Day 72 – to Murgia (Gorbeia National Park)

It was a pleasant morning at Mazandrero trying to concentrate on my book while Roja ran with the three dogs he’s been hanging out with, looking after the shepherd’s horses. I made the guy a coffee and he came over for a quick chat, but as predicted, he was a man of few words.

I had a few jobs to do in the town of Reinosa, just 15 kilometres away. I managed to pick up some flea and tick treatment for Roja, Bravecto, at half the price it is in the UK, €32. I asked about a European Pet Passport, and was told at this particular vets I needed to be in Spain for six months. I’ll try elsewhere, but am not hopeful.

I managed to buy a mouse for my MacBook on which the trackpad has become inactive. It was a PC shop, rather than Apple, so the guy didn’t want to speculate on a repair. And I did a supermarket stock-up and got fuel, for which the price has dropped again, today at €1.40 a litre.

After that, I wasn’t quite sure what where to stop next. I was heading to Basque Country. It is going to be a warm week, with temperatures in the late 20s by early afternoon. I found a forested hiking area just outside Espinosa, and took a couple of hours out and lunch. It was tempting to stay for the day, but lower in altitude here, so warmer nights, predicted at 18C low.

In the end I headed to the Gorbeia National Park. It does put me a bit ahead of the rough schedule I penned out a while ago, but that means I can take some time in the Pyrenees, and with the forecast of a hot spell, that seems sensible for those not used to a hot May.

There’s a big car park at the visitor’s centre which at weekends is very busy, but tonight has just two other vans, and is practically empty. In the early evening we took a wander and found some water for Roja to cool down.