pakdoktergolfblog

A Short Walk to the Church of Bulnes

Tuesday 3rd June 2014

As I noted earlier - the church of Bulnes is located at the highest point of the village. Vero invited us to do the short walk up to the church - but the short walk turned out to be quite an effort! That's how unfit I have become. A heavy lunch of pate and cheese with the cider did not help either. Anyhow it turned out to be quite a pleasant walk. The surrounding near vertical mountains however were mostly covered by a layer of cloud. So we did not get to see the highest peak of this mountain range. Bulnes is sited about 600 metres above sea level. As I reported earlier the highest peak stands at 2400 metres. Hikes to the peak often start from the trails that originate from this village.

looking down into the gorge between the 2 massifs

the trail to walk up from the base can be seen skirting the right mountain slope

A Lunch of Pate and Cheese at Bulnes

Tuesday 3rd June 2014

Vero had told us that the mountain village is famous for the variety of goat's cheese and pate and recommended that we try them out at one of the restaurants. We ordered a platter not realising it was big enough to feed a family. Nevertheless we really enjoyed the cheese and pates downed with a bottle of a local cider.

Fareeda and Vero

the doctor and his bottle

the blue cheese was strong in taste and smell but delicious

would have liked them better with vino tinto

the cider a bit too sour for me

Carrago (blue cheese) and the salmon pate

someone said ( Malcolm?) that this is a black pudding pate

this is how cider normally poured out of the bottle into the glass

not sure why - to let it breathe? to get the froth??

Flora and Fauna on Bulnes

Tuesday 3rd June 2014

Being summer - flowers were in full bloom in Bulnes and along some of the tracks near Bulnes. Not much of animal life - the cows, donkeys and horses were probably in their shed. Some wild mountain goats were seen along the mountain trail.

hmm... this is life!

The Village of Bulnes

Tuesday 3rd June 2014

The funicular ride from Poncebos through the 2.4 km tunnel took only a few minutes. A short walk away from the upper station we came a pretty village with a population of 38? who are mostly farmers who also operate cafes and restaurants at the village. Situated by a narrow crystal clear stream there are only a handful of buildings serving as cafes and homes to the villagers. A small church stood perched on a hilltop at one end of the village.

On to Picos de Europa

Tuesday 3rd June 2014

We left Santillana del Mar after breakfast, were transferred by taxi to the train station for a short ride to Unquera. From here a bus picked us up to go the Picos de Europa - the first National Park in Spain.

Picos de Europa ( Mountains of Europe) is a range of mountains about 20km away from the shores of Northern Spain. It is located on the borders of Asturias, Cantabria and Castill y Leon. It was believed that the name came about as it was usually the first range of mountains seen by sailors returning from the Americas.

The range consists of 3 major massifs (mountain mass) - Central, Western and Eastern - the Central and Western massifs are seperated by a 1.5 km deep gorge with a stream running in it. The stream is being tapped at some places for hydro-electric generation. A path along the edge of the central massif offers the opportunity to walk and appreciate the fabulous panorama of the park.

The highest peak stood at about 2600 metres high. Our bus took us to the base of the park to a village called Poncebos where we disembarked and took the funicular train which moves through a 2400 metres tunnel that bore through the centre of the mountain.