The Beautiful Picos de Europa in Asturias, northern Spain

Accompanied by our friends Paul Gratz and Timmi Perierra, we rented a big, comfortable, 4-door Peugeot and set off west toward Asturias. Our goal was to visit the national park, Picos de Europa. It's not a large park, covering only 650 square kilometers, but the effects of glacial erosion on the limestone massifs  that form the Cantabrian mountains is very impressive. Tom and I have visited the park before and we vowed to return with better rain gear....yes, another place with plenty of rain...and take advantage of the hiking opportunities.

Picos de Europa in red

 

 Our first hike started at Lake Enol, high in the Cantabrian mountains above the town of Covadonga.

We walked over a high saddle and then down a few hundred feet until we reached the shores of Lake Ercina. We followed the shore and then climbed up another high saddle.

The view was spectacular. The high clouds and low fog drifted past the lake and the mountains, at times completely obscuring the view and other times tantalizing us with glimpses of rugged, snow covered peaks.

The hike continued through rocky limestone terrain alternating with velvet green meadows. It was some of the most beautiful hiking I've ever done. Paul and Timmi seemed to enjoy it too.

This was supposed to be a 3 hour hike, but the wildflowers were terribly distracting. Tucked into clefts in the limestone or growing beneath overhanging rocks, many of the blooms were from alpine plants. It reminded me of hiking in the Burren. Luckily for me, Timmi shares my love of plants. The most frequently heard cry was "new species alert". I lost track of the number of different flowers and plants we saw.Yes, there were flowers in colors other than blue...pink, yellow, red, lavender...but this shade of blue is particularly striking and rare:

The gentians were especially stunning:

The following day, we followed the Cares river to the funicular that runs through the heart of the mountain to the little village of Bulnes, one of my favorite places in Spain or anywhere else in the world. It is accessible by funicular and by a 3 hour path, but not by road. The funicular opened in 2001 and runs a bit more than 2 kilometers at an 18% grade through the heart of the massif Peña Main. When I looked down at the path I was grateful for the funicular!

It's pretty thrilling to ride through the mountain, but that is secondary to the  exhilaration you feel when you exit the funicular: you find yourself in a small valley with an ancient village that consists entirely of dove-grey stone buildings with red tile roofs. The village is bisected by a small, crystal clear river that is crossed by a small stone bridge. The  snow-covered peaks loom over you and the sounds of dozens of cow bells fills the air.

We set off on a rocky climb up toward a point with a view of the famous peak called El Naranjo de Bulnes, because it picks up orange hues during sunset. That's the Naranjo on the left, peeking through the clouds.

It was a challenging hike for some of us (Tom excepted), but the views were spectacular. Paul and Timmi still seem to be having fun!

The flowers were, again, distracting, as we made lots of new finds. Transhumance, where herds/flocks are driven up to high pastures for summer grazing and driven down to lower altitudes to over-winter, is still practiced in this part of Spain. Luckily, the cows were being driven up to Bulnes the day we arrived, so the numerous alpine flowers were still intact.

comfrey

orchid

wild primrose

The next day, Tom arranged a special tour of the cave of El Castillo, which contains paleolithic art more than 40,000 years old. This means that the cave art was probably painted by Neaderthals, and has made scientists re-think previously accepted theories regarding the superiority of Homo sapiens. The caves of Altamira are much better known, but unfortunately for humans, is closed to preserve the fragile environment and the paintings. El Castillo is one of the last caves containing paleolithic art that is still open to the public although access is very restricted. It is a special and enchanting place, not solely because of the paintings, but also due to the spectacular rock formations within the cave. Photographs are not permitted, but if you would like to see some photos of the caves, follow this link.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/06/120614-neanderthal-cave-paintings-spain-science-pike/

Morocco Part 2: Volubilis, Berkane and Mike

We hired a car and driver for a day long trip to Volubilis, Roman ruins located just north of Meknes, about 1.5 hours from Fes. Our guide in Fes, Najib, wanted to go along with us as he had business in Moulay Idriss, a town a short distance from Volubilis, so we had a congenial party of four and the driver, Hishan, had Najib to talk to. Hishan was a great driver who I came to appreciate more after experiencing Berkane taxis.This was a very pleasant, convenient and inexpensive way to get to Volubilis and back.

The countryside between Fes and Volubilis was varied; a beautiful lake, wheat fields, olive orchards interplanted with wheat, and acres and acres of blooming wildflowers. Morocco was an unexpectedly rich country agriculturally. I never saw chemicals being used but did see farmers spreading manure in the olive groves.

Then came the unique beauty of Volubilis.  Volubilis represents almost the farthest outpost of the Roman empire. It was founded in the third century BC as a Phoenician/Carthaginian settlement but was taken over by the Romans during the first century BC. Due to the abundance of olive groves and oil presses, it became very wealthy and rose to prominence in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, when it had a population of 20,000. Volubilis was the capital of a larger region that was ruled by Juba II and his wife, Cleopatra Selene, who was the daughter of Cleopatra of Egypt and Mark Antony. By 300 AD Volubilis had fallen to local tribes; it was never retaken by Rome as it was deemed to be too remote to control. It continued to be inhabited until the 8th century. Recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1997, it is noteworthy for its mosaics, the grandeur of the ruins and the beauty of the surroundings, although it should be noteworthy for the wildflowers, too.

Berkane was our next stop in Morocco, because that's the Peace Corps site where our nephew Mike is stationed. Thru the interpretation efforts of Najib, we arranged a ride with Hishan from Fes directly to our hotel in Berkane.That meant that we didn't have to buy train tickets, didn't have to change trains, didn't have to take the bus from the train to the gran taxi in Nador and didn't have to negotiate the gran taxi from Nador to Berkane. All these actions would have had to take place in Fractured French (memo to self: start classes with Helen Lancaster!) so it was a great relief and didn't cost much more than the alternatives.
The countryside alternated between brushy desert and fertile fields, with the snow-capped Atlas mountains in the background. Hishan stopped so we could take photos of the camels (actually dromedaries, according to him.) Cool!

It was grand to see Mike and to meet his girlfriend Krista. They are real troopers, teaching life skills to Moroccan youth using English courses as a vehicle. They were so warm and welcoming and we couldn't have done it without their translation abilities. Berkane is a tough assignment; gritty, poor, culturally very Islamic, and pretty isolated. I thought about calling it rundown but that would imply it had a apex of beauty and success and I'm not sure it ever did. Maybe Berkane is more like the 'real' Morocco than Fes. I loved seeing Mike and Krista and hearing about what they do. This is what the main street looks like:

The cafe society in Berkane is limited to men; there were very few women in cafes and the women you saw were usually cooks or cleaners, not customers. It appeared that the society was very traditional and that women lead very separate lives, but that is my opinion based on less than a week in Morocco.
Mike and Krista were able to take us on a couple of day trips. After the cold and damp of Bilbao, the beach was like heaven. Krista was a sensation; a beautiful blonde woman in a swimming suit. Even I got some unwelcome stares. There's a definite difference between checking someone out and leering.
What do Moroccan women wear to the beach? Djellaba and head scarf. What do they wear to swim? Djellaba and headscarf. And if you ask a woman if you can take her picture, her husband will respond for her. Krista had a wraparound swimming skirt that she let me borrow so I wouldn't be such a target for unwelcome stares as I made the trek from the blanket to the water. I was very grateful to be able to swim. Thanks Krista! Thanks for making us a fine dinner, too.

Tom enjoys the waves

Mike and Krista at Ras El Ma

We also went on a small hike through the mountains, where the wildflowers were still in bloom:

The morning before we left, Mike took us on a tour of the Berkane weekly market place. Picture this: The Santa Cruz Farmers' Market doubled in size and combined with the San Jose Flea Market, doubled in size too. The combined market is placed with the old Santa Cruz Dump (lots of plastic bags) on one side, and high priced West Cliff Dr houses on the other side. That's what the market in Berkane is like.

Mike was instrumental in getting us safely to the airport.  Farewell Mike and Krista! Thanks for all your help. Sadly, we have less than 2 weeks left in Bilbao and 30 days until we return to Santa Cruz. Just enough time for friends to visit, a road trip to Asturias and a longer drive through the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean. Stay tuned!