I am having a nightmare. Ana and I are driving a never ending, twisting and turning road up a high mountain in deep darkness. We know that any mistake will plunge the car off of a 500 foot cliff. The road is narrow, with little room for oncoming traffic the those that approach us have their high beams on. As they approach us, they flash their lights. At first we are confused by this and then we see an eight foot cow in the middle of the dark road…but I digress.
It is a beautiful morning. In most of Spain, the sun does not rise until 8 a.m. It is hard to get up early here, as you must do it in the dark. So, mostly, I do not. When it is light I shower, and start the coffee. Ana is up and we make our breakfast. Before we are done, it is 10 a.m. We have a plan to visit the tram at Fuente de, about 2 hours away in the Picos de Europa National Park. We have read in several blogs or websites, you ride the tram up into the peaks, then hike higher, or instead simply descend through the amazing mountains back to the tram parking area. We have read the descent takes an hour or so and provides wonderful views. We are off to do this by 10:30.
First we must climb the mountain just north of Prioro, where we are staying. It is not small, but we are becoming semi-locals having crossed over it three times in the past two days. With that behind us, we travel through many hamlets along our country road until we pass the entrance to the park that take one to Cain and the george walk. Now we are on a different route to Potes, which the national park gateway to Picos de Europa. We start to twist and turn up another huge mountain.The road is incredibly difficult to drive; it is almost impossible to say how much it turns and how narrow it is. When we reach the pass, we can see over the other side. In the bright sunshine, we are above a cloud bank that fills the valley below. We stop on a mountain top pull-off and I get out of the car to shoot the the surrounding mountain peaks with the clouds below. I walk off the shoulder to get a good view downward and begin to hear the soft clanging of cow bells below. Pastures rise up the entire mountain, and herds of cows are below.
We are heading down and the drop offs to our outside are simply spectacular. The curves are continuous and frightening. Soon motorcyclists start coming by in groups; the first groups racing at unwise speeds. Later, more come behaving more respectfully. After the second group of binkers, there is a 1000 pound cow standing in the road broadside. We slow to a crawl not sure if we should use the other lane not sure if the cow will continue across? A few miles later we will find multiple cows on the narrow road. Forgive me if I didn’t count them. We work our way through the herd and continue downward. The vistas continue to be amazing! The drive a test of courage.
At the bottom of the mountain we find Potes. It is a typical gateway town to a major park. Clean and bright and busy. We decide, having found a parking space, it would be wise to lunch here. I want to find something quickly, eat and be on our way. There is an outdoor cafe that is open at noon across from our parking lot. It does not look to special, but we need to move on. The woman working the out door tables is friendly and explains for 12 euros we can get a menu of the day lunch. Oh, well. Why not. Soon we are eating a brothy noodle soup, with shared plate of local sauges and meats and garbanzos beans. Peasant fare. Of course the meal includes a bottle of red wine. We have the good sense to take most of the bottle with for later.
We find the tram and it is not to busy and the parking lot has a space. Very good for a major attraction in a national park. We have not changed into our hiking gear and the ticket seller looks us up and down, when we ask for a one-way ticket. “You don’t have the shoes to make the hike,” he says. Ana assures him, we have proper gear in the car. “It’s 4 hours down,” he says looking at the old codgers.”
I want to walk down. I think Ana can handle it. There are hikes upward from the tram, but I don’t think she will respond well to them and I am sure that she will be awed during the walk down. We change and come back to buy tickets. The ticket seller see us in our gear and says, “I’ve made the walk in 2.5 hours. We think that’s a good sign.
The cable car ride is a quick one. We zoom to the upper base in 4 minutes. When we get off the views are fabulous and of course we stop for some photos. We begin the walk with quite a few others who have arrived before us. The car has left us in a large flat field that leads to enormously impressive peaks around a semi circle. The field is full of sheep and a few goats gnawing on the grassy spots. Of course we stop for some photos. We must walk upward before going down. I immediately feel the altitude. Later I will be surprised that we are only starting at about 6000 feet. I fell like it is more than 8000. At first, for the first 800 yards, everybody goes the same way. We head out, but feeling the altitude, we go slowly up the slight hill. We reach a point where we are going to much higher, or descend. We begin the descent and leave most of the walkers behind. Ana wants to know why that is and I tell her that most people as sissies. They come up on the cable car walk around for a half hour and then take it down. She seems okay with that.
We start the train down and I see and the terrain is wide open that we will circle around the edge of a massive valcano as we drop downward. I am not really please to see this as we will be walking on a road and it will be a long route, as I can see much of it as we stand at the very top. We start down and there are very few hikers going our way. A mountain biker zooms by a precarious speed. Everywhere I look the views are beyond spectacular and beautiful as well. The sun is bright and moves across the jagged peaks as we walk lighting them differently as we move along. I couldn’t be more pleased with this experience. Ana is doing well with the descent. We are enjoying the views of the green pastures below at the base of the crater and the silver gray peaks all around brilliant in the sun. As we walk we have views of a small hotel operated in the cater below, adding a bit of mystery to the hike.
We have walked a good distance when we get to the hotel. I am eager for the trail to start turning back toward the parking lot, as I do not want to continue away from our goal, the car, and well before dark. I can see the road a twisting ribbon of gray the the green pasture land below. It is making no effort to reach the bottom of the tram, instead meandering through downward sloping green pastures. We head down and it is along way without any sign of the road going the way I want. I do not want to end up somewhere else than the parking lot. Still I cannot see it turning in that direction. I am not used to hiking in open territory. In NH, we hike in the deep forest and are never quite sure where we are. Here one can see the progress of the descent. So, it becomes worrisome. After we are a mile or so below the hotel, we find ourselves surrounded by hugh cows, some with very impressive horns. Ana is not pleased with this. She picks up a rock two inches across and says if they charge she will toss it at them. I am amused by this, as the rock would have the same affect on the cow as it would a Mac truck bearing down on her. The cows of course are interested in grass not people and with little interest let us pass.
After another mile onward and 1000 feet down, we see that the road will turn right and head back toward the tram base. It is a sight for sore eyes. Still there is a very long way to go; at least we cannot see any sign of the end. We are walking through pastures deeply green with spiky gray stone peaks on every side. As we dropped down with the carpet of green, we see a young woman running through the grass and between the grazing herds of cattle. Is she a worker from the hotel running home. Or someone in training for a iron woman event? We will never know, she is past us quickly and on down the slope never to be seen again.
We have dropped and dropped down, but the trail still goes on. Finally, we oome to a tilted sign post. Ana reads the arrow shaped sign pointing sort of down hill. Forty-five more minutes to the bottom. A small sign of encouragement. Ana is tired and irritated now by the distance and the the pain in her legs. I tell her there is little to do but finish. I am not making the point well. She has become afraid we will not beat the darkness to the bottom. Long ago I have rationalized we have enough time, but she has not.
To make things worse for her, an allergy she has, has kicked up. The is blowing her nose and sneezing as we continue down. It is becoming a very long 45 minutes. Now the trail down is steeper and in the woods. It is giving no hope of ending. I have experienced his in the White Mountains many times, but she has not. I know how tired she is of the walk, but there is little I can do to help her get through it. A farmer comes up the wooded lane in a safari truck. Ana flags him down. She wants to know how far the bottom of the trail is? Poco he says, not far. One mans poco, is not another woman’s. A bull emerges on the road fromt the forest. He is bleating a mournful cry, as he is separated from the herd. He is hugh and Ana must pass him. She picks up another stone. We get by the bull and the road is now paved, making the walking a bit easier if still sharply downhill. I sense the end and have moved ahead of Ana. I see buildings. We are walking off the mountain into a village. This does no make sense. We have come out of the trail to the road far down from the parking area. We are in a mountain hamlet substantially below our car. We see a tavern open. I suggest we have a beer and I will walk up to get the car, while Ana waits. She does not want to wait alone. We order a beer and get the bar keep to find us the number of a cab. It takes two tries to finally get a cab to come, but when he does, it is the best 10 Euros I have ever spent. We were facing a four mile walk up hill. Neither of us had it in us. It is pretty much dark when we get to the car. We forgo dinner in Potes in favor of the nightmarish drive over the mountain. We will eat scrammbled eggs in our apartment in Prioro and get home before midnight. I do the drive, Ana cooks the eggs. She is sore and not used to this kind endurance test. She is not sure she will get out of bed tomorrow to walk to see the wild horses.
European Trip 2019 