Fuente De!

The Camino Vadiniense leads you right to the foot of the Picos de Europa national park in Spain. It feels like the Idaho Sawtooths on steroids.

We woke up early and walked the five KM to Fuente De at the foot of the mountains. There is a Parador here, which are special state-owned hotels that are typically reconfigured historic buildings. They are used to promote tourism and Spanish heritage. Usually they are very luxurious and expensive. This one is a nice three star hotel and was only $100 a night.

We arrived a little after 8:00 am as we wanted to take the first cable car available up the mountain. We were hoping that the hotel would keep our backpacks for us so that we only had to carry our day packs on our excursion. Amazingly they told us that our room was ready and available and checked us in! It was humorous when the host asked us for our license plate number and we told her we had walked from the French border! Once in our room we quickly took what we needed for the day and headed out to purchase tickets for the gondola. 

The ride lasts only four minutes but takes you 753 meters to an altitude of 1823 meters (5000 ft). At the top we took pictures of the glorious mountains that we have been walking towards all week. We were in heaven!  We stayed out on the veranda of the cafe enjoying our incredible view. Our plan was to walk a 14 KM path down the mountain back to the Parador, allowing us to enjoy the whole morning in the mountains. As we got up to leave the clouds rolled in and we could no longer see the mountains at all! We were so thankful for our timing. 

As we walked down the trail we enjoyed the magical mist that came and went with the wind. It made for dreamy pictures of all of the horses, cattle, sheep, and goats that roam free around the whole park. 

The last five KM were back in the forest and we spent the remainder of the day at rest. 

Tomorrow we are back on the Camino. We will pass out of the Cantabria region and into the region of Leon. After one more large elevation gain we will meander down into the northern limits of the Mesetta on our way towards the Camino Frances.

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