One half of a figure of eight.....with more to come

Vitoria Gasteiz ! ……….. not a place that conjures up much excitement in the normal course of events you might think.  It’s a largish town in northern Spain - best known for it’s Michelin factories and vast blocks of flats but to us this place gives us cause for celebration. 

We have now completed a full circle travelling through Spain and Portugal (as the map shows) and today we are making our way across the Pyrenees to France. 

5800 miles have been clocked up since we left the UK in September 2012 and I must admit that I have only driven about 10 of those miles  (just to make sure I can do it in an emergency).  So ……. well done Les - you deserve a medal, or perhaps a glass or two of the red stuff!

Picos de Europa

Blessed with sunny weather we made our way east into the Picos de Europa from Cangas de Onis not really knowing what to expect.   As we travelled on, the roads became narrower as the mountains became higher -  blue ice-melt rivers snaked down beside the road on most of the route until at last we saw the snow capped peaks for the first time.  Wow! 

Our terraced campsite near the small but interesting town of Potes had wonderful views and we were able to take a circular walk up to a nearby chapel with almost a full 180° panorama, far too wide to ever capture in a single photo.   The dull clunking ring of mountain cow bells could easily be heard in the still mountain air…… just one of the ‘ good to be alive moments’ that happen every now and again.

 The narrow Desfiladero de le Hermitage gorge, some 15 miles long had to be skilfully negotiated to Potes and back and thanks to Les’s careful driving I didn’t need to climb out of the van at all!   

View of Potes

Bearing in mind how close we are to the ferry ports of Santander and Bilbao we are sure we will be back to discover more of this fantastic mountain area.    

Those lovely cows! 

The Rally Hill Climb Time Trials

Whilst staying on the mountain top at Penha we discovered that Sunday was a rally hill climb time trials day.  It seems there is some association between a motoring group and the establishment of the mountain top facility – probably that motor vehicle were instrumental in the development as they brought labour and materials up the mountain.  In the church and chapels dotted around there are various plaques and dedications to the motorist associations.  Anyway, it seems the rally time trials are an annual event that sees plenty of spectators line the route up the top of the mountain.

Vehicles started arriving on the Saturday afternoon, a fair number of 1980’s cars such as Ford Escorts, Renault 5 GT Turbo (rear engined), Lancia Delta Integrale, Auto Bianchi (in both standard and Abarth form), VW Golf, Mini, etc., as well as some more modern cars such as Mitsubishi Evo, BMW 3 Series, Renault Clio, Citroen Saxo, Seat Leon and Alfa Romeo.  Plus what looked like three Radical open top racers.

 

On the Sunday morning all cars had to be scrutinised by the officials before heading off to the start area.  There was a measured route up the mountain to the finish line and each car took it in turns to race up against the clock.  Times were recorded and awards given for the different classes of car. The route was cordoned off and spectators lined the route – it was quite noisy and exciting as the cars used the full width of the road and came very close to the roadside barriers.

A few photos and a video clip for your delectation (those of you who are interested in motor sport – yes Dave, you know who I am talking about!):

Click on the pictures to see a larger version.

Auto Bianchi Abarth

Ford Escort

Ford Escort

Lancia Delta Integrale

Mini

Radical

Radical

Radical

Renault Clio

Renault 5 GT Turbo (Rear engined)

Renault 5 GT Turbo (Rear engined)

Seat Leon

Waiting at the start