After touring the south, we took a train back to Madrid and flew north to Asturias (the northern coast of Spain). As you might expect, the north is very different from the south. We found different food--they weren't as big on ham but they loved the locally-produced blue cheese and had several different bean stews.

Unlike the south, the small towns in the Picos de Europa ("Peaks of Europe," both the mountain range and the region) were prepared for--though not necessarily ready to embrace--tourists. With the official "start" of the season about two weeks away, we detected a note of pre-season weariness in the locals as a flood of French, English, and German hikers, bikers, and paddlers that would soon be arriving. These towns are not large and we read that the parking lots overflow during peak season. Happily, we beat the maddening crowds but encountered spotty weather. We stayed in the affordable but unremarkable Hotel Dolnar in Potes both nights.