We were in Fuente De in the Picos de Europa National Park. The scenery was fantastic, the day was beautiful and the mountains were right there, so once we looked at this view we knew we had to get to the top and the cable car was the way to do it once we repaired Suzanne's injured finger So we walked up to the teleforico (cable car) station and bought some water (agua) from these machines We figured that we could walk to lunch once at the top. We joined the crowd waiting as the car came down to get us and landed at the right spot We boarded with the crowd and hung from our straps It didn't take long before the parking lot was far below and we were above the tree tops and getting closer to the rocks at the top happy that the cable was holding and giving the good view as we followed our shadow as we enjoyed the view until we reached the top and could really enjoy the view

This meant it was time to start walking in to the mountains

stopping for the occasional picture of us and sometimes snow and sometimes others

Next, we came upon the cows and horses (vacas y caballos). To fully appreciate these pictures, you need to hear the sound of cowbells each time one of the cows moved. Sometimes they were on beautiful stretches of mountain and sometimes they were with us and sometimes we were alone and sometimes, it was just more mountain pictures They decided it was lunch time and so decided to head off but Jane decided to join them driving them past the rest of us and eventually passing us as we headed to the restaurant at the 4km mark. To get there, we had to go past the sheep but we did get there and enjoyed our meal then Suzanne consulted with our neighbors to plan the walk back – either 4km back to the cable car or 8 km downhill to the town below Fuente De. Eventually we decided on the longer walk which took us through some great scenery that we all enjoyed including the cows and horses until we came to these signs along the trail

We read this sign as we tied our shoes and looked at the red roofs below as the trail continued the mountains continued to impress and we continued our descent seeing the occasional red roof

along the trail and taking breaks to rest our knees and ankles. We took a few last glimpses of where we'd been and were excited to see the red roofs ahead that seemed to represent our destination. This barn meant we were almost there. At the end, we were happy but tired and ready to go here for lots of liquid refreshments that refreshed all of us

including Jane who was suffering from a bite on her hand as the sky started to get cloudy

We took a taxi back to Fuente De where David decided to celebrate with a Cuban cigar in Castro fashion though he needed some help getting it lit

finally succeeding

to the delight of Jane who felt it all had to be recorded on film. Everyone was enjoying himself or herself as David and Sarah made progress in their books David built a large ash on his cigar that made its way into the lawn and the mountains remained as beautiful as ever.

We were left to take the obligatory phone booth picture at the hotel (note than Jane actually was speaking on the phone) and to record some of our dinner – the salad ordered by Sarah and David, the filet ordered by Benjamin, and the anise liqueur ordered by David.

We conclude a very active day with a self portrait done by Jane and a night time view of the mountains which were still lit at 1030PM.