Pico's De Europa

We spent 2 days in Pico’s de Europa national park this past weekend and unfortunately it rained (no poured) on us the entire time. Despite the rain it was gorgeous. I have to say Spain has some of the most beautiful mountain ranges (scenery) I have seen in my lifetime. We drove briefly along the northern coast line and spent the afternoon in a coastal town called Ribadesella and then found our 2nd camp ground we stayed at that night. As soon as we pulled in the campground and parked the kids said “um mom/dad there is a leak” and sure enough water was dripping at a steady rate from one of our cupboards and lights. I cleaned everything up while Tob dumped the toilet and hooked into electricity and placed a pot below the drip which seemed to do the trick. We played games that whole evening in the camper and got up the next morning to take showers do laundry and head on through the park. We had French toast for breakfast and after was when Tob noticed the propane was out and you have already heard that story so I will skip the details J. As for the leak it has now stopped raining, hence it has stopped leaking but we will be ready the next time it starts to drizzle.

We drove through a few village towns and then stopped in Potes to look around and eat. They had a large market that was fun to roam through. The kids bought swords and Lex was promptly poked in the eye. We bought fresh walnuts to crack and eat and a few postcards. We ate lunch at a pizzaria that had no pizza because the power was out, probably due to the weather. After lunch we drove to the Covadonga an amazing place set back in the mountains where Pelayo ( a knight) and his small army were able to fight off a Moorish army back in the 15-18th century’s sometime (ya I know big range, we are driving and can’t remember the details) Anyway, there was a monastery and a beautiful cathedral to wander around. After the Covadonga we continued on through the park. The roads were narrow with rock walls extending out into the road on blind corners and waterfalls pouring over the road flooding it in places. The river below was raging with high muddy water. After we went through the canyon we headed up 5000 ft of narrow steep highway until we were sure we would be driving straight over the snowy peaks. There was a huge sigh of relief from the driver when we reached the summit and were still below the snow line. We passed one car where the husband was driving and the woman was literally covering her eyes. This mountain pass made rattlesnake grade in the dead of winter look like a joy ride (for any of you familiar with the pass from Wallowa county over to Lewiston and Clarkston. The road may have been crazy and tense but now looking back well worth it since we are still alive.