The highlight of our Asturian road trip was the Ruta del Cares. We spent the day before seeing the Covadonga Lakes and Mirador del Fitu. We spent the night in Las Arenas – though the trail starts in Poncebos, I had a hard time finding accommodation there, so we stayed the next town over.  We woke up at like 7am (before the entirety of Las Arenas/the sun), and drove the 15 minutes to the start of the hike. Again there was another free parking lot at the start of the trail. We had coffee/tea at a restaurant/hotel that was right there, and then we were on our way!

The hike was amazing. It was like being in another world, just up on the edge of a mountain. We started really early so we only passed a few other people on the way.

It is high. There’s really no getting around that, much as I hated it. But if you stay on the inside of the trail, you can’t really see the drop off, and it feels pretty okay. The biggest problem was on the way back, when we were on the outside and virtually none of the couples we passed would separate long enough to let us pass by without being forced to the very edge of the cliff. Tip: if you are on a narrow path with a million foot drop off, detach from your SO long enough to let the people on the outside comfortably pass. It’s basic human decency.

The trail is meant to be 3 hours each way, but we did it in 2.5 there and 2.75 back without trying too hard. The very beginning is the only real elevation, so it’s a pretty steep 20 minute climb. This was harder on the way down because it’s really easy to skid and the consequences of falling are pretty much life ending. So slower was good at that part, but after that bit the walk was flat and super easy.

The route is from Asturias to Castilla y Leon, and ends at a tiny, tiny pueblo called Caín. It’s a few houses, I think four restaurants that cater to hikers, and a gift shop that looks pretty stuck in time. We got there before lunch, and had to wait for about an hour for any food to be ready. But then we got to have our second menu del dia of the trip, and man am I obsessed. You basically get bread, two large/medium sized plates, water/coffee/tea, dessert, and a BOTTLE OF WINE for like 10 euros. They have this in Logroño but it’s like twice as expensive so not as cost effective as pincho hopping.

After a big meal and a half a bottle of wine each, we headed back. This time it was much busier because the after lunch crowd all left around the same time, but even though it took longer it felt much faster. Maybe because of all the wine?

Notes for other people with a very rational fear of heights… there are only two points that really freaked me out–the two bridges. One is where the path has kind of given way. It’s really short and you can be over it in about 5 seconds, but there’s a point where the bottom is a grate you can look through the get a clear idea of how very heigh you are. I would suggest not looking. The second bridge was way worse because you cross from one side to the other and that is long and really high and I didn’t enjoy it one bit. Otherwise, if you stick to the inside you can virtually never see the drop and can pretend it doesn’t exist.

We finished the hike, and started the long drive back to Logroño. Did you know that road tolls in Spain are like 20 euros every time? Because we did not and that is something worth including in the old budget. Also gas is ridiculously expensive in Europe, but I think that’s more commonly known. We pulled over into some weird industrial space and I had my first lesson (of this decade) on how to drive stick. It was pretty easy but there weren’t any other cars around and I think that made a prettttty big difference. I can tell you this much, I didn’t like it. I don’t why you’d choose to make driving more complicated, but that’s just me (being logical).

We arrived home and collapsed in a heap of exhaustion. It was a lot of driving. Again, sorry G. But also totally worth it. (So, also you’re welcome.)