Day 65 – to San Gloria Pass (Collada de Llesba – 1656 metres)

After a tidy up, I headed into nearby Posada village in search of some bread. I found it after some advice from the pharmacy, a secret knock at an unmarked door was all that was necessary. Satisfied with my purchase, I celebrated with a coffee in the main cafe, while Roja got to know the village dogs.

Staying overnight up at high mountain passes is one my great passions.

It’s puts most other people off, which is another reason I am attracted to it.

At San Gloria pass there’s a road that heads off for a couple of kilometres and gains another 100 metres winding through a hairpin with a steep drop off on one side. That puts people off also. Collada de Llesba is a ‘mirador’ as the Spanish call it, or a viewpoint, and a very splendid one. To the north it looks out over the major peaks of the Picos, still snow covered, not accessible on foot for another few weeks. To the south is an equally appealing view, the peaks to the south, more grassy and rolling than the sharp limestone feature opposite.

I put together a short hike that took in a couple of the smaller peaks, at 1900 metres, and made it into a loop with a wander on the Trans-Cantabrian MTB route.

Back at the Collada I worked all afternoon as it was payroll day. A few other people arrived to take pictures, the most interesting that I chatted to were a pair of young German women (early 30s) with two dogs, and an enormous baby boy. One of them was working online while travelling Europe, and the other was the co-owner of their business out to visit her, part work, part play. Their business was oversized fashion for large women. The woman with the dogs modelled some dresses higher up on the crag, while her partner photographed. She was very chatty, with an American accent rather than German, very interested in my van, as currently she stayed in AirBnB’s and wanted more freedom. They weren’t at all self-conscious about what they were doing, and were a lot of fun.

As they finished their work for the afternoon, and I did, they headed back to Santander, and the cloud came in, swallowing the mountains. Even some rain, as I write..