Snow and chimney: Babia was this
It exists in baby a rural house between the snow and the clouds that seems expressly designed for getaways with a fireplace and a blanket... but that ends up becoming quite the opposite.
Because yes, the warmth of the wood is comforting, but it is not comparable to the satisfaction that comes from finishing one of the routes of this historic region in which the trails run through endless valleys and the two-thousanders rush to the horizon with their attractive limestone profile. It is called the Babia's Dairy , and opens a new room named Agua.
Until now, three were the accommodations that its owner, Ángel Quiñones, had rehabilitated in La Lechería de Babia, a charming corner at the entrance of the village of San Emiliano : The shelter , an independent house of wood and stone of two heights; The star , with its rustic stone-clad lounge; Y The Portal and its delicate floral textiles.
Water arrives to complete the excess demand for chimneys in the area.
“I have many regular clients from Seville who come to spend Christmas in Babia in search of cold and snow” Angel tells me. I sense that he Homemade cake , the artisan bread of the Riolago bakery and the fresh flowers with which he entertains his clients without obligation also have a lot to do with this encore.
If there are pro travelers capable of enduring the -5 ºC of Copenhagen just to have a cappuccino on the terrace of The Coffee Collective or to withstand the extreme humidity of the kauppatori port from Helsinki to try a salted herring, how could the Sevillians not ascend in a straight line along the Ruta de la Plata, until Lion , to enjoy this isolated region that reveals its most endearing aspect during the winter months?
If what you want is cold, this is your place in the world
A PLACE WITH HISTORY
Buying the old dairy I don't know if it will be the riskiest thing that Angel has done in his life (he is one of those who crowns two thousand like someone who drinks coffee in the morning), but yes the most visionary
Originally from Babia, he knew how to see the potential of the one that used to be a butter factory in the region until the Civil War.
“Here people brought milk from their homes to transform it into butter and then sell it in the city. Later it was a dairy, hence there are water channels all over the buildings”, he explains to me.
Today, ten years after its opening, it has once again become involved in the interior design of Agua as it did in its day with the rest of the spaces.
On this occasion, wood continues to be the common thread of the environments, but a large carpet of hydraulic tiles presides over the room, as dictated by current decorative trends. The fireplace, on the other hand, is more rustic.
Stay in a little piece of history
HIKER, THERE IS NO TRAIL
Inside, everything is designed for the pleasure, enjoyment and relaxation of the lucky ones who get book one of the four houses (don't even try for the bridge, it's all complete) , but what do you find when you walk away from the fireplace and the blanket?
“The good thing about the area is that we have marked trails for all levels : Two of the easiest routes run between the towns of Candemuela and La Majúa and from Riolago to Villasecino, a perfect valley bottom route for ride a mountain bike due to its low unevenness”, explains Ángel.
The most physically prepared will be able to face the 13 and a half kilometers of the route around Ubiña , which ascends from Torrebarrio to the Ronzón pass, to then descend through the pastures of the Vega de Riotuerto to the track that connects the Casa de Mieres with the town of Pinos.
Said like this, it all seems very technical, but I will summarize it for you in 2.0 language: you will share in your social networks photos of Hispano-Breton horses and Leonese brañas , which could well pass for houses in a hobbit village; You will show off a panoramic selfie at almost 2,000 meters high with peaks such as the Tres Marías in the background and you will feed your blog with stories from other times, such as the one that places to Jovellanos in 1792 in the town of Torrebarrio giving an account of a castle with 304 towers (it seems that I would have written 3 or 4, but, as journalists well know, never let the truth ruin a good story).
This tour will be much more comfortable if you first rent for 10 euros a day some snow rackets in the new MTB center Baby's stop (from Wednesday to Sunday, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.), also San Emiliano.
Hiker, there is no trail
Adrenaline lovers usually dare (not if there is a blizzard) to climb the 2,417 meters of height of Peña Ubiña , one of the highest mountains of the Cantabrian mountain range.
An ascent that should not be taken lightly in winter, since admits no mistakes or distractions , not even among professionals who use it to train skills to face higher peaks in other parts of the world.
I, who in summer have seen Jesús Calleja swooping down the stony channel descending, I have also seen him in Desafío Extremo trapped and disoriented on its crest due to harsh night weather conditions.
You won't have to worry about inopportune inclement weather if you drive up to River Lake to visit its monumental Palace of the Quinones , today converted into a interpretation center n called ** House of Babia and Luna Park .**
From here another route starts towards the Lake Chao in which "it is necessary to carry adequate cartography", warns the city council.
Perhaps it is a successful dissuasive trick to preserve its (already) threatened habitat, made up of peat bogs and unique carnivorous plants.
Do you dare with a walk?
WITH YOUR FEET ON THE TABLE
Once you return from the heights to get some oxygen, you will have two options: curl up again in front of your Babian fireplace and prepare something in the perfectly equipped kitchens of La Lechería or reserve a table in restaurants of the area to taste local recipes.
This year you are already late at colt gastronomic days in which they served, among other dishes, creamy foal mincemeat and seasonal mushrooms in the restaurant White Peaks of La Cueta (the highest town in the province of León), pâté with raspberry reduction in Babia's house and loin of foal with a potato skewer with Babia honey alioli in the ** San Emiliano Valley **.
But, since we are in confidence, I will tell you a secret, I know on good authority that if you notify the Inn (colloquial name with which this last restaurant is known), Maria Isabel will be in charge of unfolding her culinary magic to clone this recipe just for you almost any time of the year . As much as this one, with the snow and the lit chimneys, is the most appetizing and delicious of all.