Our journey starts at 1AM to catch a train to Vienna airport. Getting up is not pleasant, but it will give us more time in Spain. Our goal - Lagos de Covadonga, two lakes up in the mountains of Picos de Europa, are 250 km west from Bilbao; we better get a car at the Bilbao airport to get there the same day.
As we drive along the coast on the highway, we decide to head inland already at Unquerra to see the canyon of Rio Cares. The road along Rio Cares, which splits the Picos de Europa massive into two parts, is twisty, imposant cliffs overhead, lush vegetation.
image credit: Zuzana Garlikova
Short nap by the road side helps us to recover some sleep we missed before. Then we start searching for a place to buy trek supplies. Cangas de Onis, the major township below mountains, has lively city center, majestic bridge (build by Romans) over a river Sella, and all the shops we need.
By six thirty in the afternoon we park in Covadonga under the watch of cathedral spires build from red stone. This place is special on a first sight, but we do not have time to explore the place for now, as our bus to the lakes is leaving soon. The drizzle and fog is everywhere, but mood is good.
As it happens, we are the only tourists heading to the lakes so late. The driver looks skeptical and grumpy, but drives safely through the foggy, wet, steep road with many twists and turns. At the end, he drops us at the start of the trail instead of the official bus stop.
Once we get outside of the bus, the weather does not feel as bad as it looked from the inside; Four-wheel track goes into the mountains. Visibility is quite limited, but we see shepherd houses in the meadows close to the track; cows keep popping in and out of the fog. They look quite peaceful.
image credit: Zuzana Garlikova
Eventually, the four-wheel track ends in a grassy parking lot, some other trekkers are packing their bags. We reached the beggining of natural park; it is on foot only from now on. The fog gets more intense, stones slippery, vegetation super lush, the slopes of mountains show the trees with curly branches temporarily, then hide them again in the mist.
After a while we find suitable grassy patch and decide to camp for the night. After pitching the tent behind bushes, we cook ourselves the first dinner. Pasta mixed with fried onions, bell pepper, and a can of tuna is delicious.
We sleep like stones.