rushing water and autumn leaves / torrentes de agua y hojas otoñales

If you go through Bárcena Mayor, and follow the road you get to the old campsite. A good place to start walking, along the track that follows the Argoza river

Uno de los caminos que salen de Bárcena Mayor es el que sube a Fuentes. Si empiezas a andar en la Braña el Castillo vas acompañando el río Argoza

I'd come at this time of the year to enjoy the autumn colours

Es un buen sitio para disfrutar de los colores otoñales

After a while you go past a well-known big yew tree, but there are others nearby that stand out amongst the beeches and fern

Después de un buen rato llegas a un tejo "singular", pero hay otros cerca que destacan entre los hayas y los helechos

Roughly an hour and a half after setting out, you get to the Arbencia pool, where two rivers merge and seem to be competing as to which one can offer the prettiest waterfall. In the past you could walk down to the water's edge and get close up, but in the 15 years or so since I last came this way the lie of the land has changed and you have to gaze from above and afar

A una hora y media después de comenzar a andar llegué al Pozo de la Arbencia, donde convergen dos ríos y ofrecen sendas cascadas bonitas. No vengo por aquí desde hace unos 15 años, pero me llamó la atención que ya han colocado una valla y alambres para que la gente no intente bajar hasta la orilla. De hecho no se ve factible como era antes. Total, que sólo puedes ver las cascadas desde lejos

Río Fuentes

Río Hormigas

Río Hormigas

I carried on along the track a little to find somewhere where I could get down the bank and hopefully get a better view of the River Fuentes fall:                                                                                                               Seguí un poco por la pista hasta encontrar un lugar donde podría bajar al río Fuentes y acercarme a la cascada

I then crossed the bridge and glimpsed the upper part of the River Hormigas fall through the vegetation

Luego crucé el puente y atisbé la parte de arriba de la cascada del río Hormigas a través de la vegetación

There's a cairn on the other side indicating a crossing point, but there was too much water coming down so I carried on upriver, past this other little fall

Hay un hito al otro lado del río, pero venía demasiado agua para poder cruzar sin mojarme, así que seguí río arriba, pasando cerca de esta otra cascada

and eventually found a place to cross:

hasta dar con un sitio donde conseguí cruzar:

Next came a walk up through the gorse

La continuación era la parte menos agradable de la ruta; primero subir a través de los escajos,

till I got to a path that made its way up through the gorse and eventually came out into the open

hasta llegar a una senda que atraviesa los escajos y finalmente sale a terreno despejado

The last part up to the Paguenzo pass was much easier. Down below on the other side is Pesquera 

El último tramo hasta el collado de Paguenzo era mucho más fácil. Al otro lado del collado se ve Pesquera, y enfrente a la izq. el pico Jano

Time for a bite to eat. Then back the way I'd come, but instead of going back down to the Braña la Valleja (left of photo)...

Tocaba comer algo. Luego desandar la última parte del camino, pero en lugar de bajar de nuevo a la Braña la Valleja (izq.)...

I carried on along a dirt track

Seguí por un camino de tierra

that eventually led to some amazing-looking larches amongst the pine trees

que me llevaría a unos alerces muy llamativos entre los pinos

Down below: the track I'd been on that morning

Valle abajo veo la pista que había seguido esa mañana

The conifers gave way to a beautiful beech forest, through which a path that was fairly easy to follow wound its way                                                                                                                                                                            Las coniferas pasaban el testigo a un hayedo precioso, por el que un sendero indica por donde seguir

Looking down the hillside                                                                                                                                             Mirando ladera abajo

And across to the other side

Y de frente

I got down to the river and sat for a while transfixed by the rushing water

Llegué al río y me quedé sentado un buen rato, dejándome hipnotizar por la corriente

I had to scramble up a bank to get back onto the last section of the path and then rejoin the track to take me back to the car

Tuve que trepar por el talud para reencontrarme con la última parte del sendero y luego salir a la pista para volver al coche

Track

Some musings:

This walk left me pondering the changes in landscape and within oneself that can take place over a period of ten to fifteen years. The previous time I did this route I went up through the forest first and came back down the track. 

In those days I didn't even take a camera with me, let alone have a blog! I didn't bother about looking for a path up through the forest; I just made my way up to the SE and by intuition came out at the Braña de Lodar clearing. From there to Paguenzo there's no problem. It might well have been the winter or early spring because if the trees had been in leaf it would have made finding my way trickier (you'll remember that you can't see the wood for the trees). I found a sort of path and made my way straight down to the Pozo de la Arbencia. There wasn't as much water on that occasion so I was able to cross both rivers fairly easily and scramble up the bank to the track. I remember feeling pleased with myself that I'd managed the orienteering well.

This time round I made an effort to follow the path down through the forest and was surprised how easy it was to follow (based on opinions I'd read). However, I never even noticed the Braña de Lodar clearing. How can that be if the trail goes through it? Either I wasn't paying attention (which doesn't sound plausible) or I'd got on to a different path which skirted the clearing... A mystery. 

Also, because it was the afternoon, and the sun goes down at 6pm now, I was distinctly aware that I was on my own and that if I lost my way, I'd be in an unenviable situation. There's no mobile signal in the area. Clearly, exploring a forest is better left for the morning, so as to give oneself time to retrace one's steps if things go awry.

I'm not accustomed to this feeling of being a little unnerved when by myself miles from anywhere in the country. I must say I tend to appreciate the peace and quiet, and feel comfortable being in the midst of nature. So an interesting day all in all.