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Published: October 30th 2008
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Friday:
Sara and I left Salamanca by bus in the wee hours of the morning - the Salmantinos were still out
partying when we got on the bus. We expected to get a few hours of sleep on the ride, but our bus
driver enjoyed taking the highway circles (they use circles instead of on/off ramps) at maximum speed
which makes it difficult to rest. When we started seeing signs for our town, Oviedo, we decided to
disembark to that we could catch our next bus. After getting off and collecting our bags, I realized that
the bus stop didn’t say “Oviedo” anywhere so I asked the bus driver (from outside the bus and, yes, in
Spanish),
“Is this the Oviedo stop?”
He informed me that it was not, and that in fact, he would not be driving to that city! As I couldn’t
find my ticket fast enough, he closed the bus doors in my face and drove away!
It was eight in the morning so of course the bus stop wasn’t open yet and nobody was there to sell
tickets. The only person there was a security guard. I asked him where we were (after laughing
Rio
The water was incredibly clear - I guess because it was fresh from the mountain spring. at my
question) he told me the name (it’s a town so small and unknown that I’ve already forgotten the name)
and then he informed me that nobody worked at the stop anymore and it would be impossible to buy
return tickets.
Beginning to get worried that I might have to live in this little town permanently, I asked how to
leave. He suggested a taxi, but said it wasn’t likely that a taxi would drive by the station that day!
About to give up and start walking across town to the train station, we noticed another bus drive-up
and I saw that the sign said “Oviedo.” After explaining what happened and begging a little bit, the bus
driver let us on his bus for free and we finally arrived in Oviedo in time to catch our next bus to Arenas de
Cabrales, a small town in the north of Spain.
Once in Arenas de Cabrales, we took a quick nap, walked around town a bit, then decided to take a
hike. We found a marked pathway that went up one of the mountains. In total we probably walked about
3 hours up, with lots of picture
Refreshing
I stopped at a little waterfall to cool off by dipping in my toes - freezing! taking, stopping to snack on granola bars, and resting nearby the
streams. We came across lots of goats and even a miniature pony that is indigenous to the region.
At the top of the mountain, which so far had been completely deserted except for two passing
hikers, we met two 75-year old men shoveling hay. When we asked them how they got there, they said
that they walked it everyday! I knew then that I couldn’t complain anymore about how hard it was! He
gave us advice for the descent, which only took about 2.5 hours.
We went into town that night for dinner. Arenas de Cabrales is supposed to be known for their
variation of blue cheese and sidra (apple-cider). I didn’t brave the blue-cheese, but I did sample a glass
of sidra. The two local dishes that we sampled for dessert were the most delicious part of the whole
meal!
I went to bed well-fed, but exhausted from the impromptu hike.
Saturday:
Woke semi-early and breakfasted. After packing our stuff, we decided to take a taxi to the beginning of the route in order to shave 6 km off of our walk. When
Almost there
It was so hot and the sun was so strong that I ended up wearing my sweatshirt as a turban - good thing no one was up there to see me as I'm sure I looked a little ridiculous I researched the Ruta del Cares (Route of the River Cares), I read that it was an easy, lowlands hike along the river that all the tourists do - sounds easy, right?
The first 30 minutes went straight up the side of the mountain - I thought I’d never make it! After that, most of the path was level and easy (like in the pictures). It was a three hour, beautiful hike to get to the half-way town. There were surprisingly a lot of people out hiking through the national park that day and the weather was perfect (just brisk enough that I didn’t sweat, you know how I hate that!).
After our lunch along the river bank, we started along the path again only to find that there isn’t a designated “path” for quite a while. You just walk along the road that leads out of Cain (the half-way city, where apparently most people stop and go back) until you come across the path again.
All-in-all, it was a trip well worth the 5 hours (we finished one hour earlier than anticipated) of walking.
We arrived in the late afternoon to our destination city of Posada de Valdeon where
Wildlife
Maybe not so wild, but there were still a lot of cows, goats, and sheep. we located our hotel. It was one of the only three hotels in the city - and they said that they hadn’t received our reservation. About to drop from exhaustion, Sara insisted until finally the receptionist offered us a room. When she said it was a “matrimonial bed” Sara and I told her we’d sleep anywhere as long as it had a pillow. The woman must have been so disturbed by the thought of us sharing a “matrimonial bed” that she changed the rooms of some of the other guests in order for us to have separate beds!
That may have been the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in.
Sunday:
We decided to go horse-back riding through the Picos. We found a company that offered guided tours for 3-hour rides. We had to walk 3 km to get to the stables, but that was almost nothing after what we’d done the past few days.
We met Carlos, the guide, who gave us a quick lesson on holding the reigns, ascending and descending hills, and how to speed-up and stop. Two others joined our ride, and we left. I was riding Caldero, who must have eaten some
Sidra
The apple-cider which is famous in the northern region of Spain has to be poured from above your head so that the sidra catches air before it hit your glass. The brown bucket is to catch all the sidra that doesn't make it in the cup. bad oats for breakfast because he grunted the first 30 minutes and had bad gas the last 2 hours - just my luck!
Again, I thought that this would be an easy, lowlands route for beginners - wrong again! The first hour we worked our way to the top of the mountain range (not easy even for the horses) which provided beautiful views of the mountain range and the towns that we had walked through. The last two hours consisted of a leisurely stroll down the mountain. Then a 3 km sprint to make it back in time for our bus to Leon!
Monday:
Again in Leon, the hotel receptionist had no knowledge of our reservation, but luckily had a room available. We toured the town - Cathedral, city walls, parks, historic buildings and ice-cream shops! The also had an antique book-fair that was interesting. We left that afternoon to return to Salamanca.
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