Safe Return Doubtful

Roja had that bout of gastroenteritis a couple of weeks ago. He received treatment for it in Oliveira do Hospital where he had a blood test and an ultrasound to see if there were any underlying problems, but there results were inconclusive. About two weeks ago he was itching, licking and biting his skin more than usual, which I put down to fleas, and picked up some medicine for that, Bravecto, in Sarria, and also washed the sheets and cleaned the van, though I had seen none, and last time he had an infestation, caught from the cat at New Ing, they were obvious. A week on and his itch hadn’t gone away. I thought that it could be linked to the fur they had shaved when he had the ultrasound, that could have made him more liable to grass allergies. It was driving him, and me, crazy, so a third visit to the vet, this time in the town of Tinéu. 

The vets saw me straight away, it was a quiet Monday morning. I say vets, and it was three of them, all triplet sisters. One of them spoke English about as well as I spoke Spanish, so we communicated just about. It was hard not to watch them work without smiling. They were all heavy, and perhaps in their early 40s, but extremely helpful and clearly dedicated to their jobs. Two puppies were on their way out, so it was a hectic waiting room, with Roja not at all impressed. We were attended by all three sisters, perhaps it was a quiet time, or could be they work as a threesome all the time. Sure enough, after two examining him, and one did some computer work, they met for a conference and confirmed my guess, an allergy, and gave him some tablets which seemed to have worked almost immediately. 

We had left San Antolín that morning then travelled via the Oviedo ring road back into the mountains and were soon on roads again where 20 miles per hour is pretty much impossible, so winding and steep they are. I was headed for San Juan de Beleño which is in the Ponga National Park, and area I have been to before, though further south.

In its own right it is a spectacular region, but it also overlooks the Picos de Europa. I’ve had a strange relationship with the Picos over the years. I first visited in the late 1990s, twice, both for weeks at Easter, flying and hiring a car from Bilbao. They were both good weeks of hiking and tent camping, and made me keen to visit twenty odd years on with the van. But with the van it is much more difficult, and no doubt they have grown in visitor numbers. The roads are so narrow and busy that it is difficult for vans, and there are so few places for them to stay. Many restrictions have now come in, banning them from many areas. So these days, I prefer to stay on the edges, and San Juan de Beleño was perfect for that, especially at this time of year. 

It is possible to stay in the village, at 850 metres above sea level, but there is a hiking car park a few kilometres out on a steep rough road, which took my interest. It’s at 1100 metres above sea level, which in planning the course I had thought would be out of the question at this time of year, due to ice and snow. But the last few weeks have been warm, and there is hardly any snow. 

We got to the car park with no problem, and it was a magnificent place. Running across the mountains here is an old road which is an incredible mountain bike trip, the Route of the Muleteers, or ‘El Camino de la Arrieros’, or Ruta de Arcenorio, about twenty kilometres of tremendous high altitude biking which can easily be extended into  longer, totally off tarmac, route. It was a reconnaissance for me though, I did not expect the weather to be favourable enough to ride even a section of it. 

Indeed, no sooner than we had had an hour’s exploratory wander, a storm arrived. I knew it was coming, but I still haven’t lost that thrill of experiencing wild weather in a position such as I was, basically at a saddle between peaks at 1100 metres. Winds below in the town were forecast for 30 miles per hour, so a lot stronger where I was. They only lasted a few hours, and was followed by heavy rain, and then as these fronts often bring, a temperature drop. Today didn’t get above 5C. 

We had an hour out this morning, and put it down for a place that must be revisited. The wind was up again, and it wasn’t comfortable. 

When we arrived the previous evening we met a dog on our hour’s walk. I can’t think where he came from, as there was no one around at all. It was or had been someone’s pet, as it still had a collar on. It was older, and very friendly towards me. It did seem at first that it had been abandoned, but on reflection, it may just have been an older and retired sheep dog that just wanders the area. It didn’t look skinny, though it ate the food I gave him with enthusiasm. It slept next to the van, in the wildest of weather, though there were a couple of cattle huts nearby. 

It’s always difficult when encountering such dogs on courses, and is quite common in southern Europe. I’ve talked myself into the idea that he was quite happy, and some farmers must come up and feed him each day. The village was only five kilometres below, so he could have walked there if really hungry. 

My plan then was to keep on avoiding the Picos, and with a couple of days of cooler weather, go to the south of them, through the Cangos hills, where the peaks are around a thousand metres, and greener. It was a mistake. This area is easily reached from the coast, so from Santander and Oviedo, and has wealthy properties of commuters, and second homes. Residents have been besieged with vans and motorhomes over recent years (as I now know, having asked..) and there are signs in almost any possible park-up place stating no van parking. I don’t get annoyed, in such situations I can see it from the residents point of view. Besides, the roads are unsuitable; tremendous to drive on today, when empty, but a nightmare in season, as they are so narrow and steep, and would be much busier. 

I drove around to the east side of the Picos and headed into the mountains again, this time to the Saja-Besaya Natural Park, and have found a good place to stay just before Tudanca, a very picturesque village with lots of tourist accommodation on some popular hiking trails, though at this time of year of course, there are just a few residents here.