Driving through Torrelavega back to Reinosa we cut inland into the Cantabrians following a GPS route that appeared to take us towards the historic Cantabrian town of Barcena Mayor.
Leaving bitumen our road soon not only narrowed but went very quickly from sealed to dirt' to dirt & rock, to dirt, boulders, potholes and ditches ! No wonder a farmer we'd passed along the way had looked at us like we were lunatics !
With Car insurance paid Henley initially seemed to relish the conditions claiming to be a distant relative of Colin McCrae (yeah Colin McCraes blind brother !) but when the tracks width became about the size of our car and the corners came with unhindered drops of a few hundred feet we both started to feel just a little nervous deciding it was time to turn around !
Hopping out to survey the situation we both realized that our problem was now going to be how to turn around in such a narrow space where one wrong move could be our last !
Remembering Kev's early confusion with 5th and reverse I thought it a lot safer (for me) to guide him (out of the car) back on forth on the precipice until after numerous movements Kev had finally turned the car around !
Plan B was then applied to tackle Barcena Mayor from another direction in the Cantabrians this time the route taking us through a beautiful national park on magnificent roads that would have been an absolute joy to have cycled.
We finally arrived at Barcena Mayor its claim to fame being supposedly the oldest village in Cantabria (10th C) complete with an even older roman road.
The village had also apparently been restored restored by Goverment funds to boost tourism back in 1979.
Our approach to the village was quite spectacular as we roared past a large car parking lot on the main road and were about to drive into the town when we realised the main road had somehow disapeared and become a narrow cobblestone path !
Realising (were not slow!) that we were meant to park at the car park we turned around later finding out that the main road was also extended by Government funds but finished at the village itself ... In hindsight we did see a sign but the bloody thing was in Spanish !
The thought of Henley racing through the cobblestoned town at 80km /hr with tourists diving into out of the way kept us both amused for some time !
After so many delights on our trip this though was a disappointment as what could be a lovely village was in fact run down by weeds, bushes and a general lack of civic pride although some of the restoration work admittedly was first class.
Our drive back to Santander was pretty uneventful although Kev did his best to entertain in Sandiero on arrival by employing a pinball type parking style (crashing into the gutter then rolling back) that had the owner of the car behind us scampering to vacate his spot quick smart !
We did get back though in time to watch the TDF and its eventful ending which may have one M.Cavendish in some hot water !
Another good days exploring and one more to come as we take in a final day of surf and sand, pack the bikes and bags, go for a final drive and then join our ferry in the evening for an 18 hour journey to the UK and finally some TV stations in English although with the Ashes about to start that might not be enjoyable !
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