Tag: Bike touring

It was raining steadily when we got up this morning, and ended up continuing all day. The good news is that it was the shortest ride of the trip, and we were prepared, so it was just one more adventure!

This view from our room was taken after breakfast as we were finishing packing, and the rain had let up momentarily…

As we rode along the coast, we were presented with some maravilloso views, but it was wet enough that I didn’t want to risk taking a lot of photos. Here’s a couple anyway…

It was barely a twenty mile day, but with lots of short ups and downs as we wove our way along the coast. Several times over the last few days we’ve both commented on how much the countryside in this area reminds us of Northern California. Of course the eucalyptus plays a big part, but the rolling hills and craggy coastline are also very familiar.

We were on the bikes by shortly after ten, and it took us something around two and a half hours to make the ride, so it was close to one when we were settled in our room back at the Casa del Organista here in Santillana del Mar. We got out of our wet gear, took hot showers (ahhhh…) and relaxed for a bit.

Mallory then asked the owner about how to get to the Museo de Altamira, and he joked that we’d have to drag the bikes back out, as it was about 2 1/2 kilometers away. Seeing how the rain was still falling steadily, we grabbed a couple of umbrellas and headed out on foot. The Museo is on top of a hill, and as we neared the top, I nabbed this rainy vista:

The Cueva de Altamira is a fascinating Paleolithic cave, discovered in the late 1800’s, that has spectacular examples of cave art from 14-36,000 years ago. The actual cave is now closed to the public in an attempt to preserve it, but they’ve built detailed reproductions down the most minute detail. The english translations on the displays were pretty funny, but it was very entertaining nonetheless.

Once back in Santillana, we walked the cobblestone streets some more and did some shopping. I couldn’t resist this view of a tourist we all know, standing in the Plaza Mayor…

Lastly, here’s a view of the outside of our hotel:

We’re both feeling quite blessed by how the bike tour went. We probably couldn’t have had better weather, and aside from some minor bike issues, we did splendidly. We definitely learned how helpful it is to be in shape for this kind of tour. We’re not even sore!

Tomorrow morning, Ignacio, from Iron Donkey, is going to drive us to the bus station in Santander, where we’ll catch a bus to Bilbao. We’re very excited to spend the next couple of days exploring the Basque country with Jorge & Meredith!

Before I get into today’s adventures, a few words about dinner last night. We had a splendid meal at a little place just down the street, but were the only ones in the restaurant. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s not ‘high season’ here or what, but we’ve been the only people in the restaurant the last few nights.

We ordered the Menú del Día again, this time for two, and it was very local-oriented. The first course was a slab of the very strong local blue cheese, called Cabrales (for which the town is named). Next was the Asturian version of mountain stew, called Fabada asturiana, consisting of fava beans and lots of different meats in a terrific broth. The last course was roast Cabrito (baby goat). The only thing I remembered to photograph was the stew (which might be just as well!):

Anyway, it was another great example of the unique food in the Picos. Complete with a really nice bottle of local Rioja wine, we went back to our hotel fully sated!

This morning dawned the cloudiest of the trip, but at least it wasn’t raining yet. We were shooting for an earlier start, but it was still 10:15 by the time we were on the bikes.

We decided to take the more challenging option for the first third of the ride, and it was serious climbing for the awhile. The clouds hung low over the surrounding hills, but the scenery was still very nice:

All day it looked like the rain was coming just over the next (or last) hill, but it held off for us. This shot demonstrates it well:

As we got closer to the coast, we thought maybe the ups and downs might let up a bit, but it wasn’t to be! At one point, as we were climbing along through a dense eucalyptus forest, I took a peek over the wall on the downhill side of the road and saw this:

What a sight! A little further on, after winding in and out of glimpses of the ocean, we came to a scenic overlook. Though we were only about 12 kilometers from San Vicente, we decided it was a good spot to enjoy our daily picnic lunch of sausage, cheese and fresh red pepper (pimiento):

And the view wasn’t bad either:

We figured we better get a self-portrait before it was too late as well…

Not two kilometers after we hopped back on the bikes, I heard a funny noise, looked down, and saw that I had a flat! This time, it was my back tire (not fun to fix). It was finally starting to sprinkle, but I got it fixed lickety-split…

The worst part is how bad our pump is. It takes forever to fill the tire, and that’s after you wrestle with it to make sure it’s attached right! Who’d have thought we’d have two flats in five days!? I think mine was a bad tube, since it had leak-sealing goop in it when Mal tried to fully deflate it to stow it in my handlebar bag.

Anyway, we’re now ready to head to dinner (I’m starved!), so it’s hasta mañana for now. Talk to you from Santillana del Mar tomorrow night, after our last ride!

We woke to another cloudy day in Potes this morning, had a great breakfast and hit the road by eleven. I have to say (again!) that the pace of life in Spain is very much to my liking. The lateness of dinner is a bit challenging, but getting to sleep in, then linger over a breakfast that includes fried eggs, slices of ham, sausage & cheese, toast, croissants, pound cake, pastries and yogurt, is quite nice. I could live like this!

Anyway, we knew our ride today was going to be easy, so weren’t in any rush. The first leg was back down La Hermida Gorge, with its breathtaking cliffs rising straight up from the side of the road. We took lots of stops for photos…

That one is just a few kilometers out of Potes, right before we dove into the gorge. Here’s a couple taken from a bridge over the Rio Deva a little further down. One with bike, one without:

…and a pano of Mallory crossing the same bridge:

Here’s a great example of the cliffs:

I like this juxtaposition of a couple of rock spires and an old door in a wall:

So many times during this tour, we’ve found ourselves riding along the most idyllic wooded lanes, like this one:

After about 25 kilometers, in the town of Panes, we took a left and headed west to today’s destination: Arenas de Cabrenas. For the rest of the ride, we were cruising the Ruta Cares, which follows the Rio Cares to Arenas. We were struck by the turquoise color of the river:

Just past that spot, we came to a footbridge over the river, and decided to explore a bit.

We ended up finding a nice spot for our picnic lunch right down by the water.

As if on cue, the sun came out after lunch, making the last 15 kilometers into Arenas all the more enjoyable!

That shot is looking back down the Ruta Cares, and this one is just a bit farther on:

We pulled into Arenas about 5 o’clock, and were soon ensconced in our room. It’s extremely cozy, with a window overlooking the river! So nice…

We’ve gotten out to explore a bit, and while walking around I couldn’t resist a great example of the crazy flora growing out of every wall we see:

It’s now almost 9 pm, and we’re getting set to go have dinner. It’s been raining steadily for the last hour or two, so we may be heading out in less than ideal conditions tomorrow. Fortunately, we’re prepared. Whatever the case, tune in tomorrow for all the details!