Peelies travels

Continuing the walking theme, the next day we drove up another of the five valleys that connect with Pola de Somiedo, to get to a suitable start point. This was just below the last hamlet, Outeiro which is at the end of the tarmac. The intention was to walk from there, up to the corrie / cwm of Lago del Valle. The snag of the day was that as we set off to drive the narrow steep road up the gorge from the campsite, we immediately caught up with a full size concrete lorry, This was making its way to that last village and el driver was  not in a mood to pull over. So we had time to look at the gorge-that-becomes-a-high-valley. It’s hard to describe these landscapes. They are severe, incredibly scenic, remote and completely unspoilt. They are also so near the ferry ports of the coast that only £800 separates them from more campervan travellers from Great Britain (& Northern Island). We started the walk and soon saw the concrete which had already been dropped for the pad of a build...

  A   quick city break to Leon was a nice way to spend a day and a night, especially as the weather was dry and clear. We even went back for a wander during the evening, went to a pub and ordered at the bar. How British. We did some weather research and made a plan to turn north west and to go into the mountains, “as it looks as though the weather is going to be ok”. The Picos are a distinct range at the eastern end of the Cantabrian range and now we were headed for points further west. If anything this area would be quiet and remote. Driving in Spain is always a pleasure. It’s huge, empty and incredibly scenic. Mile after mile gets eaten up and there’s little traffic, lots of climbs and switchbacks. Peaks rise vertically like Dolomitic teeth. At one mirador I was distracted by the biker trip stickers on the barrier. Us ‘camper-vanners’ don’t do this; at least I don’t think we do. The temperature dropped as we got into the high country and then we saw snow. Surely not but yes...

We stayed in Potes for four nights and during that time the weather was very hot, with the last two days maxima in the mid 30s. Bizarrely, last Friday night was one of the hottest, as at bedtime it was 27C and even in the middle of the night it was 25C. The forecast though, was ominous for the Picos (and worse for the UK) and so we made the best of the day by zooming up the valley to Fuente De. Here with perfect planning, we had booked the cable car for 10:30 and were whisked up in one cable catenary swoop, from 1,100m to 1,800m. It was sunny with wide views and we walked up a barren valley until we reached a steep scree-crossing path, where we turned around. Any further and it would have needed full kit and sleeping bags, as we were heading for a refugio . We got our fill of that high mountain and were back down in time to escape the mountains before the weather broke. The committee had decided that a city break to Leon was next and we had an overnight opportunity somewhere along ...

Potes is a bustling town that’s clearly ‘in the mountains’ but isn’t quite a mountain town. Well that was what we thought until we went for a walk. More on that later. First we got to know the site ( Camping La Viorna ) and the neighbours. After the squeeze of the first night near the pool, we were upgraded to a pitch at the end of the lowest terrace which had a superb view of the eastern massive of the Picos. So although this was still a squeeze pitch, somehow we felt good about it. The ‘squeeze’ happened later in the day. ☺️ Happily our immediate neighbours were quiet Dutchland people who like to eat their tea early and retire in good time. They always enjoy taking to us Brits, rather than those Germans and soon I was engaged because I was asked a question. “Why do you have a UK flag on your number plate, rather than a Welsh Scottish or English flag?”. Tricky! I explained that England isn’t a country like Wales or Scotland. They have their own  parliaments and make rules for them...

  Wow, order placed on Tuesday, processed and sent out Wednesday and lo and behold, the tracking works and on Thursday afternoon the thermistor is delivered to the campsite. That was a lot earlier than the original estimate of Monday! The team got to work and soon the old sensor was removed. It’s a fiddly job because the action end is pushed through a hole into the depths of the fridge base. We had the tools and a good torch. I will admit now that I watched a video on YouTube on Saturday, so I knew what to expect. I didn’t admit that to our neighbouring campers and they were very impressed. I think I have done wonders for Great Britain. I transferred the small quantity of  thermal paste across to the new sensor, hoping that the rest is at the end of the tube that it’s pushed into. All screws back where they were supposed to be, wires secured and then we plugged in. 14C - that’s promising and better than 36. So we loaded things back in and secured the fridge back in its place. ...