Picos, northern Spain and France trip report
- Thread starter grantmac
- Start date
it's when you meet the herd 'guard' dogs in the middle of the road! scared the bejesus of me this year!!
Barry
It’s my first time on the Brittany Ferries boats and the Salamanca was superb. Maybe not for food but the ship, parking etc was so easy. Bikes have a special area on deck 5 so not the bowels of the ship and it’s 2 flights to deck 7 and the cabins. As said the crew do everything including clear the ratchets on arrival. Bars were great. Food OK brekky excellent
Next year a definite do again
F*** that for a game of soldiers. Never camping. Yes I carry a fair bit of gear with me….. Why? Because I can and it doesn’t bother me. Each to their own I sayAll that luggage but... not a tent / tarp in sight...
Reference cows in road, yup had that yesterday twice.
And as to the Shepard dogs agree, I thought they were fekking wolves. They were huge….
So on with the tour report….and Mods please move to the right section please…
Day 2 riding. Picos
So due to a late dinner and a bit of heartburn as a result up at 0830 for brekky which was incredible. Huge buffet of just about everything you could imagine.
Packed up and off at 1000. Chilly but cloudless skies at 10 degrees. Headed back to Potes and then south. Tarmac was just incredible so the roads were amazing. Past the Mirador with the mountain goat, no clue what it was called but in the photos below. A few stops for coffee and drinks and the a big circle round back to Potes. As said the routes I’ll put on my website when I get back. Scenery and canyons just stunning. Helped by a good helping of Spanish sun.
By lunch time it was hitting 26 degrees and upon return to Potes it was at 37!!
Agree to the comment above Potes even now is terribly touristy and was rammed.
Roads were generally quiet. Weather just incredible and managed to get the 360 cam out and working. Last night at the Oso hotel. Dinner and off east tomorrow. Thanks to @Arsey for the Picos route today which I copied from his trip earlier this year
Already planning a return trip next year
Potes is ok to stay once, as I have done, I’ve not yet managed to stay where you are, always fully booked when I’m there, the parador up the road in de fuente is ok though, is a great road out of Potes to those places too.
Can understand why the HDO (hotel del Oso) is always fully booked. it really is a lovely cosy place. I love the lounges they have to sit quietly and relax... Only disadvantage on this trip its full of old fart Brits and fekkin ''septics''
One of my fav hotels in the world . Roll on next May for three nightsCan understand why the HDO (hotel del Oso) is always fully booked. it really is a lovely cosy place. I love the lounges they have to sit quietly and relax... Only disadvantage on this trip its full of old fart Brits and fekkin ''septics''
am also planning a similar jaunt for next year and will probably book before I leave......but this time I'd like a room in the main building....
....oh and the required dog photo.....
....oh and the required dog photo.....
When it’s busy it’s actually quite nice over the road in the annex, very quiet and peaceful and you can join the main area when you want to. Wherever you finish up it’s a great place.
Do you guys book with Hotel Del Osa directly?
Can you imagine the fuss that doggy gets. I love hotel dogs.
You’ll often find me sat on the hotel steps with them looking out across the view...side by side...nothing said...just side by side.
You’ll often find me sat on the hotel steps with them looking out across the view...side by side...nothing said...just side by side.
Great pics, this report has inspired me to go back to Spain. It's been the best part of twenty years since I was last there on a motorcycle. I did both sides of the Pyrenees, not quite coast to coast; but have only touched the edge of the Picos enroute to Portugal on a bike trip to Porto and Lisbon.
I was in the Picos with Mrs FatAl fairly recently but it was on an old farts coach tour as she is not up to travelling by bike anymore. I saw loads of bikes out and about and was very jealous of them. Keep the photos coming, I'm lapping this up
I was in the Picos with Mrs FatAl fairly recently but it was on an old farts coach tour as she is not up to travelling by bike anymore. I saw loads of bikes out and about and was very jealous of them. Keep the photos coming, I'm lapping this up
Shame the dope missed the turning for the bear as he promised me he’d take his €35000 WankPanzer off-road on a grass bank to get a pic like thisGreat pics, this report has inspired me to go back to Spain. It's been the best part of twenty years since I was last there on a motorcycle. I did both sides of the Pyrenees, not quite coast to coast; but have only touched the edge of the Picos enroute to Portugal on a bike trip to Porto and Lisbon.
I was in the Picos with Mrs FatAl fairly recently but it was on an old farts coach tour as she is not up to travelling by bike anymore. I saw loads of bikes out and about and was very jealous of them. Keep the photos coming, I'm lapping this up
Hey @geotim ...there were lots and lots of cocks........
Lovely rocks around there…
But not granite! The Picos are the result of the uplift during the Variscan/Hercynian orogeny. The basin fill rocks were predominantly limestones and silty sediments, which have been uplifted and thrusted.
The principal rocks are:
- Carboniferous limestone — roughly 300–330 million years old
- Dolomitic limestone / dolomite, particularly in parts of the Picos de Europa Formation
- Locally shales, sandstones and conglomerates, particularly around the Liébana basin and its margins
- Quaternary glacial deposits and scree in the valleys and higher cirques.
The Spanish Geological Survey (IGME) describes the Picos as essentially a huge Carboniferous limestone massif, with the principal limestone formations repeated and stacked by numerous thrust faults.
Top tip…
Scratch the rock with something hard, like a screwdriver or knife blade.
Drip some acid on it (battery acid or at a push, lemon juice) and watch for it to fizz slightly.
Scratch the rock with something hard, like a screwdriver or knife blade.
Drip some acid on it (battery acid or at a push, lemon juice) and watch for it to fizz slightly.
Standard geological field gear is a ‘scratcher’ pen and a bottle of dilute HCL…
Yes, I was thinking Hercynian orogeny then stabilised by the Mesozoic Interval
You keep your stabilisers to yourself young man…Yes, I was thinking Hercynian orogeny then stabilised by the Mesozoic Interval
No self respecting geologist wants their orogeny, with associated thrusting and the development of multilayered cleavages to be stabilised!
