Tough walk

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When the person in the tourist information described our chosen walk as 'straight up there, turn left at the little house and follow the path back to Fuente De' you are led to believe that it will be pretty straight forward. With our detailed map and having given the terrain the once over for signposting we felt confident. However, The Picos de Europa with its copious shear rock faces is not walking territory for the faint hearted. In fact we think to describe its high peaks as walking terrain is totally misleading, challenging hiking or mountaineering more accurate. So we embarked on our chosen route with its mild difficulty rating. We ascended quickly away from our base camp careful to keep orientated and on track. We kept to the most substantial populated path (three other couples) and no signposting told us otherwise. Our route was not at odds with our map although this terrain had very few definite points of navigation with each peak being virtually identical to our untrained eyes.

We progressed up well even enjoying tackling the odd tricky scree slope. However, when confronted be a rope to help us clamber over some vertical obstacles the enjoyment began to drain out of us. We were now ascending a steep canal, shaded by the high rock faces around either side of us. Our heightening frustration and anxiety with our now loose rock based skyward path was being matched by adrenalin production. An hour of careful concentration and deep effort passed before we reached our summit. No little house awaited us (as tourist information had succinctly directed us) it was as if we were on the moon. Everywhere was grey limestone rising in all directions to now slightly more modest looking peaks. No signposts and no points for definitive orientation were on offer. We refuelled with lunch now seriously questioning our location. We could not return by our route so continued on the only definitive path some four hours into our supposedly modest walk. We hopefully waited to round the next peak and for our onward path to connect back to the return route we had investigated in our reccy the previous day. It did not appear in fact our path became more indescript and then disappeared. Cheated of good information and guidance we only had one option. That was a cable car that had been visible earlier near were we had reached our perilous summit. We made our way back towards the cable car zone picking up some minor tracks which thankfully brought us to the busy cable car station. As we descended in the cable car we were provided a clear view across the mountainside we had earlier conquered. This revealed our misadventure. The path for the correct route although more indescript as it divided unsignposted from the trail we had followed was now visible from above confirming we had taken a path unmarked on our apparently detailed map. Without the cable car who knows what would have had to have been out route down.

The Spaniards carefree and nonchalant attitude to this life threatening terrain is up to them but we will not be joining them in their uplands again anytime soon.

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Comments

[Liz Allen]

Happy Birhtday Gina
Hi Gina, happy birthday from us both. Please don't let him take you up any more death defying peaks. I am looking forward to seeing you both in one piece! Have a great day. Love Liz and derek xxx