The Road goes ever on and on; Down from the door where it began;
Now far ahead the Road has gone; And I must follow, if I can;
Pursuing it with eager feet; Until it joins some larger way;
Where many paths and errands met; And whither then? I cannot say.

[JRR Tolkien, Lord of the Rings]

Sunday 19 November 2017

Liandres, Comillas, San Vicente de la Barquera and Pechón

We are really liking the north coast of Spain! That's probably why we are journeying along it so slowly. After 5 weeks in the country, we are only 200 miles, by road, from our point of entry!

I've been lazy in posting about our walks this last week. None of the outings has been long (generally around 5 miles), but they've all been very pleasant - helped by a spell of good weather that's still persisting as I type.

Here's a bit of a catch-up in pictures:

After leaving Cóbreces on Tuesday, we drove a whole 3 miles along the coast and entered the car park that was to be our home for the night with a 'wow'. The snowy Picos de Europa, a manicured picnic area and the rugged coast were all visible out of Bertie's windscreen:


Most of our coastal walks over the last few weeks have coincided at some point with the Camino de Santiago and Tuesday's was no exception. I'm sure that the 'pilgrims' must help to boost the economies of many of the villages we've visited, and the one we were now in (Liandres) had recognised them with one of the public water taps, which caught my eye:


Our next stop was just 2km further west, at the town of Comillas - so close to Liandres that we could clearly see the church below which we had been parked the night before:

The 'herding instinct phenomenon' struck large during our stay there. With 128 out of 130 spaces free in the car park, where did the only other motorhome to arrive decide to park? Yep, you can just see its tail sticking out from behind Bertie in this snap:

It was another good walk we took from there, taking us to this viewpoint:

We spotted an early lamb too on our way back:

San Vicente de la Barquera (big drive - about 6 miles this time!) was our next stop, where we were parked quite literally within a stone's throw of the water:

That wasn't a walking destination for us, as we only stayed one day/night and that day was all about the food (note Mick's indignation in the bottom right as his wine has been reducing in quantity with each Menu del Dia, and this time he was down to just a glass):

That brings us to where we are now, in another stunning coastal car park, by the village of Pechón. Here's the view from the car park, with the first snap being taken about an hour after low tide, just after we had walked out to the rocky outcrop, and the second being taken at high tide:

You may spot something in the sea to the left of the beach. It's a chap in a tractor, harvesting seaweed. He has intrigued us to the extent that today we took elevenses down to the beach...

...so that we could sit and watch him from closer quarters, finding it incredible how deep he goes in:


He regularly gets a wave splashing straight through the cab. It's no wonder he's put a can of expanding foam to good use around the gear levers:


(For the avoidance of doubt, AlanR, I'm not expecting you to tell me what the tractor is - we were just captivated by how it was being used.)

7 comments:

  1. I hope Mick wasn't deprived of a re-fill for too long.

    I couldn't stand staying in waiting for this op (due on We. 29th Nov) so I went for a walk yesterday on the flat drain-land of the Lythe Valley - hillbilly country. In your words "the stats came in at" 2.39miles - 1.32hours = 1.81 mph. That included chatting to couple for five minutes, the husband being a fellow replacement knee recipient . I spied a previously unclimbed little hill to the north - Hollow Stones, 188m and afterwards went to research the private or otherwise accessibility from a lane leading towards the summit. Looks like one for a pleasant summer's evening, whenever.

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    1. That glass (which he is still protesting was actually just a half glass) was the only wine he had that day. He did concede that it was of better quality than the usual bottle he is given. Quantity or quality, eh?

      Is Hollow Stones not now pencilled in for the first hill trial of the new knee ;-)

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    2. That may be longer than I thought - see the next post after 21st. Nov.

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  2. You know it wouldn’t be fair on your readers if I let a tractor go without recognition. So just for them I think it’s a 7000 series ford which would be around 100hp in a 4.7l engine.
    I imagine this one is searching for gold.
    They are quite a rare tractor so I’m glad you snapped it.

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    1. I've added another photo right to the bottom of the post that shows the whole machine, on dry land.

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    2. And, incidentally, surely tractors aren't designed to be used underwater like that?! Aside from anything else, the salt can't do them any good, and I bet he has to clear seaweed out of his engine on a daily basis!

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  3. So I was right. Ebro built Fords. The 6070 was an Ebro number not a Ford number. Later Ebro tied up with Massey Ferguson and then they were coloured red.
    Nissan took over after that and I’m not sure who they are with now.
    Tractors are used in the sea in lots of places for boat launches etc but it’s usually back up into the sea and then straight out. It is unusual to see one like your pic but it won’t do it any harm as long as the electrics and intakes are protected.

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