Sunday 2nd April 2023

but you know us better, we don’t do anything the easy way. 🤣

The first 5 miles when straight up and we mean straight up. This was the way that the occupants of Bulnes carried all their shopping home. They found it so hard they built a funicular in a tunnel through the mountain. Did we say it went straight up?? Saying that it was spectacular, a windy path, criss crossing a narrow steep gorge.

Not many other people about except of course at the top of the funicular.  They all gave us funny looks because we had rucksacks and walking poles.

Four hours after starting we were at the highest point where, needing the energy, we had lunch with with distant views of our next target, Sotres.

Supposedly it was downhill all the way from here, all the way. No one told us about the long, uphill, road into Sotres. Water fountains are all over in Spain so we replenished our bottles and carried on.

The donkey trail, possibly the original track to Sotres, was amazing and one of the best mountain tracks we have walked on except where the scree had run  over it and caused damage.  Misty staff saved Barbara a couple of times. 8 miles down hill is still a long way though. Never seen so many hairpins on goat track.

A long hard strenuous day but Max was waiting patiently for us to take us back to our apartment for wine!!