Sadly we move on from our lovely Hotel de Oso in the Picos. It has been the perfect base and such a friendly hotel and with two St Bernard’s and a little black French Bulldog, what’s not to like?
Our route down to León on the N621 took us through some final amazing scenery and we planned a slight detour to the Collado de Llesba. This is one of the highest drivable points in the Picos with amazing 360 degree views over the mountains. The drive itself was one of the most impressive we have done, matching up with driving the Big Sur in California and the Great Ocean Road in Australia. We were actually above the snow line and also got to see the carved stone bear at the viewpoint. It was very clear and not only were the views impressive, there were also masses of little gentians and miniature alpine narcissi.
Eventually we continued on, stopping briefly for our sandwiches by the Riano lake and then onto León. I drove the second part into the town and had the challenge of working out where the entrance to the old city actually was and then driving the narrow streets to the hotel and tight parking - nearly hit a monk in a brown habit! Turns out this is actually a very important town for those walking one of the four pilgrimages across Span to Santiago de Compostela.
Our room is a lot bigger than our last one with views over a cobbled square but not as cosy and I do miss 'the girls' Catalina and Braña!
We recovered in our room and even managed a little exploring later in the evening.
