What a wonderful day in the Picos de Europa

Our two newest team members, Luisina and Laura, travelled together in June to the Picos de Europa to see for themselves why Pura clients love these little-known Spanish mountains.

Before joining the team at Pura Aventura, I have been reading about the majestic Picos de Europa. But honestly, I had never heard of them before getting into the Pura website!

Lost at the back of my mind were comments made by Spanish friends, talking about mysterious gorges carved deep in the mountain, challenging walks and forgotten villages.

I had “walked” around the Picos de Europa with the help of intrusive Google maps. But, well… there are no photos, nor 360° views that can closely compare with reality. Driving through the Hermida Gorge was quite a welcome. Neck hurting, trying to look up from the car to catch the summit of the massifs, any screen research I had done was left far behind.

We enjoyed walking along shady paths from village to village across the Liebana Valley.

It was like walking back in time… every step further from Potes was like moving decades away from the present. In every little village there were from 4 to 6 houses. Red geraniums thriving in every window and entrance door. We barely saw people around, either other walkers or locals. A single sleepy cat was the constant in every settlement we passed, as if guarding the past, making sure things were exactly as left there before, not letting any memory escape.

We met a few locals that day, each one lovely and caring. Nobody in a rush… there is no metro or train to catch!

They checked if we knew the way, and were happily giving directions in Spanish even before we asked.

Pedro jokingly tried to recruit us to help trim the weed to feed the animals, explaining that they gather the fodder (forraje) in summer to then feed the cattle in winter. We also walked past the Invernal (de Tolibe); one example of the shelters used in winter to keep the cattle warm and safe.

As we were lucky enough to be there in June, the wildflowers were in bloom, painting the landscape with exuberant colours. Walking down meadows carpeted with wildflowers felt surreal, like being in a movie… I felt I was on the set of The Sound of Music…

What a wonderful day!

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The Pothole is Pura Aventura's popular monthly email. We share what we love, what interests us and what we find challenging. And we don't Photoshop out the bits everyone else does. We like to think our considered opinions provide food for thought, and will sometimes put a smile on your face. They've even been known to make people cry. You can click here to subscribe and, naturally, unsubscribe at any time.

The Pothole is Pura Aventura's popular monthly email. We share what we love, what interests us and what we find challenging. And we don't Photoshop out the bits everyone else does. We like to think our considered opinions provide food for thought, and will sometimes put a smile on your face. They've even been known to make people cry. You can click here to subscribe and, naturally, unsubscribe at any time.