CHAPTER 19. SPAIN PART ll CONT.

The Monastery of Leyre is in desert like country south of the Pyrenees, not far from Pamplona. It had been very important in the 11th century, but by the 19th century had been abandoned. The 17th and 18th century buildings were restored by the Benedictines and now are converted into a hotel. Our room is nice, but is up two flights, the hotel people are not very pleasant, but the building and church and crypts are very interesting.

It is partly overcast on the last day of September as we drive to the heavy traffic of Pamplona, find a parking spot and walk to the Plaza del Caudillo where we find a Herald Tribune and Michelin maps of NW Spain. We drive to Estella, and it is a mess with streets torn up; we can’t find the restaurant we selected from the Michelin Red Guide, and can’t find a place to park. Finally we eat a poor meal at a bar restaurant near the edge of town and drive north on the scenic tertiary road N111, with a spectacular view from the top of Lizarraga. We find a hotel restaurant in Alsasua for the night.

It is raining as we drive toward Vitoria, but lets up by Salvatierra as we walk to see some of the old balconies and family crests. At nearby Gaceo we get a local man to open the church and show us the very pretty romanesque frescos. At Vitoria we follow the walking tour per the Michelin Green Guide, which points out streets and buildings of interest, and especially enjoy the Archaeological Museum with its’ well displayed articles. It’s too early for lunch so we drive west and soon find a large supermarket where we shop, and then have a good menu in their restaurant. We see the Mendosa Castle, Trespuentes, Tuesta, and Orduña near Vitoria before driving by back roads (to avoid Bilbao traffic) to the coast and the pleasant Miramar Hotel at Castro-Urdiales.

With clear and warm weather we walk along the promenade to the harbor and downtown. The post office sends us to a tabac for stamps; we change travelers checks at the bank, and find snack supplies. At the very pretty and interesting harbor we watch nets being folded after fish and kelp are removed. Back at the hotel we eat a very good lunch and decide to stay a total of 3 nights to rest up. The hotel is right above a smooth sand beach; we watch wind surfers on the bay, then a soccer game on the beach when the tide is way out.

Early morning rain clears before we drive to the harbor, see a trailer borne small boat unfolded and launched from a ramp, and look at the fish market where they are displayed by type in trays on the floor. Back at the hotel for lunch, rest, and walk, we see many pairs playing paddle tennis on the beach; the water is chilly, but not frigid. A wedding party of more than 100 is in the hotel for lunch and is still going strong at 7:30.

Driving west along the Santander coast it is overcast and warm as we look at ocean resorts; Laredo with many high rises along the beach, Santoña with large colorful fishing boats in its’ pretty harbor, Noja and Ris with very pretty sand beaches and rock outside. We eat lunch in Pedroña overlooking Santander and its bay, then drive thru pretty green hills to San Vicente and find a nice large room at the Bora-Bora Hotel.

As we drive south up into the Picos de Europa, with overcast and a little rain, we see very green hills, then high rock cliffs at the gorges of Desfiladero de la Hermida, then open country near Potes. We stop and get a room at the Hotel Picos de Valdecoro in Potes before driving up the side road to Fuente De and having lunch at the Parador there. A sheer rock wall with a cable car to the top is there, but with clouds settling down and rain, we return to Potes.

It is cool and overcast with a little rain and a little sun as we drive part way around the Picos. A slow road with no traffic takes us over a high pass to Riaño where all buildings are being knocked down and higher roads being built - a dam must be under construction nearby. It’s very scenic mountain country as we climb the lower Pass de Ponton and go thru the Desfiladero los Beyos, so narrow we can’t see the Sellos River below from the corniche road. At Cangas de Onis we eat a good lunch menu at the Hotel Favila; it is full with a tour so we get a room at the small, but nice and clean Hotel Peloña for a rest before we walk to explore the town.

It’s foggy when we awaken, but the day is generally sunny and nice as we drive up a good side road to Covadonga. Beyond the town the road becomes rough and steep with hairpin turns as we go thru very spectacular rock mountains. We stop a KM short of the end because the road is too scary ,and go back to a better road toward Panes. We stop to buy blue goat cheese, and see many loaded apple trees. Lunch is at the Covadonga R. in Panes, and then we decide to drive back to San Vicente to a good large room and bath at the Bora-Bora Hotel.

It’s a windy morning and partly cloudy as we continue west along the coast. An early excursion takes us down a narrow one lane road to a lighthouse, where we ring a bell and a man gets in his car and takes us to the cave of El Pindal. We go down steep steps into a large damp and slippery cave, and deeper in there are drawings of animals our guide says are the oldest in Spain (but not as good as we saw at Altamira in ‘75). On west by many beaches we come to Ribadestilla where we eat a good fish and salad lunch at the Xico Restaurant and get a room at the Marina Hotel.

We take a side road up to the view point del Fito, but clouds and haze obscure most of the view. There are very green hills, like foothills of the French Pyrenees as we near the large city of Gijon. We find a “presse” where we get a USA Today, but no Herald Tribune. We eat lunch in a small bar restaurant with sawdust on the floor and a waiter pours drinks from a bottle held as high as possible to a glass held very low. On west via slow, twisting, and rough roads thru apple country to the Casa Consuelo H. at Otur, just west of Luarca.

Westward along the main two lane highway close to the coast we get glimpses of the surf, but the road does not feature the sea. A car passing us causes an oncoming car to jam on his brakes; he spins around and stops in the ditch to our right, but luckily we have stopped and no one is injured. We see the Hostel Casa Basoa and stop for the night there.