Crepes and mountains

 

The weekend began well, with a pancake party (albeit a belated one) at La Casita, as Tracy and I affectionately refer to our bijou flat. The whole Leonite gang joined for a relaxing Friday evening, which ended with a visit to our local, where a glass of vino tinto costs 1 euro, including tapas. 

On Saturday a group of us hired a car and headed for the Picos de Europa, to the mountain village of Riaňo. It was my first time driving in Spain, but after leaving the city, the roads are surprisingly empty and we easily navigated small, sleepy towns and villages, into the foothills of the Picos. 

Riaňo is stunning, surrounded by jagged peaks powdered with snow, reflected in the still, turquoise waters of the reservoir below. This body of water was created in the eighties, as a result of flooding the valley beneath. Poignantly old Riaňo, along with 6 other villages, lie submerged beneath the water. Knowing how important “el pueblo” is in the Spanish psyche, the pain of loss felt by the villagers must still resonate with their descendants today.

We enjoyed a wonderful boat tour of the lake, which they call the fjord of Leon. It was hard not to be overawed by the majestic mountains and tranquil waters, with only the cries of vultures and buzzards circling overhead breaking the silence.