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Camino de
Santiago, 5-35 Days, 113-780km. |
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The Camino de
Santiago or Way of St James is a
journey of the soul along an
ancient pilgrimage route from
the Pyrenees to Santiago de
Compostela. Walk the whole way
or just a week or two, you will
never forget it! |
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Walking
in the
Picos
de Europa
National Park |
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Cain |
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Distance
Approx. |
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Ascent
Approx. |
A
very short circular
walk from
Cain village up to
Cain Arriba and back. |
2
km
(1.25 miles)
approximately |
215
m |
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Cain
walk (PR-14), up to Cain de Arriba is a delight, proof that
good things often do come in small packages. Just a couple of
kilometers but steep ones. Its so important not to despise
these short walks. As well as being useful when you arrive
at a place in the evening and only have an
hour or two of daylight left, they show you delightful
parts of the park you would otherwise miss. Whatever you
do, don't miss Cain de Arriba. Some sources say its an abandoned
village but there are sill occupied houses up there, one has had
a recent extension built and two more new ones have just been
built. As for the other, older stone buildings, I doubt they
were ever homes for people. I think they were built for exactly
what they are now used for, animal byres for sheep and goats. I
might be wrong though. |
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Click
on the map to see it full size. |
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So
arriving by car at Cain, there are lots of car parks to
choose from. Don't do what I did and just pull into the
first one you see. It is operated by a complete loony
who wants to charge you two euros a day, talk French at
you, and loch you out at 8:30 pm. There are plenty more
which are free and one field where tents were
pitched. |
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Latitude (degrees N) |
Longitude (degrees W) |
Elevation |
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Sotres village centre |
43.23270 |
-4.74715 |
1020 m |
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Collado de Caballar |
43.23725 |
-4.73680 |
1235 m |
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| From
the car parks, just walk up into the
village, bearing left at a charming old
chapel. Walk past bar Casa
Miguel going up through the village. |
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| The concrete road splits into three were we go left, following
the white and yellow markers. The dirt track
goes up over a little bridge. Then the road splits in two and there is absolutely
no indication which way to go but I turn right which
fortunately turns out to be correct, as eventually confirmed by
more white and yellow marks. We pass some stone
byres, one with an old bed frame as a gate. |
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Just past the bed frame the path splits and we are indicated to turn
left, continuing going up. Again the path spits in two and
this time we turn right following the ubiquitous white and yellow marks.
With mountain all around my GPS cannot find enough signal to give any useful information.
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Soon we come to a water fountain which is gurgling loudly. On approach I thought at least the
noise was a boar or a bear but no such such luck,
just noisy water. On the right there is a small cave, just large enough for one small Spanish
goatherd to shelter from the a rain storm, but not big enough to lie down in or anything. The path
carries on past the cave, From here there is a superb view of the village down below. No camera today however due to the cruddy weather.
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Next we come to a disused animal enclosure, just a
poligono of wooden posts but without any wire, and
there are dry stone walls and an old iron gate overgrown with bracken. All
signs that this place was once used more than it is
today.
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Then we arrive at Cain de Arriba. Animal enclosures still obviously in use, goats roaming everywhere and a few stone building, mostly old
byres but one with a new extension, smoke rising from the
chimney, and two other new houses. A woman's voice calling her goats.
A raven flying overhead. A funny little truck a Goldoni Transcar 33rs , a
little three quarter sized thing with off road tyres.
It certainly did not get here the same way we did so
the way back down must be easier. And indeed it is
as we descend past a little brook and bridge, a wire
enclosure obviously in use and a pretty waterfall.
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The terrain is much more open here so the GPS is now working normally. A rock with a
white and yellow sigil tells us we are going the right way.
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There are a few concrete stretches here, presumably where the Goldeneye has difficulty in winter, but I went ass over tit on the loose stones on one of
them (not drunk honest) so do take care. The view of the mountains is glorious from here.
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Next we pass a round stone tower with metal door, but its not a wolf trap, just a well or water
deposit. And before we know it we are back in the village. Hens and sheep on the road. Just take the right fork, down hill until you come to the
chapel.
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If you wanted to do the walk in reverse, just turn right at the
chapel. It would certainly be easier that way but not
as much fun.
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Great Books and Maps ! |
| Walking
in Spain (general) |
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Navigating
with a GPS
by
Pete Hawkins |
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Navigation
Techniques and Skills for Walkers
by
Pete Hawkins |
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Outdoor Guide to Using Your GPS
by
Steve Featherstone |
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Hiking
in Spain
by
Stuart Butler |
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Walking
in Spain
by
Miles Roddis |
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On
Foot in Spain. A Walk From the Bay of Biscay to
the Mediterranean ... Illustrated by Original
Sketches
by
John S. Campion |
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Cycle
Touring in Spain: 8 Detailed Cycle Tours
Harry Dowdell |
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| Walking
in the Picos de Europa |
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Walks
and Climbs in the Picos De Europa
by
Robin Walker |
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Northern
Spain:
10 Circular Walks Around the Picos De Europa
by
Peter Ward, Trish Myers, and Terence Keogh |
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Picos
De Europa: Car Tours and Walks (Landscapes)
by
Teresa Farino |
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Trekking
and Climbing in Northern Spain
by
Jim Thomson, Ilja Schroder, Jim Thompson,
and Victor Saunders |
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Wildlife books
and field guides |
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Flowers
of South-west Europe: A Field Guide
by
Oleg Polunin and B.E. Smythies |
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Birds
of Iberia
by
Clive Finlayson and David Tomlinson |
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Wild
Spain:
The Animals, Plants and Landscapes
by
Teresa Farino |
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The
Birds of the Western Palearctic
by
David Snow and Christopher Perrins |
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Birds
of the Western Palearctic:
A Photographic Guide
by
Hadoram Shirihai and Lars Svensson |
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The
Advanced Bird Guide:
ID of Every Plumage of Every Western Palearctic
Species
by
Nils Van Duivendijk |
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Handbook
of the Birds of Europe, Middle East & North
Africa, The Birds of the Western Palearctic:
A Nine Volume Set by the late
Stanley Cramp |
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DVD-rom:
Birds of Western Palearctic (PC/Mac)
Mac OS X, Windows 2000 / XP / Vista |
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Where
to Watch Birds in Northern and Eastern Spain
by
Ernest Garcia and Michael Rebane |
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Where
to Watch Birds in Southern and Western Spain:
Andalucia, Extremadura and Gibraltar
by
Ernest Garcia and Andrew Paterson |
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Birdwatching
on Spain's Southern Coast:
Costa Del Sol, Costa De La Luz, Almeria, Donana
and Some Inland Sites
by
John R. Butler |
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A
Birdwatching Guide to Southern Spain
by
Malcolm Palmer and John Busby |
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Wildlife
Travel Map of Spain |
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The
Golden Eagle
by
Jeff Watson and Keith Brockie |
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Golden
Eagle: Sovereign of the Skies
by
Charles Preston and Gary Leppart |
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The
Golden Eagle (Shire natural history)
by Jeff Watson and John Love |
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The
Sparrowhawk
(Shire Natural History)
by
Ian Newton |
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Other
Shire Natural History guides |
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Barn
Owls:
Predator-Prey Relationships and Conservation
by
Iain R. Taylor |
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Collins
Birds of Prey
by
Benny Gensbol and Walter Thiede |
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The
Pocket Guide to the Birds of Prey of Britain and
Europe
by
Peter Hayman and Rob Hume |
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Understanding
the Bird of Prey
by
Nick Fox |
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Other Useful Links |
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| Travel
Pics Pro - - www.travelpicspro.com
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| Add Your Link to This Page
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| MORE articles about Spain
>> |
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