Mountain Days

The past two weekends I’ve ventured into the Picos de Europa, the mountain range in the south of Cantabria (the province of Spain I’m currently in) that also extends into Asturias (the province to the West of Cantabria.) Although the weather wasn’t so great both times, we had some fun times exploring the Spanish montañas.

Potes

This town in the South of Cantabria is nestled in the foothills of the Picos. To get there, we had to take a very windy trip through a 20 km long gorge (just like Ithaca, except a lot bigger!) The Parque Nacional Picos de Europa was actually our first stop, but I didn’t get to see many Picos…it was a very foggy and rainy day in the mountains. Some people took the gondola up to the top, but I decided not to because of the fog. (There wasn’t much of a view!) Hopefully I’ll be able to go back when the weather is nicer and actually see these mountains, which are supposedly 8,500 ft tall.



The actual town of Potes is a small village subsisting mainly on tourism. There are a lot of shops selling “Productos Típicos”- Orujo (a local liquor), lots of cheese, and Iberian wolf t-shirts. Yes, the Iberian wolf t-shirts are very popular- they have a kind of Spanish Boy Scout flair to them I guess. So although the weather wasn’t too great, Zach, Caitlyn, and I had a good time perusing the kitschy souvenirs (just as bad as any you’d find in the USA) and checking out the old, tiny, cobble-stone streets and twelfth-century tower.



Canoeing the Sella

Yesterday we went on another mountain adventure, this time to Asturias, and again in the rain. This time we were going for a canoeing trip- 15 km down the Sella River. The rain was off and on during the drive there, and we almost thought it would be sunny for about 5 minutes when we arrived. However, by the time we set out in our boats, it was pouring down rain. No matter though- we were wet-suited, life-jacketed, lunch in a watertight canister ready to go. Caitlyn and I got shot into the river via a canoe waterslide (pretty fun) and had an interesting water trek through the rain down the river. We saw lots of trout, ate chorizo sandwiches while rowing, and sang songs to pass the time (I’m pretty sure we entertained everyone- we sang everything from Queen to The Little Mermaid, and we took requests.) We had a chance to bail at 10 km, when we were shivering, tired, very wet, and almost out of songs, but we decided to go big or go home and do all 15 km. It was worth it in the end- the last 5 km turned out to be even more scenic, even with the rain. Overall, a day well spent. And of course, the chicken noodle soup we made when we got home was a perfect way to finish it off.



Oh, and did I mention that the Sella empties out in the charming town of Ribadesella, my favorite town in Spain? And it was only 5 km away from where we finished up! Yay!