For a glimpse of the ‘real’ Cantabria, for a day where you’ll see more cows than people, far more, and for to experience the contrast between the rolling green hills of the coast and the barren highland landscape of the interior, there’s nothing quite like the trip up through the valley of Cabuerniga and over into Alto Campoo finishing up at 2000m!
We started the ride in Valle to link with our previous ride where we had turned off at this point towards Carmona and to be sure of a cool fountain and bar at the end of the ride. From there it’s a long, but not too arduous, plod up to the pass of Palombera – 27km but never much more than 6% – the first 20km are through dense native woodland, nice and shady, ten it opens out giving the most magnificent views back down the valley from the Mirador El Cardoso. Up and over the pass, which is real cowboy country with cattle wandering freely in the high pastures, and a short respite with the descent to Espinilla and a nice, cold Kas naranja in the bar.
From there it’s a steady haul up to Alto Campoo – never more than 6% exept for the last kilometer or two – or so they tell us – we chickened out after 10km, it was too hot, we’d be late back for lunch, that vulture circling overhead…..
Now it’s payback time! Excepting the short climb back to Espinilla it’s downhill al the way back to the car – almost 50km catching flies between our grinning teeth!
And we did make it back to Cóbreces for lunch on the beach and a well earned siesta – ‘un día redondo!’ as they say in these parts.
