Anyone been to the Picos de Europa?

"Rob Devereux" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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"Paul Cummings" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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What I would like is to do is get to a few of the highest peaks in the
Picos. I'm a walker, not a climber, so I don't want anything more tricky
than say the north face of Tryfan (which I found to be okay, except for

the

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Adam to Eve leap, which had me flapping bit).

We went last year(Sept-Oct). I dont know what your mountain experience is
but these are higher by 2x anything in UK and there really isnt any
comparison. There are some recognised routes around the area on foot but
you need a really good head for edges and big drops. The eastern
massif(around Fuente De) is not the highest but is accessible. There is a
very handy cable car from Fuente De up to the main massif and I'd advise
taking it as it removes a lot of needless road walks to get to the bit you
want. Horcados de Rojas was walkable imo and there is an interesting
descent by wire rope into the valley behind. You can then walk upto
Urriello and down into Bulnes(where I would recommend staying)

In terms of experiance, I've been to three 1900m peaks on Gran Canaria,
1352m on Massanella / Mallorca and 3 2200m + peaks in the Sierra de
Guadarrama. Not a lot, but I know what to expect and what my limits are.
In terms of the Picos, I've been a few times, but not up to the big peaks
(nothing more than about 1200m or so).

As to language, my wife is Spanish (from Asturias) and I can get by when I
need to.

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Any other ideas? I must get over some peaks over 2428m, the height of
Peñalara, the mountain I climbed a while back in Madrid, and the highest
hill I have topped (so far)

I'd recommend the Cares Gorge(not because it is high but because it is
just
amazing).

A friend came back from the Picos last month and describe is as beautiful,
but very samey. He said after about 3 hours it lost its shine. First
person I've heard say that though.

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All in all, I dont want to put you off because Picos are fantastic. You
will HAVE to speak Spanish - you will find very few spaniards there that
speak any English, even in shops and cafes. Bulnes is a real experience
and
if you can get a place in the Alojiaments there(a bit like a dormitory
hotel
room), the guy there is really friendly and helpful. Cain was a bit
touristy and they didnt seem to like foreigners much.

Now that is unusual. I've never experianced that in Spain (and I've
probably been 20 times including about 15 to Asturias). Unless, of course,
you are a drunken Englishman either barechested or wearing a football shirt,
in which case everyone hates you (with the possible exception of some very
dubious Greek islands).

Poseda was good but

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shut when we went through. If you are used to Spanish culture, you'll be
fine, but nothing opens until 11am and it shuts later - can be a problem
finding food in day. Fuente De basically has one hotel(very expensive but
ok to drink at), a very good campsite and Inn(where we stayed for a couple
of days) and a cable car station. Potes is the local regional town and
has
most things you need and shops for outdoor bits. We didnt get up to los
lagos because it was too far to walk - took us eight days to walk the
circuit I described.

I'm told Potes has grown a lot since I was there about 12 years ago, when it
was a cute little village.

Have fun,
Paul

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As to language, my wife is Spanish (from Asturias) and I can get by when I
need to.

Good call. Shouldnt have any problems then ;-)

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A friend came back from the Picos last month and describe is as beautiful,
but very samey. He said after about 3 hours it lost its shine. First
person I've heard say that though.

I'm very surprised. However, if you spent all your time on the high
mountain plateau above fuente de it would be because a lot of what you see
is grey rock and blue sky and this doesnt change much. Come down the other
side of Uriellu/Naranjo to Bulnes and descend the mountain pastures and it
is breathtaking. Cares gorge the same.

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Now that is unusual. I've never experianced that in Spain (and I've
probably been 20 times including about 15 to Asturias). Unless, of

course,

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you are a drunken Englishman either barechested or wearing a football

shirt,

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in which case everyone hates you (with the possible exception of some very
dubious Greek islands).

It wasnt everyone but I just found Cain was generally unfriendly. People
didnt speak in shops and no-one much replied if you said hello. the hotel
manageress was very nice but all the rest of the staff couldnt care less.

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I'm told Potes has grown a lot since I was there about 12 years ago, when

it

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was a cute little village.

Its now a town the size of Chagford or Moretonhampstead(if you have been to
Devon recently). Loads of places to eat and the nearest bus service in the
area - taxis otherwise.

Rob

"Rob Devereux" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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I'm told Potes has grown a lot since I was there about 12 years ago, when

it

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was a cute little village.

Its now a town the size of Chagford or Moretonhampstead(if you have been
to
Devon recently). Loads of places to eat and the nearest bus service in
the
area - taxis otherwise.

As it happens, I went through Moretonhampstead on Sunday after a weekend
tramping around the moor. It looks much as it did 20 years ago when I was
an undergrad at Exeter U.

Still one of my favourite looking English villages.

Mind you, nothing compares with Doddiscombsleigh and (more specifically) the
Nobody Inn. Where going through the top shelf of whiskies will put you into
intensive care (if not the morgue). Ah, those long lost evenings.

I think I've made up my mind on Spain - Pena Vieja from Fuente De and, if it
looks feasible, Torre de Cerrado from Bulnes for my solo walks and round the
Lagos de Covadonga / Cares Gorge with my family. That should be about as
much walking as I can get away with (and that's if I am very lucky to spend
4 days walking out of 11 days visiting).

Have fun,
Paul

"John Gardner" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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I'm not sure that the lattter is feasible in under a three day trip. It
takes some time to drive and walk to Bulnes, and then you've got 2000m of
ascent to the top of the Torre de Cerrado. Navigation is also not that
straightforward. If you can con the family into picking you up, one
excellent day walk is from the top of the cable car over to Bulnes. They
could drive round to meet you, and you could all three stay in Bulnes for
the night.

I guess if you have cars, you could get dropped off in the village beyond
Bulnes(the name of which I dont remember)and get the railway through the
mountain to Bulnes. I agree though that trying to knock this off in a day
is really hard - the problem is that the walk in takes ages; I think we took
from 3pm until 8pm walking from Pico Urriello down to Bulnes just because
you have to keep dropping and making your way around mountains.

Rob