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May 12-13, 2003

Green Hills

Crossing Cantabria in the Saja Valley

Manfred P.

Keywords: Spain, Cantabria, Castilla Leon, Castilla León, Saja River, Saja Valley, Valle de Cabuerniga, Valle de Cabuérniga, Cabezón de la Sal, Carrejo, Santa Lucia, Santa Lucía, Ucieda, Saja-Besaya National Park, Ruente, Mount Aa, Monte Aá, Carmona, Terán, Barcena Mayor, Bárcena Mayor, Trail of the Passes, Senda de los Collados, Palombera Pass, Fontibre, Ebro Reservoir, CA6318, Espinosa de los Monteros, Tornos Pass, Lanestosa, Ramales de la Victoria, tourist, travel trip report, travel log, travelogue.

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The Spanish province of Cantabria is famous for its rivers. In the southern part of Cantabria is a mountain chain that acts as water divide for the whole country. Any river sourcing to the south flows into the Mediterranean Ocean. Any river that has its source to the north ends up in the Atlantic. Cantabria is small but there is an amazing number of rivers and valleys that make their way in south-northern direction from the hills towards to beaches. On previous trips we had explored the valleys of the rivers Asón, Miera and Pisueña. This is the land of the rolling hills with an abundance of green and the gentle sounds of streams on their journey from the mountains to the sea. If you like nature, hiking or villages where time ticks at the pace of last century, then this part of Cantabria is heaven for you. And if you are a sweet tooth like I then you will equally enjoy the Sobaos, a local pastry, heavy on butter but deliciously good.

I was restless at home and decided it is time again to spend a couple of days in these valleys. For this specific journey I chose to follow the river Saja from its mouth on the Cantabrian coast to its birthplace in the mountains. While the river is called Saja the valley it flows in is called Valle de Cabuérniga, named of the principal village with the same name.

Saja Valley, Valle de Cabuérniga (Cantabria)

Before reaching the ocean the Saja is a real river, some 20 meters wide. The first town upstream with some appeal is Cabezón de la Sal, which literally translates to Salthead. Salt was produced here in the past century. A stroll around the village makes it clear that this must have been a charming village once in the past. Grand mansions of the rich are testimony to that. The church and town hall also speak of former splendor. The Palace of San Diego is a nice place to relax. Its garden is an inviting public park on sunny days like today. In general, however, the town has suffered from growth and modernization. It is difficult for a town with ten supermarkets and lots of traffic to maintain its charm.

A country road follows the Saja shoreline giving me great views from my van. Stately homes of the 18th century from the noble can be found in the village Carrejo. Another mile upstream the river widens. In the shallow part where the water moves slowly the river acts as a natural swimming pool. It looked inviting but it is too early in the season to step into the cold wet. From the river beach -- called Santa Lucía -- a bridge is visible. Just across this bridge is a monument made of a pink granite slab inscribed with "Here starts this great and indestructible thing that we call Spain". These are words of a famous writer referring to the repopulation of Spain after the re-conquest from the Arabs. This repopulation apparently started here in the 9th century. One could say "the birthplace of modern Spain." But in my opinion this would be stretching it a bit too far.

Next stop was in Ucieda. This village is small with a couple of older buildings. The real attraction of Ucienda lies in the 3-mile road that connects it with the Saja-Besaya National Park. This road is small, lined by oaks and beeches and follows a side arm of the Saja River. Benches have been put up at a few sunny spots and without doubt will you find elderly people from the village strolling along this road or resting on one of the benches. The road ends at the national park entrance where there are BBQ grills and people come to picnic on the river shore in the shade of tall trees. Even if you do not feel like walking on foot, cruising up and down this tree-lined road with the windows down is a treat in itself.

My next stop was in Ruente. The river Fuentona, tributary to the Saja, has its source in this neat village. The source has been turned into a park with a boardwalk, and a wooden bridge. I was just amazed. The sun turned this lush green park into gold. A feast for the eyes. Horses come down to the river to drink. Yards away a group of sheep is grazing and the sun rays joyfully play with the tiny waves of the stream. From the village end a dirt road runs up to the pass in the Aa Mountain (Monte Aá). I thought about climbing it, just for the fun of it. It would definitely be the first mountain in my list of "climbed mountains", alphabetically speaking of course. I was intrigued by the name: Aá. However, I never made it. There was no obvious trail anywhere, or at least none that I could find, and eventually I turned around. At least I made it far enough to find three famous trees. The government of Spain, the Ministry of Environment I suppose, has a list of "singular trees". These trees are measured, catalogued, and of course protected. Trees make it onto the list usually for the exceptional age, height or circumference. Each such tree is assigned a number and the tree is also labeled with a small plaque. I visited tree #1, yes, #1. This oak tree has 15m (some 45 ft) circumference. Better said, this tree "had" 15m circumference because it died and fell a few years ago.

On a small side trip, leaving the Saja valley, I drove to Carmona, classified a "historic and artistic village". Driving down from the pass towards Carmona one gets a good view of the village and how it is embedded into the valley. Besides the village there are only forests and green fields and hills as far as the eye can see. Carmona is tiny and deserves its "historic and artistic village" tag. Maybe 100 people live here. I haven't seen a single store. In the morning comes the baker with his van to sell the bread. Milk is available fresh and daily from the cows and I guess everything else you must buy in the nearest supermarket some 20 miles away. There are two hotels and restaurants for the tourists and that's it. The main attraction is the farmer who still makes the traditional wooden shoes. All houses are constructed in the traditional style made from red colored rocks that are found locally. This was a good place to spend the night. Tranquil.

The next morning I continued my tourism in Valle de Cabuérniga, capital of the Saja valley. Valle de Cabuérniga and its neighboring village Terán are calm little villages with a few buildings and churches from the 18th century. The next highlight is again in a side valley. Only 6 miles from the main road along the tributary river Argoza is the village of Barcena Mayor. Bárcena Mayor not only is classified as "historic and artistic village" but it is also said to be the oldest village of all of Cantabria. It is like a living museum. The houses are all used today by everyday people. They are well restored and many turned into hostels, hotels or restaurants. The streets, the church and the houses alike are made from the same red rocks that surround the village. A bridge dating back to the middle ages crosses the river Argoza. Over the centuries Bárcena Mayor has kept its charm and stuck to the traditions. There is not a single modern-looking building in this village that would destroy the combined impression of the village. This village is like a set out of a movie from the 17th century. All fits together. During the summer months this must be a touristy place. For the 100 people that live here there are 5 hotels, various rooms in private homes to rent and a large parking lot outside the village. But now in May it was all calm. No tourists were in sight anywhere.

Leaving Barcena Mayor behind the main road along the Saja slowly started to climb. I was heading towards the Palombera Pass. Before reaching it I enjoyed nature on the Trail of the Passes (Senda de los Collados). The enjoyment was limited to fresh air, an immense oak forest and unlimited greenery. I say 'limited' because it was raining without break for hours. As I gained a bit of altitude I reached the rain clouds and then not only was it raining but also the visibility was down to 20 meter (60 ft). The rain is not so unusual here and I was mentally prepared for it. The trail crosses over a pass and ends up in the neighboring valley of the Nansa River. Returning from the hike it was necessary to change my cloths for a set of dry ones. At the Palombera Pass there are supposedly the best views of most of the Saja Valley, but with the visibility close to zero I was happy to barely see the road in front of my van while driving.

On the other side of the pass, driving into lower elevations the weather got better again. I stopped in Fontibre. Every Spanish child knows the name of this place. Why? They all learn it in school. Fontibre is the source of the Ebro River, Spain's longest, largest and most important river. The Ebro is to Spain what the Nile is to Egypt. "Ibre" or "iber" reflects 'Iberia' which means 'Spain' and "font" means 'fountain'. So, Fontibre could be translated with "Fountain of Spain". Not far from Fontiber the Ebro is dammed forming the Ebro Reservoir which stretches for many miles. I followed the reservoir on its shore by van until it finally ended. Here at the end, the province of Cantabria stops and the province of Castilla Leon begins.

Castilla León

The landscape changed a bit here. I found myself in a wide and flat valley. There were fewer gentle rolling hills here but the mountains that were visible in the distance were white and grey rocks, falling off vertically. The rock appeared to be karst and the fact there are many caves in this area supports this opinion. Furthermore in comparison to Cantabria there was less green here and more new colors like grey -- the rocks -- and some touches of yellow -- farm land. I followed the route CA6318 from west to east. After all the narrow turns on the mountain roads it was nice to drive fast on a flat straight country road again. The gem of the route CA6318 is the small town Espinosa de los Monteros. It was founded by some count. I forgot his name, but his commemorative bust is right on the town square. It cannot be missed. Furthermore the square itself is also named after him. It wouldn't surprise me if the stately residence across the street from the square was his former home. I liked the line of old houses with glass and wood covered balconies that close the square.

Back to Cantabria

After this brief stint into Castilla León I took the Tornos Pass north back into Cantabria. The pass is only 920 meters (2800 ft) but it offers excellent views of a large portion of Cantabria. From here it is easy to understand and feel the landscape. There are a few mountains but for the most part it is hills after hills, with lower and lower elevation as they get closer to the sea. Forests and meadows cover the land as far as the eye can see. This is the typical Cantabria. From the Tornos Pass I was back on the windy and twisty mountain roads and turn by turn I had to "work" my way to the first village, called Lanestosa. Lanestone is this typical village, small and relaxed. Its former glory has faded away but there are signs of it all around.

The road then leads more or less straight to other well known towns like Ramales de la Victoria, Ampuero, and Laredo. In Laredo the circle finally closes. We are back at the Atlantic Ocean again.

In total it was a 400-km (250-mile) loop through one of the many valleys in Cantabria. Asón, Miera, Pisueña, Saja and Nansa are the better known ones. These valleys all are similar in the sense that they all offer the same things: tranquility, greenery, rolling hills, gurgling rivers and timeless villages.