24-07-2013     Besande – Besande     140 km

I've set my watch at 7:10 a.m. Today not a very long distance - that's the plan at least; moreover, light luggage. At the start it's cold! At 8 a.m. the sun is still quite low. I already fear the mornings 'against' the sun a week from now, when I'll return to the east. After a few km I pass a pass, which is less then 100 m higher than Besande, but of which the descent to the north will mean harder work when I'll return in the afternoon. In Boca de Huérgano it's only 13°C. I have a coffee in a VERY nice hostal: very informal, nice corners with old sofas, a table with papers and magazines, and good coffee (and alas a flatscreen tv). I'm going to make a tour through the southern half of the Picos, over one of the few roads I had planned beforehand (in Nootdorp), with a sidestep to Caín de Valdeón, probably the highest point of the day, but how high Mr. Michelin won't say. It's fun that a month ago I had no idea how it would be to cycle here; now I do, and it's great!

	Goodbye Besande		Spooky morning view
	Spooky morning view (II)		Mystic morning view

I think I have enough time to add the Puerto de San Glorio, over the main road to Potes (which village, I've been told, is very touristic). Luckily the N-621 which I have to follow for 10 km is not such a busy road. It's actually quite nice, through the at times rather narrow valley of the Río Viejo with the same friable rocky slopes as yesterday, likely to crumble over the next millennia. Later on/higer up there's again much yellow mingling with the green. At the pass I can (and do) go left and climb another 2 or so km, over a tiny cow-dunged cul-de-sac to the Mirador Liesba.

	On that road again		Rough valley   . . . .
	. . . .   of the   . . . .		. . . .   Río Viejo
	Small road to  . . . .		Mirador ( + panorama! ) de Liesba
	My life-long companion		Llavanes de la Reina

When the road turns close to this endpoint a beautiful panorama of the Picos is reveiled. I retrace my steps and - after having taking pictures around the Puerto San Glorio - descend gradually to Llavanes de Reina, where I noticed a restaurant during the ride up. Indeed I find a sunny terrace where I have a coffee and a bocadillo a las huevos a la francesa, and a chat with two motorcyclists from Groningen with a temporary companion from England. On this wonderful morning I mount my Koga for what I expect (and look forward to) as the climb of the day into the corazón de los Picos. The very quiet LE-2703 through quite an open landscape nicely creeps up to the Puerto Pandetrave. This is even less high than the Puerto San Glorio and just as easy to conquer. From the north the climb seems much harder, and the views are better too. Especially the last five km to Posada de Valdeón go quickly. In Posada I turn right/north onto a road that on my map is marked 'dangerous' to, I suppose, the highest point of the day, i.e. Caín de Valdeón. Am I mistaken there!! The (very tiny) road indeed climbs out of Posada, and on the left I notice an umpteenth storage lake.

	Back along the Río Viejo		LE2703 into the Picos
	and up to		the Puerto Pandetrave
	Descent to		Posada de Valdeón

I also notice, to my concern/surprise, that the dam is on the 'wrong' side! The road goes down at first, then up, rather steeply even, then down again. What's happening here?? After Cordiñanes another steep section up, but from then on the road goes down ALL THE TIME, through the gorgeous gorges eroded by the Río Cares. Twice a signs indicates 20% - and how long will this go on - and how steeply?! It certainly is a wonderful road, but it's not what I had foreseen, and I worry about the way back, around midday, a warm day! Finally I reach Caín, the LOWEST point of the day (about 475 m, I learn at home). The village is a small paradise surrounded by beautiful high mountains. It's very well-known by tourists too, so there are restaurants, but I restrict myself to a small supermercado and make myself a sandwich on a wooden bench in the sun. It feels like heaven! How hellish will it be to get back to earth?

Vertical photos

In steep Cañon

In steep Cañon of the Río Cares

R>

OOPS!!

Caín

Vertical photos

on the way back/

up(!) to Posada de Valdeón

Tremendous environment!

Embalse near Posada de Valdeón

Well, I gain some confidence when I manage the first 20% section cycling. And also the second, and lastly the slope reaches 19% once again. I have to fight, but ... I make it! And from Posada it's another long ride up - I feel the foregoing exercise - to the Puerto Panderruedas, which is almost 1000 m higher than Caín. It's one of the rare occasions I go up 1000 m or more in one climb this year - in 17 days in Spain it happens only three or four times.

	During climb to Puerto Panderruedas		The N-625 to Riaño
	Rocks and cows along the road		Refreshments

On the 'main' road to Riaño I turn right first, to add the Puerto el Pontón to my list, which adds only 2 kms to my day distance, and then slowly down - against the wind, especially the second almost flat part - to Riaño. The village is surrounded by three embalses and beautiful mountains, but Riaño itself - in my opinion - is UGLY; with many modern apartment buildings it looks mainly sterile. (Later that day I learn that the original village lies at the bottom of one of the lakes - okay, that explains things.) After this quite long stretch since Caín I have a refuelling in the shade - a tomato/California sandwich and a banana sandwich, coca cola and a caña. I have no idea of the time, but a look at my mobile phone tells me it's half past five; well that's fine. Half an hour later I set off for the last 18 km, after having changed T-shirts (my left shoulder is becoming red).

Along the Embalse de Riaño

Happy man

The 'small' puerto that's in between is surely felt by my muscles, but I manage to reach it 'on the middle'. The sun still burns, and Besande lies there hermosísimamente. Another day marked 9.5! I enjoy/celebrate it with a beer in front of the bar/hostal, and for a while am joined by two Dutchmen, on their way - by car - from the Picos to another walking area. It's them that tell me about the history of Riaño. They've also been in Caín, and one of them believes the village is situated as low as 250 m above sea level. I manage to reserve a bed in the youth hostel of Villamanín de Tercia - the 'manager' will meet me mañana a las siete en punto. A nice young daughter is serving tonight (with her boyfriend). Later on I have an 'early' dinner, settle all my expenses, and lie down on my soft bed-for-two-nights.

  25-07-2013     Besande – Villamanín de Tercia     135 km

Another GREAT day. Alarm at seven, and one hour later I close the iron door behind me (without having met a living soul). I'm glad I didn't send my second long-sleeved shirt home - the former days I have been on the verge to do this. I choose the slightly higher route to the north, over the Puerto de Monteviejo, which I know from two days earlier. This offers no difficulty - the shirt goes off the shirt goes on - and it's BEAUTIFUL again (it can't be quieter than the first time in the afternoon, since even then there was no traffic). I get back onto the LE-270 some 4 km before Boca de Huérgano, where it's two degrees warmer than yesterday, and where the hostal is just as cozy. After a cafe americano and three pages of my (too difficult) Spanish novel (which I bought mainly because of the bicycle on the front cover) I continue my itinerary, in fact 14 km of yesterday's. With the sun behind me (and the moon in the south-west) the mountains and the lake(s) look even more beautiful. After the second long ('blue') bridge I start to explore new regions.

	Another superb morning		Old acquaintance :-)
	Back to the lakes around   . . . .		. . . . Riaño

A long, slowly climbing road - never above 5% - leads to the Puerto de Tarna. The wind from the south alternates between helping me and obstructing me. As there aren't many opportunities for food supplies in store along the LE-635/338 when I think I notice a 'bar' in Uña, in fact the only village forw hich I had some hope of finding such a facility, I squeeze my brakes. Well, to call it a 'bar' exaggerates things, but I can have a coffee, like the hiker who apparently has chosen this village as point of departure (as well as parking). An eighty-eight year old man serves me a glass of strong coffee, and charges me € 2,- for it, the highest price so far in Spain! I add some cookies from my own stock. As I don't have high expectations of the aseos I use my last toilet paper from Nootdorp a few kms further on. At the already mentioned puerto I turn left/south for the last rise of 150 m, slightly steeper and moreover against the wind! In Pueblo de Lillo, the second village after the Puerto de Señales I buy some groceries, of which I finish the two Danone yoghurts a la griego (in the Netherlands we would call it à la stracciatella), and the remainder of which I will take to a location on the border of the Embalse de Porma, some 15 kms further, which on the map is indicated as a mirador. These are relatively easy kms, but with the wind against me I'm counting down the last very nice kms along the lake. The point I was looking for turns out to be a five-star place for a lunch break, today's lunch consisting of a blue cheese sandwich and a bottle of coca cola (ninety-five per cent of my yearly consumption of which takes place in three weeks).

	'Restaurante'  in Uña		In higher spheres
	Nice place   . . . .		. . . .  for a   . . . .
	. . . .   lunch break!		Good views to all sides

I am well on schedule to reach Villamanín before 7 p.m. It's warm, it feels like 35 degrees at least, but the sign at a farmacía in Boñar only records 31°. After I've left the 'main' road (LE-626, almost reaching as far as tomorrow's destination Villablino, (which I will decide in the evening)) I change from an 'unsleeved' to a 'half-sleeved' T-shirt (to avoid a sunburnt left shoulder). I've chosen the 'white', i.e. presumably quiet(er) alternative route for the afternoon. It turns out more impressive than I had expected! The Río Curueño has worn a cañon into the rocky mountains, which lasts ages, and the wind from behind compensates the gradual slope. It's wonderful! Again!! I only wonder how the hell to get out of the narrow valley - especially, against which slope! The last 6 km till the Collado de Valdeteja - most of which still sort of run along the Río Curueño are not too bad (well, on the whole it's only 350 m up from Valdepiélago).

	The Río Curueño   . . . .		. . . .  has worn a canyon   . . . .
	. . . .   into the rocky mountains		Out in the open again

I go down only 200 m till Carmenés, where I have a break with a coca and (I hardly dare to admit) a Magnum ice cream, on a windy terrace, with quite a lot of people. And a strong wind as well. The first km out of Carmenés is 'steep' (in the Spanish way), and after that the last summit - according to the map called Villanueva de la Tercia - is in the pocket. The weather is changing, dark clouds are gathering, but there will be no rain (as far as I have witnessed). I arrive at the destination of the day shortly after six. The first building I think hosts the youth hostel (a sign on the front wall reads 'Asociacion juvenil') luckily doesn't - it looks rather shabby/unfriendly. The 'real' youth hostel is situated at a plaza in the center of town, and it looks so 'closed' that I fear that once again I'll be the only guest - and will there be anybody to receive me at seven?

. . . .   Alto de Carmenes

Youth hostel in Villamanín

Well, my first fear is taken away by a father with a blue-haired (!?) teenage daughter - both on their way to Santiago. Father tells me the entrance is on the other side of the building and suggests to let me in. However, the office seems to be on 'my' side, so I stick to my bench in the plaza and catch up with my writing. At 7.15 p.m I try to contact the woman I've spoken with over phone yesterday, and within ten minutes she arrives - right from the swimming pool. The inside of the hostel is very complicated for me. It's not possible to go from one entrance to the other without passing over the first floor. I keep walking in the wrong direction! Apart from the two peregrinos there's also a quartet of geologists (Catharine, George, and ...?) from Ireland (one of the girls has some Dutch roots as well - and a mother that has lived in more than fifty countries), and since she has prepared a meal (pasta + mushroom sauce) for four while one of them will be away till late, I can join them (and add my salad - and let them have my microwave lasagna for later). It's nice to have a meal in a group for a change. They tell me a lot about their practice project for the university, 'mapping' the area, and the mountains crumbling over during the eons in particular. I enjoy the mountains in León in my own way. A very nice evening of a very nice day!