[2/2] Ruta a los Lagos de Covadonga (PR.PNPE-2) cont. Largo de la Ercina had the prettier backdrop (📷1). We noted more new-to-us #flowers; this is Erythronium dens-canis | dogtooth violet, native to central & southern Europe (📷2). A large part of the trail led us over limestone areas (📷3). Ermita de El Buen Pastor is a small hermitage sitting in the Vega de Enol, a high mountain meadow adjacent to Lago Enol at ~1,070m altitude (📷4); the contrast of this small human-built structure set against a vast, dramatic alpine landscape gives you pause. A 6km/ 2h loop.

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[1/2] Ruta a los Lagos de Covadonga (PR.PNPE-2) was our second trail in Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa. The road to reach the trailhead is fairly long & winding; it closes to private cars at busy times (replaced by park & ride). En route we stopped at Mirador de la Reina for stunning views back over the still misty lowlands we’d driven through (📷1). There in the morning chill we were in turn observed by roosting Gyps fulvus | griffon vultures, perhaps waiting for thermals to form (📷2). We drove on to Lago Enol, the first of a pair of glacial lakes (📷3); 🅿️ at Aparcamiento Buferrera. We noticed fire on an adjacent peak & latter watched a helicopter drop a bucket of water on it. There’s a short detour to Minas de Buferrera, where manganese & iron were extracted intermittently between 1868 & 1979 (the road to the lakes is a legacy of mining activity). “ #Flower of the day” goes to Narcissus bulbocodium | the hoop-petticoat daffodil, a native to ES, PT & FR (📷4).

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Hard to beat sipping ☕️ coffee with a view out the 🚐 sliding door from pitch in Asiegu as the rising sun lit the snow-capped mountains of Picos de Europa.

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[2/2] Smalls from the Ruta del Cares (PR-PNPE 3) trail in Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa. Helicella itala | the heath snail is a native land snail (📷1); during hot, dry periods it climbs up vegetation & seals itself inside its shell to avoid overheating & dehydration. Dianthus hyssopifolius | the fringed pink is native to ES, PT & FR (📷2); it’s well adapted to rocky alpine environments. Pinguicula grandiflora | the large-flowered butterwort is another native (📷3); the flower is atypically large for a butterwort. Not all the smalls we noticed were living: being limestone country, some of the rocks contained the bodies of marine animals fossilised millions of years ago (📷4). Tectonic uplift transformed an ancient shallow sea into mountains!

🇪🇸#spain #asturias 🇪🇺#europe 🚀#travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾#hiking #nature #nationalPark 🌸#bloomScrolling

[1/2] Smalls from the Ruta del Cares (PR-PNPE 3) trail in Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa. Glandora prostrata | the creeping gromwell is native to ES, PT & FR (📷1); this was everywhere trail side, with a velvety sheen that seemed to confuse autofocus! Erodium cicutarium | the redstem stork’s bill is native to the Mediterranean Basin (📷2); after flowering it produces long, beak-shaped seed pods. Helleborus foetidus | the stinking hellebore is a mountain native belonging to the buttercup family (📷3); the species name is Latin for “foul-smelling”, the result of bruised/ crushed leaves. Globularia nudicaulis | the leafless-stemmed globularia (📷4); this native is so-named because the stem is naked, with leaves in a low rosette at ground level.

🇪🇸#spain #asturias 🇪🇺#europe 🚀#travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾#hiking #nature #nationalPark 🌸#bloomScrolling

[3/3] Ruta del Cares. The trail was no less dramatic walking it in the opposite direction (📷1). On our outbound leg the mountain goats were generally high above us, sometimes heard but not seen. On our return leg a number had descended onto the trail (📷2). At one point we encountered a “toll goat”, hoping to extract a fair exchange for passage through one of the tunnels (we didn’t feed it). A view ahead to a stretch of “up” before the final descent to the trailhead (📷3). Did we mention we saw goats? This she-goat was actively licking at a very particular patch of rock, which we took to be a quest for salt (📷4); apparently sodium is scarce in their normal alpine plant-based diet. 17km/ 5h out-&-back. Note there’s a non-zero probability of rockfall, but this trail is up there with the best we’ve done.

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[2/3] Ruta del Cares. At one point, looking down into the canyon, we observed what we think must be a resurgence, where water that has been flowing underground reappears at the surface; they’re common in karst landscapes (📷1). The trail, like the canal itself, passes through a number of tunnels when cutting into the sheer rock face isn’t enough (📷2); this bridged section includes a steel grate so you can see the drop beneath your feet (📷3). We turned around just beyond this window in the rock wall (📷4), at ~8.5km (about two thirds along the route), corresponding to the Riega las Párvulas waterfall, just beyond the border with the León region.

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[1/3] Ruta del Cares. With a fresh overnight dusting of snow on the peaks we set out to hike an out-&-back section of the 12km point-to-point Ruta del Cares (PR-PNPE 3) trail in Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa. This is the park’s most popular hike, linking Poncebos (Asturias) & Caín (León); it’s considered one of Spain’s most beautiful trails. We 🅿️ at Poncebos & initial views of the clear-flowing Río Cares from near the trailhead looked promising (📷1); a short stretch of road led to a well-formed path. The trail climbs through a deep limestone gorge with sheer cliffs that tower above the river; erosion has created rock pillars (📷2) & natural arches (📷3)—but human engineering in this landscape also must be admired. Between 1915 & the early 1920s, the company Electra de Viesgo built a canal to carry water from the Río Cares at Caín to a hydroelectric plant at Camarmeña–Poncebos. Up to 11 km long, it runs through ~70 tunnels excavated largely by hand with the aid of explosives; 11 workers were killed during construction. The maintenance path for this canal, widened between 1945–50, became today’s Ruta del Cares: the canal still carries water alongside, above & beneath the trail (📷4).

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Touring isn’t only about the scenery: sampling traditional foods is an obligation. From Sare in the northern Basque Country we savoured Gâteau Basque | Pastel Vasco | Etxeko Biskotxa, a traditional pie-like cake made of a buttery, shortcrust pastry typically filled with cherry jam (📷1) or vanilla cream. In southern Basque Country we sampled Tarta de Queso | Gazta Tarta, the crustless, creamy & caramelized or “burnt” cheesecake originating from San Sebastian but now widely available (📷2); we acquired ours in Zumaia. In the Asturian mountain village of Asiegu we shared a meal of delicious chorizo sausages, corn fritters served with strong Cabrales blue cheese & apple jelly (📷3), & tender roast 🐐 kid. Our host poured small amounts (a culín) of the almost flat local sidra | cider from a height over a special bucket (📷4); doing so releases tiny bubbles, the temporary fizz imparting texture & flavour that—for our part in the performance—should be consumed within seconds before it reverts!

🇫🇷#france 🇪🇸#spain #basqueCountry #asturias 🇪🇺#europe 🚀#travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife