To the monastery

Pesaguero to Potes to Santo Toribio to Potes
28 km, 650 m (another Wikiloc fail- not sure how I am messing up)

Another beautiful walk, though I would say that almost half of it was on (very untraveled) roads. Cloudy with a few small patches of blue, no rain. Today I walked through all those little villages I saw yesterday from above. Like most of these small Spanish rural places, there are some houses that are magnificently restored, some that are basically maintained, and some that are in ruins or at least boarded up.

There was one more Romanesque church that I really wanted to see. I was lucky enough to find the Señora with the keys to the spectacular church at Piasca. It is all that remains of what was once a large mixed monastery (housing both nuns and priests). The 12C capital depicting the adoration of the Magi is widely considered to be the most beautiful romanesque capital in Cantabria. There are two exceptional doorways, both with well preserved carvings. In addition to the main door, there is a side entrance direct from the nuns’ living quarters into the church. I’m so happy that someone told me to knock at the door right next to the church. At first, the husband was kind of grouchy and told me it was closed, but his sweet wife came to the rescue and opened it for me.

Since the Santo Toribio monastery is closed from 1 to 4, the best option was to check into my hotel, do a little shopping for food, and then walk out in the afternoon.

I walked out to the monastery and got my lebaniega. It always seems to close the circle when I finish a camino, though I don’t do anything with these certificates. I also spent some time in the chapel with the reliquary (maybe wrong word) holding the true cross. Layer upon layer of myth for me, but it is still a sacred space for many, and I try to respect that. And it’s always nice to sit in quiet, contemplating those unanswerable big questions.

The historic center of Potes is really beautiful, but it has seen the onslaught of mass tourism. Geegaws galore, and if you can believe it, I saw cheap flamenco dresses for sale!

Now that I am in the mountains, the question is not so much rain as it is cloud cover. There is not one peak visible from town. And the forecast for the next four days is exactly the same. If I had time to wait it out, I would. But the choice is either to walk or jump ahead. Since I will not be up in any of the high mountains, there won’t be any danger, but it will probably be cold and with nothing to see. I’ve attached a picture taken this afternoon from the WebCam at the top of the teleférico. Not pretty.

The question for me is – is it better to walk through the mountains with little or no view of the mountains or not to walk through the mountains at all? I will take it one day at a time.Læs mere