Monday 21st April

Monday 21^st April.

The place we really wanted to visit was the Picos mountains, on previous visits to this area it had stood out in the distance so here was a chance to get up close. It really is a beautiful area. We drove through the mountains via winding roads to a little town called Poncebos this marks the start of a famous 20km walk through the Carres Gorge to a town called Cain. It took us 3 hours to get to Cain where we had a meal and a rest before returning the same route back to Poncebos. The return was slightly more downhill and took 2 hours 40mins. Along the route there were wild goats, swifts, swallows and at the Cain end we also spotted an eagle flying between the cliffs.

We finally returned to Poncebos around 6pm. We decided to head to Potes for camping La Viorna. It was a 31mile drive along narrow winding roads made more difficult by the rain. We eventually pitched, showered and went straight to the bar…probably the cheapest campsite bar in Spain. A good sized Veal, chips and salad cost 7 euros but the beer was ridiculous at 1.20 euros a glass. We initially got chatting to an English guy on his way back from a winter in Portugal and then two guys from Yorkshire came in and we chatted and laughed our way through several beers. That night was the best I’d slept for months.

Around the mid point.

Although most of it is submerged into the rocks, this fast flowing canal follows much of the route.