I am sharing with you some of my favourite places in Spain; I started with Santillana del Mar in Cantabria and close by are the mountain villages of Bárcena Mayor and Carmona.
After an hour or so we left the main road and took a minor route into the mountains where the fields became smaller, the grass became greener and the sky seemed a great deal closer as we drove past verges of wild flowers sheltering under the dry stone walls, soaring buzzards and occasional herds of the horses of Cantabria as we climbed high into the clouds, way above the snow line with strips of ice clinging defiantly to the crevices where the sun didn’t reach.
Bárcena Mayor is said to be the oldest town in Cantabria and was declared a historic-artistic site in 1979. Because of this designation it is now one of the most visited places in Cantabria as tour buses fill the road and the edge of town car park but it was quiet enough today and we walked through the pretty medieval stone streets and houses with wooden balconies and washing lines in a hanging mist which added to the character and the charm of the place.
Click on an image to scroll through the Gallery…
Have Bag, Will Travel 
Nice photos.
. . . the insulation seems a bit lacking in places . . .
. . . do you know what that guy was making? There were more wood shavings than seemed reasonable for what he was holding.
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Allegedly customary products of cattle yokes, sandals, clogs, canes, and cutlery which, I am told, are distinctive to rural Cantabria and I say that in a slightly cynical way because I got the impression that there isn’t really a great deal of tradition here and that whilst a man was busy whittling wood in an open barn for the benefit of the tourists there was probably a factory somewhere full of drills and lathes where the products for sale were being produced in bulk.
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Wow . . . The cynicism is almost palpable . . . it sounds as if you share my lack of faith in humanity.
If that man was a plant for the benefit of the tourists, he seems an odd choice as he exudes little of what one might interpret as the aura of a skilled and focused craftsman.
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Maybe he was freelance!
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What a beautiful village..
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A little touristy but we were lucky to be there in March when it was quite empty!
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Looks like a good place for a TV detective series! A peaceful old man is whittling wood in his barn when a shot rings out……
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A sort of Spanish Midsummer Murders
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Such an evocative gallery
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Thank you Derrick
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It sounds idyllic… but yes, definitely a Spanish Midsummer!
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It will get crowded at the height of the season.
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You have some amazing photos. Love the color composition of the laundry.
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I didn’t hang it in that colour co-ordinated way of course!
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Wouldn’t put doing that past you, though.
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Wow! March was a good time to visit!
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Excellent timing – no people!
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😀😀
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What was the gentleman in Carmona 06 doing? Looks like he could easily take a finger or entire hand off.
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Should have read the other comments first. Disperser beat me to the question and I noted your answer. Not sure the ‘gentleman’ might not scare away any tourists.
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Especially the children!
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