On Monday (5th) we continued west along the coast and then turned south to drive through the spectacular (and rather narrow) 21 kilometre long Desfiladero de la Hermida (Hermida Gorge) reaching the town of Potes. We were staying at a very good aire 5 minutes walk from the town centre for 3 nights.

Potes is on the eastern edge on the Picos de Europa (more later) and is a delightful town with origins dating back to at least the 14th century. It is full of narrow streets and bridges crossing multiple rivers. The centre is dominated by the Torre del Infantado tower which now houses a museum and also has a lift to the rooftop for some excellent views over the area.

The Alquitara shown in the shop window puzzled us for a while as it became clear this was an important symbol of the local area. It turned out that these are traditional stills used to produce Orujo de Liébana, a liquor famous in the region (the Orujo Festival is held every November in Potes!).