My next 'appointment' was at Cain in the Picos de Europa. From there a path hangs from the gorge following the Rio Cares to Poncebos.
The narrow road to Cain twists, turns and winds round the mountains, beautifully maintained with smart timber crash barriers running much of the length from Corinares. Arriving eventually in Cain, a pretty village with an inviting restaurant on the left, a hostal and souvenir shops, I parked beside the river at the beginning of the walk.
This 12 km path was hacked and blown out of the mountainside between 1916 and 1925 (and reconditioned in the 1940s) by the hydro-electric company Viesgo in order to service the hydro-electric canal that runs between Cain and Carmemena. How such a feat of engineering was accomplished I shall never know. Follow this link to a very interesting video about this very subject.
It started innocently enough at river level, over the dam, along a further footpath and back over the Rio Cares by bridge.
The narrow road to Cain twists, turns and winds round the mountains, beautifully maintained with smart timber crash barriers running much of the length from Corinares. Arriving eventually in Cain, a pretty village with an inviting restaurant on the left, a hostal and souvenir shops, I parked beside the river at the beginning of the walk.
This 12 km path was hacked and blown out of the mountainside between 1916 and 1925 (and reconditioned in the 1940s) by the hydro-electric company Viesgo in order to service the hydro-electric canal that runs between Cain and Carmemena. How such a feat of engineering was accomplished I shall never know. Follow this link to a very interesting video about this very subject.
It started innocently enough at river level, over the dam, along a further footpath and back over the Rio Cares by bridge.
Whilst the path had a gentle incline the river started to drop away, unrecognisably at first.
After a while you became aware of the drop beside the path. There was no barrier. Just a sheer drop.
Inevitably as people walked in
the opposite direction one party (usually the ones with the drop on the
right) had to move to the outside to let the other pass. There were a few moments of vertigo.
It was a miracle of engineering. There was no knowing when the rock was blasted how stable things would remain. Those who had to drop down to reinforce the track from below probably had the worst job.
This little chap took a curious interest in me.
I walked to the half-way point and back. There was something of a resting point here...a rock to sit down on.
It was a remarkable walk over about 5 hours in total. You would likely need a day each way to do the full walk.
In the afteroon I drove over to Potes and found my next stopover at C. La Viorna looking up to the Picos de Europa.
Just 51 miles - but what a day!
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