Day 10: Picos de Europa and Santander

I spent a while going back and forth on what hike to do today. I really wanted to do the Ruta del Cares, an ~7 hour there and back hike through a mountain gorge, but the forecast called for cold and rain all day, so I decided against it. Of course, it turned out to be a clear day (though still cold), but what are you gonna do.

Cheese Market

Before any hiking, Cangas de Onís has a Sunday street market where you can get all sorts of meats and cheeses.

The guy at this stand was very friendly. He gave me a bunch of samples and was able to vacuum seal some pieces to take home (hopefully that’s allowed through customs).

Not pictured: leftover chachopo for breakfast.

Cavodonga

Just a 20 minute drive to the town of Cavodonga where I could park. It has a big church, and for B, a tiny church in a cave with a waterfall.

Lagos de Cavodonga

On the weekends and in the high season, you can’t drive all the way to the lakes yourself, so after parking in Cavodonga it’s a 30 minute van ride up the mountain to the lakes. It’s not the hike I wanted to do, but it was very nice scenery anyway.

There’s one small restaurant up by the lakes where I had some fabada. It’s cold in the mountains, so the warm stew hit the spot.

Santander

Onwards into the province of Cantabria, specifically Santander.

I had to park in a garage, or as I’ve come to think of it, a car hostel.

Centro Botín

Modern art museum — emphasis in modern. Like a video of a guy in a sea lion costume feeding pups on a beach, and a fish tank with motion sensors that control a piano. There was one gallery with paintings that I liked, but apparently didn’t photograph, and a nice view from the roof. There was also a cafe where showing your entrance ticket got you an omelette and cervesa for €4.

Evening in Santander

Had a mediocre cocktail at a speakeasy themed bar, and two pretty good tapas at Casa Ajero. One was eggplant with a fried egg and pepper, and the other was oxtail on a croissant.