The Picos de Europa: that comparatively small Switzerland, which is shared, however, in unequal command, by several of the most extraordinary, beautiful and by default, mysterious communities of the Spanish peninsular geography.
Asturias, Cantabria, Palencia and to a lesser extent, León, surround, like metaphorical fireflies, this impressive mountain range, sharing myths, traditions and surprising legends, whose spectacular essence never leaves anyone indifferent.
Immemorial habitat of all kinds of mythical creatures, from these heights, leaving behind the significant cultural lighthouse, which, during those dark periods of History in which practically the entirety of Spain remained sheltered from Muslim domination that caused it to fall, like a house of cards, to the Visigoth Empire, was the unique monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana - in its immemorial beginnings, known as San Martín de Turienzo - a small hermitage, dedicated to the figure of Saint Michael, the heavenly paladin par excellence - that precisely, who took command of the angelic legions of God, when Lucifer's rebellion - forms one of the most spectacular viewpoints that can be admired in these impenetrable mountains.
From its heights and leaving aside its humble condition, which is nothing more than a humble oratory, the traveler, undoubtedly moved, enjoys the privilege of being able to contemplate at ease, the magnificent complacency of that authentic heart of the region of La Liébana, which is, without any discussion, the splendid valley of Camaleño.
With its small, rustic and charming towns, scattered, like ancient pioneer forts in this land, which, despite everything, still remains virgin and unconquerable in many places of its fascinating anatomy and its most relevant towns, such as Potes, the valley of Camaleño is a cultural refuge, furthermore, where legend and tradition far surpass reality.
They say, in this sense, that not only did the mysterious Knights Templar walk through these places, settled, among other places, in that unique town, neighboring the vertiginous La Hermida gorge, named Lebeña, where today the lover of Art and of History, worships one of the most relevant sacred buildings of that period of repopulation, where the enthroned and nursing image of Saint Mary is venerated and they also add that they brought here, in the dark vicissitudes of the 12th century, one of the relics that have most fascinated human beings throughout time: nothing less than the famous Ark of the Covenant, to the point that in the nineties of the last twentieth century, members of the North American Society for the study of Ancient Astronauts - of which, among others, the charismatic Erick von Daniken, famous for his related best-sellers, is a member - were in these places, carrying out investigations, with sophisticated devices, coming to affirm, yes, without evidence , who had found, in one of these charismatic corners, a place where, in addition to not growing grass, the presence of an underground structure was detected from which a notable focus of radioactivity radiated, activities that, in addition to being Commented on in various newspapers in the area, they were also widely disseminated on radio programs, such as those carried out by Cantabria Oculta (Hidden Cantabria).
Mysterious lights, which assail the superstitious attention of the locals, have also been seen on numerous occasions, in nearby places, such as Tresviso, giving rise to surprising speculations, which, together with the traditional folklore of the area, make this entire mountain paradise, be an irresistible magnet for every seeker of the unusual.
And seen from these heights, feeling tremendously small compared to the insurmountable greatness of this charismatic region, which still has many mysteries and unexplored places, it is difficult not to fall into the temptation that anything, in the end, can always be possible.
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NOTICE: Both the text, the accompanying photographs, as well as the video that illustrates it, are my exclusive intellectual property and are therefore subject to my Copyright.
