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Hiking the Picos De Europa...Day 3 Tielve to Sotres
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September 26th
Day 3 Hiking Tielve to Sotres
Today we will hike 6 miles with a 2,002 vertical ascent and 1,000 foot descent from the small village of Tielve to the tiny hamlet of Sotres, the highest village in the Picos de Europa.
The trail started up quickly and soon we were above Tielve
and higher than the grazing sheep.
Hiking up to the first ridge and then the col, we had beautiful views.
Once over the ridge, we came across these friendly fellows.
They turned their heads to make sure that we were on our way.
We passed summer huts for the shepherds
The high meadow alpine views were spectacular!
We continued ascending the steep incline.
until we reached a seemingly endless field of ferns.
Once at the top,
we were rewarded with a panoramic view of the Picos de Europa mountains. It was a beautiful bucolic scene right out of a picture postcard.
We began our descent.
Every step of the way today it was hard to imagine a more peaceful, serene spot.
We simply could not have asked for a more pristine day filled with such spectacular views!
As we descended we soon spotted our day's destination, Sotres!
This peaceful hamlet of Sotres, the highest village in the Picos de Europa, would be our home for the next four nights.
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Hiking the Picos De Europa... Day 4 Ascent to Vega de Urriellu
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Hiking the Picos de Europa Mountains...Day 4 Ascent to Vega de Urriellu
One of the most spectacular hikes we have ever experienced was today's ascent to Vega de Urriellu in the Picos de Europa. It was breathtakingly beautiful and awe-inspiring.
The Urriellu peak itself is an incredible feat of nature as a massive tower of limestone jutting up above all the others in the area.
Right below the foot of Pico Urriellu is the Refugio Vega de Urriellu. In the photograph above, the refugio Vega de Urriellu is dwarfed by the face of Pico Urriellu , but you can make it out. It is located right above the words written in italic "the foot" in the first sentence. That's where we're headed. The Picu Urriellu is known for its vertical ascent and conical top.
It was an astounding crystal clear sky blue day. The visibility was incredible! As we started our 12 mile hike, we could see our destination of Pico Urriellu jutting up on the left. A considerable portion of our hike today was steep with 3,700 feet each of our ascent and descent.
We started out hiking up to the Collado Pandebano
past a shepherd's stone hut nestled into the rock.
Then over the rise.
It was another bucolic postcard scene as we entered the heart of the Picos de Europa.
With the Pico de Urriellu leading the way, we followed the trail to
the cow and shepherd's huts.
We met a few friends along the trail and gladly gave them right of way.
When we had hiked higher, we looked down on those same cow shepherds' huts in the valley below.
The views were amazing every step of the way!
The steep trail took us through rocky areas
with loose rock and sensational panoramic views.
The narrow trail hugged the cliffs
and then the very steepest part of the climb was the last bit over rocks up to the refugio.
The Vega de Urriellu was a welcomed sight!
Here's the refugio, Vega de Urriellu.
All too soon it was time to head back down.
I saw an unexpected sight.
Two heavily laden mules were coming up the trail.
I learned that each day these mules start from down below in Pandebono and make the steep trek up to Vega de Urriellu in order to restock the refugio with food and drinks.
It was an amazing day of a hike with so many stunning vistas to feast our eyes upon
that it was sometimes hard to keep focused on the trail.
There was one spot where we just had to sit and inhale the view.
Pictures do not do it justice for this was exceptional. In the distance, we could see the Cantabrian Sea! It is hard to tell from the photos below, but it was a glorious sight.
Every turn was absolutely beautiful.
As I was hiking down, I turned around and took another look at this mighty limestone sentinel.
Our hike was far from over,
but it was a welcome sight to see cows grazing in the high alpine meadow.
A little lower we came across some mules ambling along.
In a while, we could see the shepherds' stone huts once again.
We went up and over and continued on down
to the road back to Sotres .
And so ended a glorious day of our ascent to Vega de Urriellu.
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Hiking the Picos De Europa... Day 5 Hitu to Caseton de Andara and back to Sotres
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Once again, a new day dawned with clear skies. This view from our Hotel Sotres' window promised another glorious hiking day.
Today, our 8.5 mile hike with its 1,800 ft ascent and 2,730 ft descent will take us from Hitu to Caseton de Andara and back to Sotres.
The terrain was quite varied today with everything from steep rocky trails
to numerous cols and then rolling cow paths.
We started our hike with an ascent via an unused mining track which wound around
the mountain and led us to some stunning views of the Cantabrian Sea and the Bay of Biscay!
You can see our trail cut in the mountain in the distance.
As we continued up we had a great view.
We continued our ascent
along a former mining track which took us to an abandoned ore mine
and to refugio Caseton de Andara
which was wedged into the rock wall.
From there we ascended up a steep path
to a col
where we saw vultures and eagles soaring on the thermals overhead.
It was a lovely view from our lunch spot.
Time to head on down
to the long way back to Sotres.
Our descent was primarily across several cols.
We stopped for a while on this lovely vista. I looked down at the stone to see that large letters were written on it spelling "SOTRES" with an arrow pointing the way!
We headed down thru lovely fields of heather
thru farmers' high alpine cow pastures
to the valley below
until finally to the road to Sotres.
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Hiking the Picos de Europa...Day 7 Sotres to Bulnes to Poncebo
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Hiking the Picos de Europa...Day 7
Sotres to Bulnes to Poncebos
From Sotres we arrived at Pandebano to the beautiful view of Pico Urrielle.
Today we are off on a very steep 6 mile downhill hike (4,001 foot of a descent!) to the hamlet of Poncebo.
When we started our hike at Pontebano, we saw a female cow licking her calf in the warm morning sunshine. It was a heartwarming sight.
A bit further down the trail we walked thru a wall of ferns and guess who surprised us by sticking out her head as we walked by?
In fact, there were many cows happily grazing in the foliage.
So, in case you're wondering how the shepherd keeps his cows, goats, and sheep in certain grazing area in the high alpine areas,
yup, by using old bed boxsprings to make the perfect pasture gate! We've seen quite a few while hiking in the Picos de Europa.
We headed down the valley and then
the fog rolled in
and our once lovely blue sky hiking day became one of a foggy, steep, quite slippery, rocky way down to Bulnes.
Bulnes is a small rustic hamlet that until recently was totally isolated from road access. In fact, its only access was available by foot from the village of Poncebo on the canyon floor below or from the village of Pandebano on the long slippery trail we had just traveled.
However, recently they built a funicular to encourage tourism. The funicular connects the village of Bulnes to Poncebo on the canyon floor below. It transports food and mail from down below to Bulnes.
Bulnes is a unique, rustic village which houses only 10 or so neighbors.
Instead of taking the funicular, we decided we'd hike the snake-like steep trail down the canyon to Poncebo.
So off we went
You can see the trail in the background.
It soon became clear why the once isolated village of Bulnes built the funicular to get down the canyon.
Only another few hours until I reach the river below.
It was very rugged terrain.
Here's the bridge that took us over the river
at the bottom of the gorge
to a stone bridge
which led us to Poncebo! Quite a hike!
We were picked up by our driver who drove us on a hair-raising 45 minute trip over the serpentine mountain roads to the Picos de Europa Hotel in Trieve.
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SEVILLE, SPAIN
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Seville, Spain
Here we are in the Alcazar Palace, The Queen's Baths, a hidden chamber with Gothic arches
Seville is a stunningly beautiful and vibrant city, rich in culture, history and delicious food. This year, the annual Lonely Planet's "Top 10 cities in the world" ranked Seville as "the number 1 city to visit". They were right. Seville is a fabulous city to visit.
For 4 glorious days, we had crystal clear, vibrant blue skies.
Each day the temperature in the high 80's and the heavenly scent of jasmine perfumed the air.
We stayed at the lovely Hotel Alcantara.
It is located down a very narrow street
in Barrio de Santa Cruz's, Seville's famous historic Jewish Quarter.
Our experience in this part of Seville is that these narrow pedestrian "streets" are a seemingly endless labyrinth of tile and cobblestone walkways.
The Hotel Alcantara's location was ideal for easy access to the numerous historic and monument districts. As their brochure states: "this is where all of Seville's beauty and mystery comes to life". It was a great central base for easy access to Seville's best tapas bars and restaurants. Moreover, we were within walking distance of the stunning Sevillian sights.
Our hotel room was a lovely, spacious apartment which was very quiet except for 3 hours each evening.
This delightful family-owned hotel also runs the famous La Casa del Flamenco which is adjacent to the hotel's front door.
La Casa del Flamenco is famous for its three evening performances. Each is one-hour long. I mention this only because our hotel room was directly above the performance area!
The performances take place in the courtyard of this 15th century palace-house. Its marble arches and columns are beautiful. This is an authentic, traditional, Moorish-tiled patio of the Andaluz region.
The courtyard houses 50 seats which surround the wooden platformed stage on which sit 4 green chairs: one for the male and one for the female flamenco dancer, one for the singer and one for the flamenco guitarist. They are an exquisite ensemble.
We saw the performance on our second night and we were absolutely in awe!
There is no need for microphones nor amplifiers to enhance the sound of the performance. The outdoor acoustics create a natural cacophony which surrounds and envelops its audience. This is but one reason why the Casa del Flamenco is considered the best in Seville.
The dancers were up close and personal. We could feel the vibrations of their feet rhythmically pounding on the dance floor with astounding intensity. Moreover, we could see the full extension of their bodies and the exquisite expressions of emotions on their faces.
The acoustics, the atmosphere, the connection with the artists...we were totally immersed in the intensity and emotion of the dance. It was an absolutely amazing experience!
It's not just in the evening flamenco shows that one can see flamenco dancers. Everywhere one looks on the street,
flamenco outfits abound...be they the latest in Flamenco dresses for the young
or for the young at heart.
Female flamenco dancers do wear very high heels for certain dances and lower heels for others.
Regardless of their height, they are all color-coordinated flamenco shoes!
If you wanted a fan for a souvenir from Spain, you're in luck for in Seville for lovely fan shops are everywhere.
Sevillian spice shops were also a favorite shopping experience.
In addition to Flamenco dancing, we loved the Seville tapas and tapa bars! This was one of our favorites!
and more delicious tapas!
Nothing like topping off a great tapa than a good cold draft beer!
Seville is the capital of southern Spain's Andalusia region. While it is famous for its tapas and flamenco dancing, Seville is known for its rich history mirrored in its architecture. Many of Seville's archeological relics predate the Greek and Romans.
We walked by one jewelry shop which was situated over ancient Roman ruins. The jewelry is displayed on a marble Roman column!
The jeweler is seated on a plexiglass floor
and beneath his feet is a Roman ruin!
The rent of these stores is based on the number of Roman ruins it is "sitting on".
Everywhere we walked we could see remnants of the Roman columns, such as this column of antiquity which a car had run into! The streets are so narrow, it defied imagination to even consider even a small car making it thru the streets!
Seville's history is quite complex. It is safe to say that it is a city rich in Moorish heritage which is still visible in the colorful painted tiles which adorn the buildings,
and the lobed arches of the palaces.
The iconic Giralda tower stands tribute to the Moorish heritage once a minaret!
We were very taken by all the architecture.
Some of the many highlights included the breathtakingly beautiful Alcazar palace complex. We spent nearly the entire day exploring and enjoying the incredible palace and the gardens both of which are stunning!
Alcazar or "Reales Alcazares de Sevilla is one of the oldest palaces in the world that is still in use today. His Royal Majesty Juan Carlos stays there when he visits Seville. We can certainly understand why.
The gardens were rather magnificent and stretched for miles!
Many parts of the gardens had lovely water fountains and pools,
some with statues that gave tribute to the Greek and Roman gods of antiquity.
It's hard to believe, but each day we spent in Seville was more beautiful than the previous one. Each day we were greeted with beautiful blue skies and the fragrant aroma of jasmine and orange blossom on the breeze.
We enjoyed walking everywhere...
admiring Seville's stunning architecture:
Horse-drawn carriages are a whimsical alternative to walking or riding the tram.
Of course, a trip to Spain wouldn't be complete without one having her picture taken with the resident matador.
Each day we walked by this sign which summed up our experience in Seville!
We loved each and every happy moment we spent in sunny Seville!