Maria Elena and the crew picked us up a little after 10, luggage and all. We were going to be moving on. It took very little time to get started walking up the dirt roads, through piney forests but also past some spectacular views of fields, gorges, valleys and the surrounding Rocky Mountains. I got a chance to ride next to Maria Elena for a while and we chatted about Churchill, France and various books. The horses all seemed settled into their jobs, plenty of energy for canters but well-behaved.

Aperitivo was at a stone fisherman’s hut along the Torres River, wider at this point. Even the table the refreshments were laid out on – on a white tablecloth, of course – was made of stone. Marta and Veronica, two of the staff members, held all 13 horses while we ate and drank. There was a place where we could swim, apparently, though no one did.  Great view up and down the valley.

Lunch was at another of those restaurants that looks like a shack. Well, a stone shack, perched on a hillside that we had gotten to by crossing a 14^th-century stone bridge that in its day had served as a passage for cattle.. This was the second resto that is usually open only on the weekend but opened especially for us. Good salads and lamb chops. 

Maria Elena told the history of Gredos at some length and we each shared highlights of previous high-drama rides. This one is going so well I can’t imagine there will be any other such highlights.