picos de europa

Once-in-a-lifetime conditions for photography in Riaño (Picos de Europa mountains)

in

When I plan a photography trip, I usually focus on either relatively close spots, or relatively far places. I tend to ignore everything in between, and man was it a big mistake.

One of those places in between, far enough from home but not too far either, is Riaño. Technically part of the Picos de Europa, but a bit farther south. A beautiful, stunning place, so breathtaking that I can't believe I hadn't visited it sooner.

In any case, I've fixed that mistake now. I spent a few days in the area, and what a time I had. Still low season, I had the whole place for myself. Weather was perfect, not too cold, cloudy, moody. And during the first two days, I even had "calima".

Calima is an atmospheric phenomenon in which dust and sand from the Sahara, in Africa, gets blown all the way here by powerful winds. This happens often in the Canary Islands, just off the African coast, and sometimes in souther Spain. But I had never seen it happening this far north, which was confirmed by the locals as well.

The result? An incredibly eerie and beautiful landscape, looking almost like fog, but not quite. Closer to the smoke of a wildfire, if I were to find something similar. And just like in a wildfire, breathing this stuff is not healthy at all. I had to wear a mask for the first two days of the trip, and I had to put off any hiking to the second half of my travels. Everything worked out perfectly, I took full advantage of the calima, and I got to hike to the top of Pico Gilbo, one of the most breathtaking views I've ever seen.

Cares: the Divine Gorge

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A year and a half later, I went back to the Picos de Europa National Park in Asturias, to finish a hike I couldn't complete last time I was there. The Ruta del Cares is one of my favorite hikes ever, through a beautiful gorge surrounded by stunning mountains.

The weather couldn't be any better, some rain and fog at the beginning, clear skies in the middle of it and more cloudiness as we were approaching the trailhead. As someone put it on the comments, I felt like a kid in a candy store.

How I made these Star Trail images

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It's been a long summer here in NW Spain. It feels like we've had nothing but sunny and clear skies for the last two months. I'm more than ready for some fall weather but hey, if life gives you sun and blue skies, you play with star trails.

This is what I wanted to show you in this video. If you've never shot the night sky, then this can be good to get you started. I talk about the gear you will need, and the software.

Hope you enjoy it!

Still here: update from Picos de Europa National Park

in

The adventure has begun, and I'm realizing now how hard it is to keep creating daily content while on the road. I'm still here, though!

While I try to find a balance (probably sitting down one or two days a week to create enough content to schedule for several days in advance), let me give you an update from the beautiful mountains of Picos de Europa National Park, in Asturias, Spain.

I am back in my hotel room now, after spending a night in a shelter at the base of Urriellu Peak (also known as Naranjo de Bulnes), one of the most beautiful peaks in Spain. Someone referred to it as the "Spanish Dolomites" yesterday, and I think it's very appropriate.

I'm taking it easy today because I'm afraid one of the tires in the car has a leak. I got the "pressure loss" warning yesterday while driving down on a dirt road, and while the pressure hasn't gone down more than a couple PSI (could even have been me after checking the pressure a few times), it reminds me of a similar situation I experienced with the Jeep in California a couple years ago. That time ended with a flat tire in the middle of a snowstorm on Christmas Eve. Not fun. Hopefully this time is different and I can still get to explore more of this stunning place.

These are some snapshots I took on my way up and down Urriellu, and during my time at 2,000m (6,500 feet).