We get up around 8am.
Air is chilly, but sun is out to warm everything up soon.
To make coffee and tea we get out of a tent on our mats.
As it gets warmer we roll off mats on grass to stretch.
Pretty soon stretching develops into proper yoga session.
Later on we move on to discuss science, biology, and tissue homeostasis in particular.
Because it was such a long walk yesterday we decide to do kind of a restday.
Which means we will “just” climb the hill above refugio; Pico Cotalba summit is at 2028 meters above sea level.
This will give us a chance to have a look at the main massive and possible shortcuts of the big loop we want to do next day.
Before we can start, our tent and bags need to be packed and stored in refugio.
In the nature reserve you can pitch a tent overnight, but camping is not allowed.
The climb is pretty steep, grass soon turns to scree.
Later we also find the spring hidden in a little cave above refugio.
It is pretty weak and very dirty.
By the footprints mountain goats and cows love it.
We better stick to our clean Vegarredonda water.
Mountain goats are watching us attentively from their positions higher up on the mountain.
The spacious cave, where they congregate for night, is a good orientation point on the mountain.
As we climb, we keep it on our right hand side.
Our path is not marked by stones but looks pretty intuitive.
The little saddle it leads up to opens vast view of the hou (depression surrounded by walls or mountains) and part of main massive on the other side.
We search for footpaths crossing the hou; first with eyes, then binoculars.
Our map shows no path, but maybe there is a shortcut to get us to the main peaks without descending to Vegarredonda and back up again.
If we could avoid it, would be great.
Zuzka is very optimistic about it, I’m not.
Now its obvious, the path we took is not the proper one up to the peak.
While there were some stones marking the path leading up here, they don’t continue properly.
We turn right and continue climbing the ridge over limestone steps and grass patches.
At one point the grass ends, its just two ridges of bare limestone flanking a deep hou.
Which way to pass around? Left or right?
I get my way and we try going around left, but it becomes grade 3-4 UIAA climbing pretty fast.
Better we turn back and try Zuzka’s original pick, the ridge on the right.
While it also looks tricky in the beginning, soon we discover a nice pile of stones marking the proper path which we gratefully join.
To sum it up: When going from refugio up on Picu Cotalba, keep the mountain goats cave on your left side:).
Way up is proper steep,
switching between grass and rocks, but there is no doubt about directions. In a while we are at the top.
The sun is going full power, but we spend a lot of time on the Picu Cotalba double peak.
The views of biggest mountains (Porrú Bolu, Torres de Marías, Torres de Cebolladas and all the others) are in front of us like in the palm of our hand.
On one side, great gray teeth of limestone grow from yellow and light green of alpine meadows.
To the right, dark greens take over the colour spectrum in the lower valley.
Thin silver strand of the Río Dobra glistens at the bottom of the canyon.
I get the map out and finally orient myself, I also think I can see the village of Amieva.
After chilling out, taking a lot of pictures, lunch of sheep cheese and cranberries, we finish nearly all water.
Time to look at the scenery for a last time and properly baked from the sun head down.
Descent is tiring, hot as hell and we have very little water.
It feels like forever, but in reality, its max two hours down to the refugio.
I leave Zuzka at the refugio to start a real restday.
I head down to Vegarredondo to replenish our water supply and tobacco to help with digestion.
They don’t sell cigaretts over there, but a kind trekker lady gifts me two pieces. Should be enough.
I am back up around five in the afternoon to discover that Zuzka isn’t quite doing a restday.
She is climbing the boulders and small rocks around the refugio.
She discovered “paradise”, the best spot on the ridge to watch the clouds playing magic in the valley of Rio Dobra.
Here, chunks of clouds come from bottom, bring moisture to our faces and then continue above our heads into the sky.
The constant covering and unveiling of vertically shaped cliffs covered with greenery in the steep canyon below us is unreal.
Later we traverse further along the ridge looking for more spots, but nothing is as good as “paradise”.
On the way back Zuzka solos a solid little wall of beautifully shaped limestone. I follow later. The quality of rock is amazing, it holds super well.
Around sunset we are back to set up the tent and cook. Pasta with onions and tuna tastes perfect. Initially it seems we made too much, at the end we eat it all. In the evening we drink some Brahmi tea and go to bed around eleven. Black clouds are rolling in, so I check the pegs and secure tent properly. Good I did it, strong wind and rain comes in the night. The tent stays dry and Zuzka sleeps well, but my sleep is poor. Too much noise from the wind keeps me awake.
Tommorrow we take on the big loop