We had a super early flight this morning.. we took the hotel shittle tot he airport , got through cutoms and got on the plane to Zurich. Gabe was on the same plane as diane and I were .. We got to Zurich and Diane and I had a short layover, while gabe ha a longer layover.. We got him ointo the nicest Lufthansa lounge and left him there to eat and drink in luxury…

Diane and I got on our flight and she was sitting right behind me.  was fun  !

the flights were pretty easy.. we got to IAD ealry enough to get an ealier flight hoem which meant we got back to VT in late afternoon instead of near midnight. Tim and Jen picked us up.. |

It was nice to see them
it was nice to be home

it was such a great trip !

nite all. nite sam

-me

This mornign we packed up  and said goodbye to our wonderfull airbnb in Vega de Paz.. It had been such a great stay with max, becky, gabe and steve..  We really recommend anyone out there visit this part of Spain !

The drive back to Bibao was under 2 hours. We got in toto the town.. , parked, and headed to the  Guggenheim Musieam. I love the Guggenheim in NYC>. and have always wanted to see this one n Bibao. What a magnificent building…!   We spent several hours goign through the collection. 
I particuallry loved the giant bent steel peices that you coul walk in and around !

After the museum we walke around the city.. got a bite to eat.. then headed to our airport hotel for dinner and sleep before our early morning flight the next day 

super fun dday.. great way to end our trip !
nite all. nite sam

-me

Our big adventure today was visiting the town of Puente Viesgo about a half hour from where we’re staying. Puente VIesgo is a beautiful little town built on a river in between some rolling hills. It’s famous for its cave paintings.. We were able to get tickets to tour two  of the caves. Cueva  de la  Moenda, Cueva El  Castillo . 
Before we hiked up to the caves we had a great lunch in a restaurant overlooking the river in town..   checkout gabes tounge after eating pasta with squid ink !

the town was really bustling because there was a bike race that started there this morning.. made it a little hard to drive around.. but it didn’t take away from our fun

 

 

After lunch, we walked up the mile or so to the caves. It was a nice climb through some really pretty countryside

The caves ha e some painintgs by ealry humans.. soem dating back as far as 40,000 years.. and many dating back to the last ice age 13,000 years ago.. there were cave paintings  deer, bison and many drawings of hands made by blowing pigment across a hand held to the wall. We werent allowed to take pictures in there.. but I’ll post some I can find on the web. 

THe caves were very cool to see.. great guides.. the tours were in spanish which was fun for me, becky and gabe  who all speak some  rusty spanish  

here are some pictures I found on the web of some of the stuff we saw

We ended the day with a great meal in a mexican restaurant.. which is hard to find in spain !

Max and becky headed back to bilbao to catch their plane tomorrow.. so we said goodbye to them .. Its been so nice having this time with them.. 

DDiane, Gabe and I headed back to Vega de Pas for one more night

nite all. nite sam

-me

First of all.. Happy brithday to my Mom Judy (91) and my Brother Billy (64) ..  I love you both !!!

We woke up late and feasted on sardines and a cantabrian sweet called Quesada

Heres a picture of our cabin.. soooo beautiful 

We piled in both cars and headed to Engaña .. its an old abandoned rail line , train station,. barracks, and tunnel from the early 1950s.. Actually .. to call it abandonded is not accurate.. it was built but never completed.. It was a huge projjkect.. mostly built by political  prisoners from the spanish civil war.. 

It was in the middle of nowhere.. a beutiful drive through mist mountains with small stones. homes.. 

first stop was the old train station.. never used.. but now anb interestign historical wreck

From there we walked the unused railway bed through several miles of bridges and long dark damp tunnels.. Sooooo spooky and cool !

After a while we came upon the old barracks.. tis is where the prisoners that id all the builing lived for several years.. From what we read, it was pretty inhumane.. they were fed and clothed poorly.. many died form illness.. It looked lik e it must have been a horrible life 

From there we kept walkign and found even more ruins of buildings.. no idea what they were.. but they were massive

then more walking back through the tunnels

We got back in the car and visited a nearby town in search of food

my glow in the dark rain coat was pretty creepy in the church !

Pretty cool day.. lots of adventure.. 
more tomorrow

nite all. nite sam

-me