As I have said in previous posts, I like to
walk. I cannot say, though, that I have done anything as vigorous as hiking.
There’s not much call for hiking along the South Bank or through Hyde Park. But
when Arina told me about a programme organised by the EOIs of Cantabria
(Escuela Oficial de Idioma) in which people wanting to practise their language
skills would get together and go on a hike in the country or the mountains, I
was very excited. I signed up straight away.
I regretted it slightly the morning of the
hike as, upon waking up at 7 in the morning, it was pouring with rain. And I
mean really pouring heavily. Even so, I dressed carefully, thanking god that I
decided to buy that Northface raincoat and to bring my good trainers instead of
those high heels. We met at the train station and then split into groups,
ensuring that each car would have a mix of different nationalities. I was one
of two English speaking hikers in a car, with two Spaniards one of whom was
driving us to the place where we would begin our hike. We took turns chatting
in English and Spanish and generally getting to know more about each other all
the way to Barcena Mayor.
Barcena Mayor is the tiny ‘pueblo’ where we
were to begin the trail. It is about an hour and a half away from Santander and
it is beautiful. I stand by that I, personally, wouldn’t want to live there –
it is too quiet for me. But for a day trip or a quiet weekend away, I couldn’t
recommend it more. It has the most picturesque landscapes with fantastically
green hills surrounding the pretty buildings that make up the small but
charming village.
The group (made up of all sorts of
different nationalities) ensured to have a coffee before we followed the route
leading us into the forest. A café con leche, as it turns out, is not what you
should ask for in Cantabria. A café con leche is a coffee with milk, yes, but
it is not what many people have. Instead, you ask for a ‘mediana’, a slightly
small version of coffee with milk but what you actually mean to ask for.
The rainfall had lightened up a lot by the
time we got going (thank god) and in fact the rain even made the air slightly
cooler so it was nicer to walk in.
In general, we walked slowly but constantly
only stopping to take pictures of some of the most amazing pieces of nature.
The forest was magical, as most are. As we head into autumn, a lot of the trees
shared both wonderfully green leaves with brilliant red. And the moss covered
rocks (which I choose to believe are the homes to magical and mythical
creatures) made for incredible scenes.
It was made even more magical, when we
descended from a hill to the waterfalls below. The ‘cascadas’ were amazing and,
with care, we walked along the flowing water, past the many pools and sat on a
bank to eat some lunch surrounded by the running water.
Getting back up was slightly more
difficult, but I have realised that I would always rather go up a hill than
walk down it. Going up can be tricky and especially tiring, but you can lean
forwards and I know, if I fall, I will land on with my arms and hands in front
of me. Going downhill scares me a little. You really have to keep your balance,
and I hate the idea of falling backwards.
Luckily, this time round there were no
accidents and we were able to follow the trail round past the water again. I
can’t deny it was tiring, but it was worth it. I really enjoyed it there and if
there was any doubt as to why I chose to Cantabria, this trip squashed them. It
is a stunning place.
A stunning place, with great food! After
completing the trek, we spent some time in a lovely gastrobar where we had a
few drinks and shared some “lomo bocadillos” which were extremely tasty and
hot! It was getting much cooler at this point and I was grateful for some hot
food. We were also given some ‘sobaos’ to try. This was essentially a cake that is a
specialty to Cantabria. It was good, but the Brit in me still thinks it would
be better with a cup of tea.
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