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/



Now back in Bilbao, we are cleaning our beloved piso, packing our luggage and saying goodbye to Bilbao, friends and the rain (we hope!). Friday is moving day. David and Amy plan to visit Valencia before returning to California and Tom and I will drive through the Pyrenees before our June 19 flight back to the U.S.
I hope that you've enjoyed reading our blog as much as we've enjoyed doing the research! Spain and especially Bilbao are near and dear to our hearts; I appreciated every moment of the opportunity to live my life as a Spaniard.  The experiences in Morocco and Spain have enriched my life by allowing me to view the world from a new and entirely unexpected perspective. I can't express it any better than that great wit and consummate master of words, Mark Twain-


Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.


This may be my last post for awhile.