Excursion to Picos de Europa

Another excursion for today, this time to the Picos de Europa. It's thought that the name, Peaks of Europe, came from that this mountain range was the first sight of land for mariners approaching the Asturian and Cantabrian coasts.

The tour company and guide were the same as the day before, which amused both of us: You again? We drove through winding roads to reach Santo Toribio de Liébana, a monastery from the 6th century.

The Gothic church dates from the 13th century.

It's said to hold the largest fragment of the True Cross.

The monastery is one end of the Camino Liebanego which is a camino branching off from the Camino Norte. From Liébana, the Camino Valdiniese joins the main Camino Frances at Léon.

It's undertaken for religious reasons but also by hikers to enjoy the mountain scenery of the Picos.

Another 40 minutes driving found us at the Fuente Dé cable car station.

This is in the Picos de Europa National Park which is where the three communities of Castille and Leon, Cantabria, and Asturias meet.

Very Impressive rock face.

My fellow passengers watching the descending car which would pick us up.

This what you see when you get to the top station.

Mountains left and right. And unfortunately, my finger.

A couple of broad views.

Off to the right of the viewing platform.

There were alpine birds enjoying themselves soaring. I not knowledgeable about birds but they may have been eagles. It was difficult with my prosumer camers to take a picture with the speed at which they flew. In this telephoto shot one is near the bottom of the frame.

A rugged peak off to the side.

The area behind the top station. It is possible to walk further up and probably join up with the trail.

Starting from here.

A selfie camera pedestal.

A few minutes walk up to a nearby plateau.

Where I took a couple of photos of a couple of choughs.

Or maybe the same chough.

There was more free time to wander before taking the cable car to the bottom station. Our guide is the man facing the camera.

For lunch we were taken back to Potes, the largest town in the area, at the confluence of four valleys.

As a result of its location, it's reasonably scenic.

The road that goes over the bridge from which the previous shots were taken.

I chuckled to myself because on our way into the Picos we had traversed a town called Panes. So, Panes and Potes, hahaha.

I fell in with a German couple for lunch at a local restaurant. Sidra (cider) is a Picos specialty, along with cheese. They ordered a cider fountain and it looked like this. By depressing the bellows cider flows out of the top of the pipe. The cider was unfiltered thus the cloudiness. It was natural, so tasted sour.

We had over a hour more to explore the town so here are scenes I encountered.

This is the tourist office and also the information centre for the Camino Liebanego from the writing.

The stereotypical narrow street with businesses catering to visitors. If Potes is starting to sound like a tourist trap, you can't blame it, it's the largest town in the area so visitors have to stay, eat and drink somewhere so probably here.

At the end of that street there was access to the river bank so we took that way. The river does look lovely in the autumn light.

We followed the path downstream.

And came to the confluence of two rivers.

And the was the last photo for the day. We were taken back to Santander. On parting the guide joked: See you tomorrow?

I must have had an uneventful evening.