Cantabria Infinita--sequoia and snowy peaks!

Cantabria is known for its green valleys, mountains, and lovely seaside.  But what a lot of people didn't know is that it also has some other hidden (and unexpected) gems like.....

~~Sequoias!  Yes, like those of California, but definitely not as big.  Apparently someone brought them over to experiment and see if they would grow here and yes they did!  So we went for a little hike to see them--they aren't giants yet but could get there in a few hundred years.  Still very cool to see and here are my artistic attempts with the tiny non-pro camera. :)

~~Snowy peaks! To be more specific, we took a long weekend over Easter and went to the Peaks of Europe (Picos de Europa) to do some trekking.  We were unlucky on Friday and Saturday when it dumped rain in buckets and we got soaked, but then due to the precipitation down low, the higher elevations got lots of beautiful fluffy snow and we got to enjoy it when the sun came out full force on Sunday!  We took the cable car up to Fuente De and then did a trail in the fluffy snow--it was beautiful and hot and we were overdressed.  But at least we were prepared in case! :)  We did a trail to a mountain refuge called Cabaña Veronica, and then went back the same way--6 hours total including stops for photos, food and picking myself back up out of the snow.  Hard to go without snowshoes but we managed, though we had to heave our boots out every third step, and be worried about sinking into a hole or sliding down the slope!!  Yikes!  It was worth it though, as you can see below...highly recommended activity for a lovely weekend!

Rented a nice casa rural

Cheese exhibition in a shop

Playing around with our cameras--what else could we do in the pouring rain?

Water droplets make for cool effects! :)

If you want green, you gotta put up with the rain....

Raining heavily......

We HAD to stop and get a shot of this craziness....

Does the hay stay dry with the humidity?

Old-style villages....life back in the day....

Finally Sunday came and we were able to see the amazing scenery up high....

Clouds rolling in made for a mysterious feel....

Hunting for food in the snow

Horcados Rojos

This is Cabaña Veronica--someone decided years ago that this part of an old aircraft carrier would be perfect to haul up onto a mountain and use as a refuge.  It looks really cool and serves its purpose!

Fellow hikers taking a break and enjoying the views like us

One of the locals--these birds perform cool acrobatic stunts!

The refuge is designed for about 7 people (bunks on the right) but the caretaker guys told us that once they had 23 people "sleeping" inside when the weather turned bad and trapped lots of hikers up on the mountain.  I can't even imagine 23 people standing inside there!

These caretaker guys take care of the place, paint, clean, sell drinks and even prepare broth and food for you if requested.  In return you buy a drink or bowl of soup and they use that money to live!

The other caretaker guy--several years ago the previous caretaker died, but because he had spent about 25 years of his life living up there year round.  When he was 34 he decided to leave his house, job, family and life and move up there.  He stayed there year round taking care of the place, rescuing hikers and basically being a bit of a crazy, but then got ill (maybe altitude-related illness) and passed away.  These two mountaineers got involved afterwards to help take over the job, but they go up and down from town, rather than live up there year round.  They are there full-time from May till October or so, but sometimes go up and down a few times in a day......incredible the lives that some people have!

The famous Naranjo de Bulnes peaking up from a mountain pass

Warm sun means melting snow and avalanches!  The noise was deafening and terrifying....

Going back down after a tiring but rewarding day....