Advertisement
Published: August 7th 2008
Our pace on the Camino Norte is somewhat more sedate than the Frances. There are two principal reasons for this. One, there is only about five days walking on the Norte by the coast that is supported by a good number of campsites (our preferred accommodation choice). Two, the beaches are extremely pleasant places to be with their relative under-population and lively waves. From Comillas we walked on to San Vincente both of which warranted three nights stay to fully explore and gain maximum benefit of the beach which at both locations was only a stones throw away from our little tent.
One of the potential options that we had in mind from the beginning for our journey through Spain was a skirmish into the Picos de Europa. A range of mountains of which we had been given strong recommendations to visit. Having discovered one of the three entry points into this rugged range of giant limestone peaks was easily accessible by bus from San Vincente we decided to go and explore. Arriving at Fuente De we not only found the end of the road but also the vast rock faces of the Picos de Europa starring down upon us
from over 2000m as we stood beneath them at 1000m. Having been previously bitten in the Sierra Nevada last year by the Spaniards very abstract approach to describing and marking mountain walking routes we knew we needed to proceed with caution. These breath taking peaks could well achieve just that on a more permanent basis without enough respect. Following our early afternoon arrival a properly detailed map (a highly elusive item in this land) was purchased and a warm up route was completed to assess the quality of signposting and difficulty. We were not disappointed the mountains produced spectacular vistas and the huge birds (eagles and vultures) menacingly cruised the skies above us. This was indeed tough walking country but our path had been well marked and with a light pack it promised to be rewarding territory. Tomorrow we'll venture deeper into these mountains.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.099s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 9; qc: 49; dbt: 0.0568s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Brian and Sue
non-member comment
End of Stage 1?
Hola de nuevo - ahora debería estar al final de su experiencia (o la peregrinación) y tienen recuerdos que durarán toda la vida y habilidades en el idioma español, excursiones, lectura de mapas, camping y cocina en un presupuesto!. Felicidades. Gran blog - esperando a conocer algunas de las experiencias cuando se reunirá la próxima. Au revoir! Brian y Sue