch involves an uphill gradient followed by quite a steep downhill section with very loose gravel underfoot and after carefully negotiating this with very tired legs we were somewhat relieved to reach our pick up point just shy of four hours since leaving Cain.

With perfect timing Russell and Fernando rounded the corner and we climbed aboard for the journey home – wet, weary, hungry and exhilarated! 🙌

Tomorrow, we reach new heights at Covadonga Lakes.

The Picos de Europa (“Peaks of Europe”, also the Picos) are a spectacular mountain range extending for about 20 km, forming part of the Cantabrian Mountains in northern Spain and had been on my radar ever since Ben had visited there in 2018.

They are still relatively ‘undiscovered’ by the average tourist, English is not commonly spoken and technology has been slow to penetrate this rugged terrain. Shepherds still move stock up to mountain pastures during the summer and cultivate hay in the valley below to sustain their stock during the winter.

As soon as we saw the view from our living room window I knew that five nights wasn’t going to be enough.

The next day Russell wasn’t feeling 100% so we took it pretty easy at ‘home’, giving me the time to look at maps, weather forecasts and timetables in order to best plan our remaining time in the mountains.

Tuesday saw us heading out relatively early to visit the village of Bulnes. Bulnes sits at an elevation of 650 metres (2,130 feet) and has no vehicular access, instead traditionally accessed by one of two steep mountain trails where mules were used to transport supplies and the small number of inhabitants were often forced to abandon the village in winter.

All of that changed in 2001 when the Asturias government opened the Bulnes Funicular, a single-track railway with an 18% slope that operates through a tunnel for its whole length. The railway has an elevation gain of 402 m (1,319 ft) from its base in Poncebos to the terminus in Bulnes and the journey takes about seven minutes.

We wandered around the tiny streets where a couple of restaurants were already serving drinks and lunch, ingeniously keeping the former cold in crates submerged in the stream. Fiona and Russell made some new friends, the scenery in every direction was breathtaking and fortunately the cloud began to clear for us as the afternoon progressed.

Fiona and I hiked a little further up the slope to the Mirador (lookout) for the impressive Naranjo de Bulnes (known as Picu Urriellu in Asturian,) mountain peak. Apparently it is rarely visible, usually enveloped in cloud and the couple at the lookout told us they had been waiting 30 mins and it had just shown itself as we walked up 😍

After descending from there (harder than the ascent) we joined Russell at a very picturesque restaurant for a leisurely lunch where we sampled the local Cabrales cheese amongst other things.

After lunch we began to make our way slowly back to the funicular…

….but were waylaid by the sight of magnificent griffon vultures soaring overhead and busy foraging for their young that we spotted on a cliff ledge high above us.

I’m pretty sure I captured a vulture carrying a small animal in the third photo but they typically only scavenge for carrion so it remains a mystery 🤷‍♀️

Either way, we could have stopped there for hours but reluctantly continued down to meet the funicular, satisfied that our day trip to Bulnes had been a highlight so far.

Ironically, as we disembarked and stepped outside the entrance down in the valley, it was TEEMING with rain…. mountain weather 😉

Tomorrow, the epic Ruta del Cares delivers !

When we arrived in Bilbao (me hardly able to walk after my Gaztelugatxe experience 😂 ) we were met in the square above the car park by Fiona who had arrived a few hours earlier. She had been welcomed to our apartment by our lovely host and had already had a cup of tea and a stroll around the pedestrianised old town.

One of the main reasons I had allocated time to visit Bilbao was to visit the famous Guggenheim Museum.….

“Committed to innovation, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation collects, preserves, and interprets modern and contemporary art, and explores ideas across cultures through dynamic curatorial and educational initiatives and collaborations. With its constellation of architecturally and culturally distinct museums, exhibitions, publications, and digital platforms, the foundation engages both local and global audiences.“

…. and even more specifically, the iconic Puppy sculpture – on my Europe 2024 bucket list.

It was a pleasant kilometre stroll along the riverfront in ever increasing sunshine and we saw signage and bunting indicating an imminent footrace which subsequently took place along the river after we had reached the Museum.

For those of you that are familiar with the Guggenheim in Bilbao, you will know that aside from the spectacular architecture of Frank Gehry’s actual building there are a couple of iconic sculptures outside as well, notably Maman the spider and the Puppy.

The facade was stunning and photos were taken from every angle before we climbed the stairs toward the entrance and a distressing sight came into view….

The bloody Puppy was covered in scaffolding!

It was undergoing its spring re-planting, devastated I lamented long and loud to the others about how disappointed I was but at the end of the day even the Puppy needs re potting 😉

We had to be satisfied with photos of what might have been and what will be again…

Walking through the entrance Fiona confided that she’s not really a modern art museum type of person (neither am I really) to which I replied “the Guggenheim is not just any museum!”

We ended up spending a fascinating couple of hours in there, we split from Russell so that he could do his own thing and Fi and I surprisingly spent ages on the very first exhibition we came across, The Matter of Time.

It actually does do all of that and Fiona and I were suitably impressed!

We were a little more bemused by a prostrate Pinocchio and an eruption of toilet paper..

Rejoining Russell and all somewhat footsore by now, we strolled back along the vibrant waterfront and eventually made it to the frenetic Mercado de la Ribera , Bilbao’s largest covered market (allegedly Europe’s…) which was heaving with locals and tourist at lunchtime. Eventually securing a table, we chowed down on a selection of pinxtos and some delightful sangria.

The next day we largely followed the coast west for half a day and stopped in pretty Playa de la Arnia with its dramatic rock formations and amazing views for our lunch break.

At this point I would like to mention a great app that I came across before we left home called LocationScout – basically you set it to show a predefined (adjustable) radius from your location and it shows interesting sites/subjects that other people have photographed including best time of day for sun position, parking nearby etc.

We actually found lots of great spots that were not necessarily in the tourist guides and it was great to be able to click ‘directions’ and it would default to Google maps and get us there! Some places were obviously very well known but others were more off the beaten track and as well as being very photogenic were great spots for driving breaks or day trips.

Back on the road we continued west until we reached Ribadesella and then veered left and southward toward our next destination perched high in the Picos de Europa mountain range.

It was with some trepidation that I drove up a single lane, switch back, mountain road which eventually deteriorated into a veritable goat track which Google insisted was right… Fortunately we met no oncoming cars or goats and eventually with some relief we sighted the sign for Jascal Country Cottages, our home for the next five nights.

Barbara, (originally from California many years ago) and Carlos, her Spanish hubby, have created an absolute gem of a place and as we were shown into our two level ‘cottage’ the mountains loomed front and centre and literally took our breath away.

Listening to cowbells ringing in the distance and watching clouds scurrying across the valley, I think we all decided that the goat track had been worth it.

Next, Fi and I pull on the hiking boots 😎

Heading south from Bordeaux it was a fairly short trip to pretty Hondarribia, situated at the mouth of the Bidasoa River which forms the French/Spanish border in this region.

When booking San Sebastian I had chosen accommodation away from the Old Town as most there generally don’t have parking. Consequently I was a little worried we would be too far from the action but it turned out that although our hotel was perched on the hillside above San Sebastian, it had a very cool elevator that descended about three stories down the hill and popped us out on the street below, ten minutes from the pedestrianised Old Town and not far from the beautiful Cathedral of the Good Shepherd.

We had visited San Sebastian many years ago but only as a day trip so over the next couple of days we had the opportunity to explore a little more and also to reacquaint ourselves with pinxtos that the area is famous for. Pintxos are small snacks, often (but not always) comprised of various ingredients held in place by a toothpick on a piece of bread. The word ‘pintxo’ means “spike,” hence the toothpick. The Old Town is THE place for pintxos and we managed to sample many different dishes during our stay (but somehow have no pictures of them 🤷‍♀️)

Our two full days barely allowed us to scratch the surface of this lovely city but as we checked out on our last day I was looking forward to checking off a bucket list location today in San Juan de Gaztelugatxe.

For those of you that are Game of Thrones fans, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe is Dragonstone, Daenerys Targaryen’s castle. The location has become so popular since GOT that access is now by (free) ticket in order to limit crowds in the high season and weekends. Luckily we were there mid week in perfect weather and early enough in the season that it wasn’t too crazy.

This idyllic place is located between the coastal towns of Bakio and Bermeo joined to the coast by a stone bridge and a 241-step staircase. The Church in situ now is not the original one (thought to have been built in the 9th century) as the island has seen its fair share of battles in GOT and real life.

Russell was content to view from the cafe but I was determined to trek down to the beach and then climb those 241 steps for the authentic experience and so climb them I did! (In much more appropriate shoes than many I saw 😂) It was absolutely stunning and so worth the small detour.

After a little recovery time (and an icecream) we were on the road again, a relatively short drive to Bilbao where Fiona awaited us. She had flown into Madrid the day before and then trained (and bussed, another story…) up to Bilbao to join us for the next few weeks.

Next up, Bilbao and the lost puppy……