In the morning we retrieved our car from the parking garage and said goodbye to Bilbao. We set out along the north coast of Spain, across the Cantabria autonomous community, heading for Los Picos de Europa national park in Asturias.

Liérganes — Roman bridge

Our first point of interest along the route was the town of Liérganes. I picked this spot for a visit to an intact Roman bridge — though now I am reading about it, it's called the Roman Bridge but it's not actually Roman. In any case, it's a cool arched bridge worth seeing. It was built in the 1700s.

We didn't realize we were going to see an old mill, as well. It was also built in the 1700s and had a tiny museum relating the story of the Man Fish.

This explained the statue we saw at the base of the bridge. Legend has it, a man in the 1600s went missing while swimming, years later returning in an amphibious form.

We walked all through the town, then looked for some lunch. We passed an open door emanating delicious kitchen aromas. I peeked in, trying to see if it was a restaurant or a private home.

I scurried away after realizing it was someone's house. It smelled so good I thought about seeing if they would be willing to sell us lunch, you know, like a real travel adventure, but thought the better of it.

El Rincón de Mariano

We landed at El Rincon de Mariano and ordered at the counter, then walked outside to find a table.

We had a tuna sandwich and "chicken Kentucky" which was wings dark fried with crispy skin, way better than KFC, and fries that were not dark crispy fried but were still good because of the quality of the potatoes.

A staff member was also walking around offering samples of something that I don't recall but I remember it being quite tasty. Tempting as it was, we didn't need more to eat.

Puente de la Maza, San Vicente de la Barquera

Our itinerary included another historic bridge, one in San Vicente de la Barquera. We wanted to walk around the downtown area but there was absolutely no parking. So we drove out and across the 16th century Puente de la Maza, then parked and walked across.

We did not know the story that if you could hold your breath crossing the bridge that you would get your wish. It might be possible in a car, but certainly not on foot.

The bridge is long, half a kilometer, and flat, across the San Vicente estuary. We spotted some fish and birds in the low tide.

We also learned that in addition to the famous Camino de Santiago, there is a detour, the Camino Lebaniego. If you follow this fork from San Vicente, you will end up in Santo Toribio in Los Picos, but not especially near where we are headed.

The route is dubbed the Lebanese (Lebaniego) walk because of the time the Saint Toribio spent in the Holy Land. He was said to have brought pieces of the Holy Cross. The path connects several monasteries across the region.

San Vicente looks like a great place to live or vacation. There are beaches and hiking trails and lots of other recreation around the estuary and rivers.

As we drove out, we saw kayakers using the incoming tide to make headway up the rivers. It would be really fun to paddle the tide up and then float it back down.

We got back on the road, crossing into Asturias. We turned inland, climbing the Cares River canyon into the mountains. We would spend two nights in Las Arenas, which we chose for its access to Bulnes and for the Cabrales cheese.

We checked in for our stay at Hotel Los Picos de Europa. There were a few hotel choices in town, but this one looked to have parking and rooms big enough for our luggage. It also — probably like the others — seemed geared toward hikers and other recreators and to have enough indoor common spaces in the event of bad weather. Luckily we did not need those.

Our upstairs room was very nice, big, with wood floors and twin beds pushed together. There was no AC but with operable windows and a cool day outside, it wasn't needed.

The room also provided a desk and a couch. Having places to sit other than the bed are always nice on an extended time away from home. I noted, however, that there was a fair amount of noise audible from neighboring rooms.

We walked around the town for a bit. There were plenty of shops targeting outdoor recreation. We spotted an information kiosk and got details for how to get to Bulnes, the expected weather, the difficulty of hiking, availability of water, etc.

We scoped out where to catch the bus and how long a walk it would be in the morning. We learned that there is a four-hour break mid-day when it doesn't run, so we could plan our excursion accordingly. We felt much better prepared for the coming day.

Cueva del Queso de Cabrales

We walked up the road a ways to the Cave Exhibition of Cabrales Cheese. This is the famously strong blue cheese of the region which is made from the milk of cows, goats, and sheep who are pastured in the mountains in summer. The herders would stay in caves or huts. Fall festivals celebrate their return to the valleys for winter.

This cheese museum is an actual cave and all tours are guided. The guide takes you through several rooms of displays about the region and traditional culture and lifestyle. Then you get to go down deeper into the cave and see the cheeses as they age. You finish with a video and then a taste of the cheese and local cider.

The tour only cost 5 euros and it was worth it, but it was also disappointing in a few ways. The tour is over-sold, such that people could not move from one room to the next before the lights turned off.

There were people standing in front of all the displays so you couldn't see them well, and there was no time to look as the tour moved on to the next room. They book the tours every 30 minutes so they have to keep to the schedule.

The talks were given entirely in real-speed Spanish so unsurprisingly we could understand very little. We (and a few others) were given tablets with the information in English, but there wasn't time to read them and watch what the guide was showing us.

The guide collected the tablets when we went into the tasting and she seemed miffed that I wanted to keep mine and actually read it. The video was good and the tablet content gave me context so I could pick up more of the Spanish narration. Overall the enterprise had the feel of a money-printing operation, but we weren't sorry to have seen it.

The cheese is pretty incredible too. In fact, we bought a wedge of it to enjoy after our hiking tomorrow.

Sidrería La Zapica

For dinner we visited Sidrería La Zapica where we ordered the local cider. We had seen Asturian cider and its traditions on multiple food and travel shows, including Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown and Eva Longoria's Searching for Spain, where the cider is poured from on high and splashes into the glass (and everything nearby, unless you are a practiced pourer) to add air and "waken" the taste.

We were wondering about the mess this was going to make, when our server appeared with a pump device to extract the cider from the bottle and stream it into an angled glass, for the same effect but a lot tidier.

Our dinner consisted of chorizo cooked in cider, ox entrecot with fries, and fabada, a local dish of beans with bits of chorizo, ham, and blood sausage, in a sauce that tasted a lot like the chorizo and cider. I have had this dish before and would have to say that I enjoyed the blood sausage here more than before (or maybe I mean I disliked it less? I don't really love the texture of it).

These ciders have a funky or almost barnyard terroir, similar to what you find in some wines. It might be off-putting at first but it grows on you, and it pairs well with the local food. As I saw in the show The Bear, what grows together goes together. Yeah, I'm pretty sure they did not originate that saying.

We were on Spanish mealtime: the restaurant hadn't even opened until 8pm. After dinner, we turned in to make sure we were up and at the bus stop in time for tomorrow's trip up into the mountains.

Santelmo Restaurante Cafetería

We started our day with breakfast at Santelmo Restaurante Cafetería, just a couple doors up the street. We had some very good coffee, an omelette with jamon and queso, and a tostada with tomato. The bread here — which we have sampled from several places — is just what you want. Maybe it could have a little more wheat-y flavor, but the texture! The crust is thick but crispy so that you can bite it instead of tugging it into pieces with your teeth, and it's light and fluffy inside.

Salida funicular de Bulnes (Poncebos)

We headed to the bus stop for the ride to the Bulnes funicular. The bus runs from Las Arenas every hour on the hour. The ride to the funicular in Poncebos is not too long, but it's narrow and winding so you probably do not want to drive it yourself. Parking also may or may not be available once you get there. You certainly don't want to try to walk it, because there is no shoulder along the road.

The bus costs €3 each — cash — round trip. Save your receipt for the return. There are some other towns the bus goes to as well, but you should verify before relying on it. Also, as I mentioned, the bus service has a break in the afternoon so you will want to plan your trip accordingly.

There are also taxis. I expect you could get one with assistance from the hotel, but I am not sure how to call them for the return if you didn't have cell service.

In researching this trip, everyone said that Los Picos was a must-visit in northern Spain. We learned of this funicular from that same Anthony Bourdain episode where we saw the cider. The funicular travels in a tunnel carved through the mountain.

I also read about a gondola ascent that I was actually more interested in, but we would have had to drive and stay farther to the south and that didn't work with the rest of our itinerary. There also seemed the chance of being impacted by weather. Hopefully we can return and try it.

When you arrive at the base of the funicular, go immediately inside to buy your tickets. We paused to take some pictures but as a result we missed the trip that was currently queuing and had to wait for the next load half an hour later.

Llegada funicular de Bulnes (Bulnes)

The funicular ride lasts about 8 minutes, then there is a short uphill walk to the town of Bulnes.

Despite our visit to the information booth the day before, we didn't feel like we had a firm idea of a hike we wanted to do. We expected to be able to look at some big sign-board maps but there weren't any that we could decipher easily. There are some marked trails so we followed the indicators to the mirador and then would decide from there.

We snapped some good pictures then rejoined the trail and continued upward. We heard the tinkle of cow bells, but we never could spot any. We did see a goat.

The trail was a steady, steep climb in various states of repair. Some hikers had poles but others were casually walking in sandals.

We climbed for probably less than a mile before the trail turned wet and muddy, with a little stream running down it. People were walking in boots and using poles and still slipping a bit.

We didn't feel properly equipped for that and certainly didn't want to risk an injury ruining our trip. We turned around and went back to Bulnes for some lunch.

La Casa del Puente

La Casa del Puente served us up a delicious lettuce and tomato salad topped with goat cheese "a la plancha" — a round of goat cheese that had been grilled top and bottom to toasty perfection. The salad included raisins and nuts, with an apple cider and bacon dressing.

We also ordered one of their specialties, cornmeal pancakes, one topped with chorizo and the other with queso de Cabrales and apple compote. This was a relatively simple meal and yet one of the most enjoyable we had.

The pancakes were a recommendation of the couple at the table next to ours. They were American ex-pats now living in one of the coastal towns not far to the north. They had grown up in areas of the US where Spanish is common so they already had a start at the language. And they had retired on a military pension which is not subject to tax. We were somewhat jealous.

Bar Mirador Lallende (Bulnes Alta)

We wanted to take the funicular back down at 5pm, to catch the first of the evening buses back to Las Arenas. Our return ticket did not have a time assigned, so we walked back down to the funicular to see about reserving the 5pm slot, after having missed the morning one. But we were told that to go down, you just get in line when you are ready.

With time to kill, we walked back up to Bulnes and wandered some more. We saw a sign for Bulnes Alta (or, Bulnes de Arriba) so walked that track up, to find a few more houses, restaurants, and a hotel. We enjoyed the view from Bar Mirador Lallende, along with a refreshing glass of wine, before making our way back down for our return ride.

The funicular has space for passengers and also a flatbed for freight. It is the only way to get to Bulnes other than hiking or helicopter, I suppose. We watched the loading and unloading of supplies and giant wheeled bins of trash. We also noted a banner, in Bulnes Alta, agitating for improved hours and access for residents to the funicular.

We took a little break at the hotel, during which I investigated the swimming pool and decided the day was a little too chilly. Honestly it probably would have been refreshing, but the sun was already starting to fade and I am a wimp.

Cafe Bar Los Guías

We cleaned up, strolled the town from one end to the other, then managed to snag an outside table at Cafe Bar Los Guías. We shared calamari — seemed fresh and local and was fried just right — and a chicken and mushroom stew with fresh bread, also so delicious. Again, very simple and local but so good.

We settled our dinner with another little walk through town before retiring for a well-earned rest. We were catching up on some football watching when we were disrupted by loud music, singers with guitars. I looked out the window to see where it was coming from, but couldn't tell if it was a bar or a private event.

Suddenly the power went out and it was pitch dark, fortunately only for about five minutes.

The music continued but we gave up on our football game and tried to sleep. The party lasted until about one in the morning. The next day we learned it was a local festival to celebrate the end of the season. I wish we had known earlier, we absolutely would have joined in.