Las que se agarran en la niebla / Ticking the wrong boxes

In theory this walk ticked all the right boxes: lovely views, a sierra we were unfamiliar with and an opportunity to increase fitness levels. It didn't quite turn out like that. 

Salimos de un pueblo asturiano muy cerca de Cantabria y a medida que subimos una colina cerca del mismo, vimos viendo como los tejados reaparecían detrás de los árboles

As we walked up a hill behind a village in the Urgabes sierra in Asturias, the village rooftops reappeared on the other side of the trees

Al llegar al alto de la colina, también veíamos Panes al fondo

From the top of the hill we could also see Panes just a few kilometres back

Parecía claro que la niebla iba a jugar un papel en la jornada

The clouds were clearly going to affect the day's hike

Bajamos al fondo del valle

We made our way down to the valley

y entramos en el bosque que veíamos desde arriba, que pronto desvela tres cuevas

and took a rocky path into the wood seen from above, which soon led us to three caves

dos de las cuales atravesamos

two of which we walked through

Al salir del bosque vemos la pica Peñamellera (centro de la imagen)

We came out into the open, and to our right was a distinctive peak in the area

una solitaria cabaña en ruinas

the ruins of a solitary stone hut

Ya entramos en la nube y lo único que vemos alrededor son algunos animales y hayas

Soon afterwards we were surrounded by fog and all we could see around us were occasional animals and beech trees

Llegamos a la base del cueto que hemos decidido será el lugar de dar la vuelta. No hay caminos aquí

We reached the bottom of the hill we're already decided would be as far as we'd go. No paths here

Ni caminos ¡ni mucho menos vistas desde la cima! Lo que sí veíamos eran unas garrapatas chiquitinas que se habían sumado a la excursión en los momentos previos.

A similar lack of views from the top. What we did see were small ticks that had latched on to us as we went by

Cueto de Palia

La bajada transcurría igual y habíamos bajado bastante por una pista hasta poder disfrutar de las vistas

The walk down was similarly shrouded and we'd come a fair way before we could enjoy any views

Y la pista nos lleva al pueblo donde empezamos a contabilizar las garrapatas que llevábamos encima. Algunos ¡sólo se detectaron en casa!

And we followed the track back to the village where we were able to take stock of the ticks who'd come for a ride. Not all though - some even made the trip back home!

Suarías

The postscript for me was confirmation of a hairline fracture in a rib after a fall as we walked through the wood.

 Track