Same Shirt, Different day-2012 Adventures of the "Devonport Wonder Babes"

Saturday 22 September 2012 Soria to Potes, Spain

Breakfasted and on the road northwards by 9.30 am heading for a town called Potes in the mountains not far from the Atlantic coast of Spain. Much cooler day today about 17 degrees.

Very straightforward 4.5 hr journey arriving in Potes about 2 pm. We travelled on very good motorways for about 2/3 of this journey with very little other traffic around. Lots of rolling land here with the only crops being hundreds of hectares of wheat which all seems to have been harvested and sunflowers which we saw being harvested mechanically. Not an olive tree or grape vine in sight.

 Then it was into the mountains and quite a bit of twisting road in not quite so good condition. We were looking out for quite a large lake which is marked on the map and shows up on the TomTom  and then found it completely dried up, just a trickle if a stream in the middle. For size think of a lake about the size of Lake Karapiro near Cambridge. Pretty amazing.

 

Stopped at a lookout at the summit and were able to look right across to mountain valley where Potes is situated.

 

The town was much larger and busier than we expected plus the temperature at 2 pm was 34 degrees, quite a change from this morning, but now we are in a valley with very high mountains all around.

No parking in street where our hotel is in a lane in the middle of the old town but some about 200 m away so fairly warm work taking suitcases into hotel that heat. Our hotel is Casa Cayo in Calle Cantabra. The hotel restaurant/bar closed today as there had been a funeral, not sure who because of communication difficulties but man who checked us in was sad and distracted.

It’s a very nice older hotel  in centre of old town with well appointed rooms for €50 a night double. Lyndsay and I are in a room on first floor overlooking street with bar and shops just below. Beautiful wall tiles in our bathroom, shower doesn’t leak and very comfortable double bed. Windows open onto little balcony above the street.

 

Once checked in I spent a couple of hours catching up on blog and downloading photos  and Lyndsay went walking with Helen around the town, which was very busy, quite a few tourist buses around.

Nice fixed menu dinner for €11 down by the taxi phone, mostly locals and away from the more touristy restaurants.

 

Perils of room overlooking street with bars was noise and hot room until after midnight as couldn’t open balcony doors.