Picos da Europa – Day 3 – From “Fuente Dé” to “Naranjo de Bulnes”, Hiking, Trekking, Walking Trails, Tracks, Pedestrian Routes, Portugal

I woke up at night with the rain hitting the small window of the dormitory. I thought maybe it was a dream, that the strong wind would blow for sure, maybe any other noise, the result of the anxiety and the “zombie” state very own of that hour in the night.
I turned to the other side of the bed and went back to sleep.
At 8: 00 we were on the cable car door that will take us to the beginning of the trek. The rain that stubbornly hovered about Fuente Dé created some apprehension among hikers. In fact it rained all night and the early hours of morning low clouds over us were discharging that drizzle that bother so much.
The cable car ascent was like entering a sea of cotton. I can not see anything more than a meter away. On the other side of this ocean on the rise at the top of the bluffs that serve as a port of this ship of adventurers, the sun flowed in force to greet us and accompanied during the whole adventure.
Backpackers on our back and we started the climb in this harsh environment. After a short time the fear of excessive weight it is diluted with each step.
Surrounded by ridges and cliffs dizzying, worthy of any martian setting, we follow towards the heart of the central massif of the Picos de Europa.

We passed Cabana Veronica, Mariano’s home for over 23 years … we descend the imposing “Steel cables” … and after crossing majestic glacial valleys, finished in Urrielu refuge, in Naranjo de Bulnes. Its west wall with vertical 500m is sought by climbers worldwide.

Surrounded by ridges and cliffs dizzying, worthy of any martian setting, we follow towards the heart of the central massif of the Picos de Europa.

We rest on an amazing landscape … the clouds at our feet covered everything the eye could reach on the horizon. With its scattering we discovered mountains that perspective islanders resembled a vast ocean of cotton candy …
The sunset as they lit the rocky walls of Naranjo to invite to the cozy evening that lay ahead. At the dinner table we told stories, we shared lives, pain and emotions … after all we were living something that we would not forget so quickly.

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