Castilla y León, March 2022.
Mirror Mountain
in photographs
castilla y león
Above the lake
in photographs
Riaño, March 2022.
Watch the video from Riaño, in the Picos de Europa mountains.
Still Riaño
in photographs
Riaño, March 2022.
Only good memories from those days in Riaño.
Bridge town
in photographs
Riaño, March 2022.
Watch the video from Riaño, in the Picos de Europa mountains.
Pico Gilbo, II
in photographs
Riaño, March 2022.
See Pico Gilbo, I. Also, watch the video from Riaño, in the Picos de Europa mountains.
Calm morning
in photographs
Riaño, March 2022.
Bridge to the mountains
in photographs
Riaño, March 2022.
Up in the Picos de Europa mountains.
Light of the mountains
in photographs
Riaño, March 2022.
Early in the morning, in the beautiful town of Riaño.
Pico Gilbo
in photographs
Riaño, March 2022.
They call it the Matterhorn of León, because of its shape. I've never been to the famous swiss mountain so I'm not sure about the accuracy of the comparison, but I can say that Gilbo is a beautiful peak.
Watch the video from Riaño, in the Picos de Europa mountains.
Biggest swing in town
in photographs
Riaño, March 2022.
A pretty big swing, hihg in the mountains of León.
Perfect reflections
in photographs
Riaño, March 2022.
Lake of tranquility
in photographs
Riaño, March 2022.
Not the official name, but the waters were quite peaceful that morning in Riaño, in the Picos de Europa mountains.
Stillness in the mountains
in photographs
Riaño, March 2022.
A long exposure of the lake with some of the mountains around Riaño in the background.
Mountain shapes
in photographs
Riaño, March 2022.
Another aerial view from my trip to Riaño, in the Picos de Europa mountains. The incredible atmosphere made for very moody and mysterious images.
The bridge and the mountains
in photographs
Riaño, March 2022.
An aerial view of the Riaño bridge with the beautiful mountains in the background. From my recent trip to this part of the Picos de Europa.
Perfect stillness
in photographs
Riaño, March 2022.
From my recent trip to beautiful Riaño, in the Picos de Europa mountains.
Pico Gilbo views
in photographs
Riaño, March 2022.
And to think I almost didn't want to hike up there! I'm so glad I pushed myself, because the view from the top of Pico Gilbo was one of the best I've ever seen.
Once-in-a-lifetime conditions for photography in Riaño (Picos de Europa mountains)
in journal
When I plan a photography trip, I usually focus on either relatively close spots, or relatively far places. I tend to ignore everything in between, and man was it a big mistake.
One of those places in between, far enough from home but not too far either, is Riaño. Technically part of the Picos de Europa, but a bit farther south. A beautiful, stunning place, so breathtaking that I can't believe I hadn't visited it sooner.
In any case, I've fixed that mistake now. I spent a few days in the area, and what a time I had. Still low season, I had the whole place for myself. Weather was perfect, not too cold, cloudy, moody. And during the first two days, I even had "calima".
Calima is an atmospheric phenomenon in which dust and sand from the Sahara, in Africa, gets blown all the way here by powerful winds. This happens often in the Canary Islands, just off the African coast, and sometimes in souther Spain. But I had never seen it happening this far north, which was confirmed by the locals as well.
The result? An incredibly eerie and beautiful landscape, looking almost like fog, but not quite. Closer to the smoke of a wildfire, if I were to find something similar. And just like in a wildfire, breathing this stuff is not healthy at all. I had to wear a mask for the first two days of the trip, and I had to put off any hiking to the second half of my travels. Everything worked out perfectly, I took full advantage of the calima, and I got to hike to the top of Pico Gilbo, one of the most breathtaking views I've ever seen.