With eight days left before our sailing to England and little more than a hundred miles needing to be biked we’ve really slowed ourselves to a crawl at the end. We’ll be staying three nights at today’s destination Aguilar de Campoo; then one night in Reinosa at the throat of the pass through the Calabrian Mountains and another three night stay in Santillana del Mar just up from the coast before finally reaching Santander the night before our sailing.
We planned this slowdown at the end for a couple of reasons. For one, this is a part of Spain we’ve never seen before and we wanted to drag our feet here; and for another, we can’t afford to miss our sailing. There are only two sailings per week from here to Plymouth and our Schengen time is about up, so we wanted to leave some flexibility in our schedule in case something unexpected happens and we need to scramble to make our connection at the end.
Now that we’re here though it turns out there’s a third reason to be glad we’re slowing down: the weather. Cold and rain are in the forecast in the coming week, and we’re both glad of the fact that we have two three night stays ahead with the chance that our layover days will align with the worst of the weather.
That’s not today’s problem though. Conditions are cool and fair this morning, as we see when we look north out of our window.
The view north from our window this morning. That’s roughly our direction of travel for the last stages in Spain, although we’ll steer clear of the mountains. There’s some valley fog still but it’s supposed to burn off soon and leave fair skies in its wake.
We’re down to breakfast at eight and out the door around ten. We’ve waited for the day to warm up somewhat, but we want to be on the road in plenty of time to arrive in Aguilar by 1:30, the opening time for La Carbonara - an Italian restaurant with an appealing menu that looks like the best place to eat in Aguilar. It’s Sunday, they don’t take reservations online, and they’re closed for the following two days so today’s our only shot. We hope that if we show up right when the door opens they’ll squeeze us in somewhere.
One thing we’re discovering is that we really love this corner of Spain, at the northern margin of the Meseta Central abutting up against the mountains to the north. The roads are quiet, the scenery is compelling, and the riding is age-appropriate to a couple of cyclists getting up in years.
The first half of the ride is lovely as we bike at a leisurely pace through gentle terrain generally following the Pisguera River. Rachael more than once mentions that she’s excited by the video footage she’s rolling up; but when we come to a bridge across the river at the midpoint of the ride and stop for a break she checks the camera settings and is distressed to see she’s had it running on superspeed. It’s definitely not been a superspeed kind of morning, so that won’t really work. Fortunately I’ve stopped for at least a few photos myself along the way to help us remember.
Best shot of one of these yet. This seems to be about as close as I can get to one before they fly off. If I want to do better I think I’d need a more powerful camera.
Rachael kept going to the other side because she wanted the bridge on video. I hadn’t realized we were this close to the border with Burgos. Bonus province, 15 of 16!
It’s disappointing to not have any usable video of the first half of the ride, but maybe it wouldn’t have made the final cut anyway because the second half is even better as our route passes through a narrow gorge with low grey outcrops rising on either side. It’s arresting scenery, but we’re also arrested by a slender roe deer staring at us in a field as we round a bend. It bolts off out of sight before we can get a shot of it, but we’ll remember.
We pass through a dramatic canyon-like stretch somewhere before Mave. Limestone? I should read up on the geology of the region.
We’re ahead of schedule, so there’s time for a quick stop at Mave to take a look at its Romanesque church, one of the better known of the many still standing throughout Palencia. It’s one I was hoping there’d be time for because I’d read that it was built from red sandstone.
The Santa Maria church, built in the 13th century, and its attached monastery.
We don’t stay long though since we’re not going inside, because there are still a few things that demand a stop before we reach Aguilar. There’s some tension and impatience with this but our timing is perfect as we arrive at La Carbonara just as it’s about to open up for lunch.
There were three or four of these odd structures near the Mave church and abbey, unlike any others I’ve seen. Any ideas?
This was a beautiful sight to see that held us up for several minutes. Five black kites were hovering behind this tractor, repeatedly dropping down to the newly plowed earth and flying off with some morsel.
And then there was this small procession trotting out its patron saint from the San Miguel Church in Valeria de Aguilar. We couldn’t stop for video without being late for lunch, so you’ll have to imagine its ragtag quality and lone, reedy musician missing the occasional note.
Video sound track: The Best is Yet to Come, by Grover Washington Jr. w/ Patti LaBelle
There’s some anxiety when we lean our bikes against the restaurant wall and I go inside to ask if they’ll seat us; and the news at first is discouraging. The man doesn’t speak English, but with my prompting he acknowledges that they’re completo. Sad! But then he has an afterthought, writes out a time, and gets across the idea that we can be seated if we agree to be done by 2.30. No problemo! Yippee!!
Our starter is this generous serving of some eggplant concoction.
We’re out by two thirty as promised and a few blocks later get checked in at our hotel for the next three nights, the Marquis de Aguilar. More to come, much more.
The Marquis de Aguilar is a large, modern establishment. You’d think they’d have a place indoors somewhere for the bikes, but at least they’re covered here.
