Back in time to Spain. (If this doesn’t prove I am a serious procrastinator I don’t know what will!) It is August and in the mountains of Asturias, it is green and cool. We’ve been in Asturias for only a few days but this trip we’ve decided we are going to get out and see more of Spain instead of spending all our time in the DH’s hometown, (Honestly, Avilés is so relaxing and fun that most trips we never leave it.), so we are headed south.
Roadside church driving towards Léon
To get out of Asturias you can follow one of two routes. The fast route takes you directly into the Picos de Europa Mountains, through a collection of long tunnels along toll roads into the region of Léon. When not in a tunnel the views are spectacular.
The green hills of Asturias – they get higher as the drive continues
Empty roadside villages dot the landscape (this one with horreo)
The slow route also takes you into the Picos, over a mountain pass called Pajares, into Léon. The slow route was once the only route and in the winter a trip to Madrid could be delayed for days or weeks if the pass was covered in snow. It consists of a very windy two-lane road that snakes and curls up the mountains. The DH loves this route and so we almost always go this way, even though I inevitably keep my eyes closed for most of the journey.
Following trucks up the windy road
Pajares is the name of the mountain village where the highway begins it’s descent into Léon. But before making the descent, you have to go through the pass. Of course, this is summer we’re talking about. Pajares in winter is a beast. On our last trip in August, however, we encountered some serious fog.
Entering Pajares
Pajares Church
Into the fog
Great visibility!
Just over the pass
The pole you see in the middle of the photo is for measuring snow.
Pajares December 15th after a massive snowfall that paralyzed both
routes in/out of Asturias, the toll road & Pajares pass road.
Pajares is also home to several ski resorts, including one called San Isidro where I do not think it is much of an exaggeration to say I almost died. 
It had been, oh, about 17 years since I last skied when the DH suggested a day of skiing with a few friends (sometime in 2001-2002). I knew I was in trouble when I couldn’t even remember how to get the boot into the ski binding (in my defense, I’m sure my mom must have always helped me!). The dumb thing is that I got on the ski lift knowing full well I didn’t know how to ski and at San Isidro there is only one way down… Yea, that was me hauling ass at about 120 kph straight down the mountain, screaming. People on the ski lift actually applauded me, not realizing that I was not, in fact, in a downhill speed competition. That I managed to snow-plow to a stop at the bottom is a minor miracle. No more bragging, “I learned how to ski when I was three,” for me. What I never seemed to remember was that I might have learned at three, but I stopped at eight…
Anyway, once we made it over the pass and into Léon, it was a gorgeous day.
Into Léon – dry & rocky after verdant Asturias
