La Calma Ribadesella

... for GPS--made for exciting times. ["Paul, I think we're driving in a dried river bed....the road ended back there!"]

We made our way into the Picos de Europa, a beautiful national park with amazing mountains. The hotel we're in is nestled in a small valley with impressive mountains all around. The Christian part, a beautiful medieval-looking church sitting up high....and of course a ...

... saying. We were at La Playa Franca and it was BEAUTIFUL!! I call it “where the mountains meet the sea”. I have never seen anything like that before, so it was very amazing to me. The mountains were literally going into the sea. We spent an hour taking pictures and exploring and just soaking in all of the beauty.

The rest is just said with pictures.....

... the mountains following the river Cares. Although it is only possible to see the river occasional due to it being too far below the path it is possible to hear it. The walk is about 24 kilometers there and back. Approx 16 miles. We have never been on such a spectacular walk. The path clings to the cliff face hundreds of meters above the gorge and burrows through solid rock. It is very difficult to describe adequately.

Tomorrow 2 10 09 we move on.

... We rolled into San Sebastian around 10 to find the office closed!! Fortunately, they had only stepped away for a break and after setting up we sat by the camper and enjoyed some rose and regular port. 

         

... course was a mixed green salad with breast of duck sprinkled in, which I found to be the best duck I had in a long time. Prepared just the way I like it. For the main course, I asked for ternera (beef) that was covered in a creamy blue cheese sauce that borderlined the taste of a Gorgonzola. If you know me, I am semi-obsessed with eating steak with Gorgonzola cheese crumbles. Although my portion was about the size of a happy meal, it was still marvelous. For desert, we got ...

... road follows the riverbank through alpine meadows and then through amazing gorges, some, like the Desfiladero de los Beyos, narrow to about 20 feet wide, with cliffs towering above and the river far below. When the gorges open out there are views of the high Picos, at this end up to and over 2,500 metres (8,000 ft), jagged limestone crags with snow in the crevasses. We went as far as the Puerto del Ponton, the head ...

We spent the day cleaning the house, doing laundry, finding out what the Spanish siesta is really all about and packing our bags for the bike trip. I finally had something other than bread, cheese and salami for lunch. Leo's parents went off to do their own thing so we went ...

Today, my sister and I decided to spend a day at the beach. What an incredible coastline here. There are tons of beaches peppering the coast. Most of them appear to be about 1/4 to 1/2 mile long with big rock abutments separating them. There was no wind ...

... they are hiding the other 250 people) We found the street that we are staying on right away, but the houses are about 3 or 4 feet apart, if not actually adjoining. The car barely fit down the street and getting around corners was interesting. This village was obviously designed while foot and horse were the prevalent modes of travel. We found the house we are staying in by asking around for the house of my sisters friends ...

... fair. There was what had to be the oldest rollercoaster in the world and loud, crackling Spanish music. I quickly took the funicular down (90p return, making the walk a waste of time) just in time for the weather to turn and the beach to empty. That night I went bar hopping. San Sebastián is the tapas capital of the world. In the pedestrian-only Parte Vieja, where some streets are almost exclusively made of bars, tapas (or ...