We were here on a full moon, and this photo shows the exceptionally low tide.
There's a small castle on the hill.
The twilight on the stone was beautiful.
The Santa Maria de los Angeles church was built in the 8th and 11th centuries, and has had some recent renovations.
Across from the church are the ruined walls from a hospital also built in the 11th century.
We liked seeing the top of the church over the hospital wall.
We had dinner in the old town, starting with a tuna and anchovy salad.
The main course was lobster with rice that was similar to paella.
Day One: San Vicente to Santillana del Mar and back, 75 kilometers
It was a beautiful day as we rode along the coast. It was our first time to ride single bikes since October 2013 when we were in Burma, so we took it easy.
We had visited Barcelona in 2003 and loved all the Gaudi buildings there. We were delighted to visit the town of Comillas because in 1885 Gaudi had completed a grand residence there for Maximo Diaz de Quijano.
The home for the wealthy lawyer was named the Quijano Villa but it quickly became known as El Capricho or the whim.
The tower looks like a minaret and provides views to the sea.
The living room has a little alcove for private conversation.
This is the master bedroom and it has the most elaborate ceiling in the house.
The attic has beautiful exposed rafters.
Pete liked the double chair, also designed by Gaudi.
The exterior of the house is decorated with sunflower ceramic tiles.
Quijano loved music and botany, so the details throughout the house include flowers and birds.
There's even a bird playing the piano.
We are riding in the province of Cantabria, and it's noticeably greener and cooler here than southern Spain.
It's also one of the pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Campostela, and we saw some pilgrims.
We were heading to Santillana del Mar to visit the old town with buildings from the 15th-18th centuries.
There is an old saying that Santillana del Mar is The Town of Three Lies, since it is neither a Saint (Santo), nor flat (llana), nor is it by the sea (Mar). But it is charming, with only foot traffic in the old quarter. Many of the villas have their coat of arms on the facades.
We stopped for a light lunch of octopus and potatoes, then got back on our bikes and rode 40 kilometers back to San Vicente.
We went for dinner at El Retiro seafood restaurant and had clams to start. They were large and meaty with a savory broth.
We shared a sea bream fish that was cooked and deboned perfectly.
After eating as we walked to our hotel, we heard thunder and saw lightning. About five minutes later (when we were back in our hotel room) there was a huge down pour. We were happy we made it back before the rain started!
Day Two: San Vicente to Potes, 60 kilometers
Our cycling trip is through a Spanish company named Ibero Cycle. We chose them because they offer self-guided trips to interesting parts of Spain. Ibero Cycle provides us with bikes, and they transport our luggage from hotel to hotel while we ride. Each day we use their route sheets and maps to navigate to our next destination.
Our ride started near the coast along the Tina Menor estuary where the Nansa River reaches the sea.
These pilgrims are also on the Camino de Santiago heading to Santiago de Campostela.
This monument to fishermen is at the Pechón lookout. It was sculpted by Antonio Coello de Portugal. He is both a sculptor and architect who lives in Pechón.
We rode through the town of Unquera and crossed over the Deva River for the first of many times today.
We saw signs for salmon spawning grounds.
We were still on the Camino de Santiago route when we saw a pilgrim on a bicycle. He was riding 100 kilometers today and carrying all his gear. We were impressed!
We stopped for coffee and toast in the charming village of Columbres.
This area is known for cheese and we saw lots of dairy cows.
This common roadside reminds drivers that cows may be on the road. The Spanish cows have horns and udders.
We made our way through rolling countryside.
We admired the fertile landscape with fruit trees, livestock and stone farmhouses.
The road continued to wind up and down through the hills.
Our route continued along the Deva River. We stopped for a snack and found stairs leading down to a swimming hole.
The scenery became dramatic as we entered La Hermida gorge, with 600 meters difference from floor to peak. We were impressed that the road had first been built in the 19th century.
Stone and rock became the dominant feature of the landscape. Even buildings, such as this storage shed, emerged from the canyon walls.
We stopped at the Picos de Europa national park visitor's center and learned about the geology, flora and fauna of the park.
By the time we arrived at our hotel it was 3 pm and we were ready for lunch. The highlight of the meal was flan flavored with coffee. Qué sabor!
Day Three: Potes to Fuente De and back, 50 kilometers
We started riding in a light drizzle that made it difficult to see the mountains.
As we rode up the mountain we passed gardens with pear and apple trees.
We took a short but steep detour to visit the village of Mogrovejo, which is known for its medieval tower.
Mogrovejo is a typical Cantabrian mountain village with interesting rural architecture.
Like many rural villages, a few working dogs were around. These two followed their owner as he drove up the hill.
Kristina stopped in front of the 17th century church.
Then we returned to the main road and continued our ascent toward Fuente De.
As we rode into the village of Cosgaya, the rain became heavier so we stopped at the Hotel de Oso for coffee and shelter.
The hotel honors the brown bear with its name and displays lots of bear artwork. The Picos de Europa is one of the last places in Spain where brown bears live.
While at the hotel we got a shocking email with horrible news that our brother-in-law Todd was dead. He had been murdered during a robbery at his home in Las Vegas the evening before. Since Spain is nine hours ahead of Pacific time we couldn't call Pete's sister Denise for many hours. Instead we sat in the hotel looking out at the rain, feeling numb with shock and sorrow.
After awhile we decided we should ride some more. The climb up to Fuente De was wet with rain that mixed with our tears as memories of Todd came flooding in. Near the top we stopped to say prayers for Todd just beyond the village of Espinama. Todd was a good man who loved his wife Denise so much. Already we miss him terribly.
We want to share some of our favorite photos of Todd with you. Some years ago we hosted Pete's family for Thanksgiving at our house in San Francisco. Todd is the gentle giant in the back row on the left. Family was very important to Todd and we have many happy memories of being together at family gatherings.
It's sweet to see how close Denise, Todd and Kristina look. Todd turned 50 in July, and he and Denise would have celebrated their 25th anniversary this December. His death is a senseless tragedy!
Here Todd is throwing our nephew Erich across his swimming pool, much to Erich's delight. This photo was taken about seven years ago when Todd was working in construction. The economic downturn in 2008 and his worsening diabetes made it difficult for him to work recently, so he took over all the household tasks while Denise worked. They had a very happy life together.
Todd's personality included a fun-loving side. We always laugh when we see this picture of him attending to the BBQ in the backyard with his father-in-law Jeno. Todd always enjoyed barbecuing, and the first time we met him we made and ate a grilled dinner together. We remember many meals we shared with him and Denise.
Todd was a huge animal lover. They had two black labs for the first ten years of their marriage. More recently their two Skipper Key dogs were loved and doted on by him. Their "fur babies" are named Ruff and Ready.
This is a recent photo of Todd with Pete's sister Denise while we were visiting them in Las Vegas. We told them to look cute cuz they were going in our blog. We wish this wasn't the last best photo we have of Denise and Todd together. Our hearts go out to Denise as she mourns the loss of her beloved husband, and we are saying many prayers for her.
By the time we rode down from Fuente De it was after 3 pm and we needed to eat. We went back to the Hotel de Oso and ordered the local specialty called cocido Montañes made of white beans, cabbage, blood sausage, spicy sausage, pork rib and potatoes. We also tried cocido lebaniego made of chickpeas, beef, pork and egg dumplings. But our sorrow made it difficult to enjoy the food.
We rode back through Potes, stopping to look at the Torre del Infantado built in the 15th century. Kristina is on one of the three remaining bridges in Potes. We are moving with heavy hearts as we grieve for Todd.
