Empezamos la caminata en el collado de Somahoz en el límite de la provincia con Palencia - cuesta arriba por la Sierra de Híjar subiendo 200 metros hacia el oeste
We started this walk on Cup Final Day from this road at the point where Cantabria ends and the neighbouring province of Palencia begins. The first part was straight up through the vegetation
Detrás estaba el Endino.
with the Endino behind us
A partir de este punto la subida se hacía más tendida entre las rocas y vegetación
Once we got up to the ridge the going was less steep, with an entertaining mix of rocks...
especialmente el brezo
and heather
este lugar idílico llamaba la atención - vamos acercándonos a la altura del Endino
we came upon this idyllic spot as we followed the divide between the provinces
el Pico Liguardi y la Sierra del Cordel hacia el norte
the mountains immediately to the north came into view
la ginesta ganaba protagonismo
broom and heather - good landscape gardening by Mother Nature
seguimos por la divisoria
Monty was impressed by this natural shelter
estos caballos preferían el lado cántaro
these horses preferred the Cantabrian side of the fence
Hay una ermita al aire libre a 1.850 metros - se ve por donde subimos
A little open-air chapel - you can see the way we came up
A little further on these ruins remain from the Spanish Civil War
Delante quedaban Peña Rubia y Valdecebollas y al fondo la Montaña Palentina
We didn't have time to continue our walk westwards; in the distance is the main Palencia mountain range
Las Sierras de Peña Labra y del Cordel
The Cantabria side
Alejándonos un poco de la cresta se aprecia el pasado glaciar en la Cuenca Vitor
Moving away from the ridge towards the north we overlooked what I suppose could be called a hanging valley - testament to glacial movement in the past
y la Cuenca Bucer
another such valley a bit further on to the west
Retrocedí hacia la primera y decidí bordearla por arriba para luego descender hacia la pista
I had to turn back at this point if I was to get back in time for the big match, so I skirted the first valley again with the idea of finding a way down to the track I could see below
seguía caminos de ganado donde los veía
I followed paths made by cattle where I came across them
y donde los intuía
and at other times let intuition be my guide
después de una bajada bastante larga llegué a esta zona preciosa antes de coger el final de la pista con el tiempo justo para llegar al coche y volver a casa para ver como mi equipo perdía la final de la copa...
It took rather longer than I'd reckoned, but eventually I got down to this beautiful spot and from here made faster progress towards the end of the track and the car. The less said about the Cup Final the better...
Para acabar, una foto de la subida que hicimos sacada en el Endino en diciembre de 2013
To end, a photo taken from the Endino in December 2013, which shows the first part of this walk
