A cold night followed by an arid hot day in the scrub attempting to paint. Cracked and bleeding lips have been burnt, frozen and dried. The small spring nearby can only dribble at a torturous rate. Paint dries instantly on paper to poor affect. The scrubby bushes teaming with lizards and crickets that I half hoped would also support a shrike seem completely void of any birdlife. Dejected, we eat our last cuppa soup and set off by 4 p.m. to complete our 4 hour hike to Fuente De.The onward path is lined with bilberry bushes and I can’t remember tasting anything as good as those sugary bursts of liquid. They give us the boost we need to make the last push over the summit of Altos De Valdeon.
Our final long descent to Fuente De is accompanied in part by horses being driven down from summer pastures; their thundering hooves kicking up dry dust behind us set the pace. After a beer at the hotel we crash at the refuge. We have crossed the Picos on foot!!!!
.
Torre del friero from Altos de Valdeon, Shenaz Khimji
No comments:
Post a Comment