Day 54 – to Pola de Somiedo

Midway through the night the cold conditions gave way to strong winds.

Needing to get up in the night for a number one is one of the pleasures of life in the van. At home it seems so much of a bind. Here, I step outside the van and usually the night sky is a feast for the eyes, even when well below zero. I had braced myself for those temperatures but received the wind instead, and a fair few degrees above.

The wind was so strong it actually changed my plans today. I had decided to head up to Alto La Farapona, where the road ends at 1700 metres and hike to the three lakes just below, and stay over. I have postponed that until tomorrow.

Instead, I went to the village of Saliencia, at 1100 metres, and hiked up the the pastures above, at about 1500 metres. These pastures are known for their Mortera, or traditional shepherd’s huts. There are quite a few of them here, some of them, less than half, are still in use, though not yet. The cattle will be brought up in a few weeks. They are easily identified, as their roofs are made of dry branches, more simple than thatching. Many of these date back several hundred years.

A view of Saliencia village below.

The view of the Somiedo mountains from up here is the best around, and another reason to scale the steep 400 metres from the village.

Back at the van the wind was still howling, if anything stronger than earlier. With a weakened 4G signal, and it being a rugby Friday I retreated to the town of Pola, back 15 kilometres. In the early evening Roja and I headed into town for a couple of beers. There was less wind here, but it’s going to take a few days for the temperature to warm up again.