Hi Mac

As usual I've been enthralled by your posts - it's been a real bonus
that  you 've had a second trip this year.

I was particularly pleased you'd  stopped in Llanes  and you  told me
something I didn't know - that I'd witnessed the evolution of a work of
art over the years.

I first visited Llanes in 1969 when donkeys were much more common than
tractors and they still collected seaweed to fertilise crops.
I also remember the state of the roads then - travel was simultaneously
slow and terrifying!

In 1987 we returned. We arrived in Santander on a rainy morning and made
it to Llanes in time for lunch and discovered that not a lot seemed to
have changed in the intervening years.
Donkeys were still to be seen. We were camping on that trip and the next
morning we experienced a surprise - the clouds had lifted and there were
the Picos de Europa!
We've been back a few times since and the restoration works that have
taken place have made the place even more charming plus the new motorway
system has made it more accessible.
However, I think arriving there by train is probably the best way to travel.

Sue