SPAIN 319 



On the Sierra Nevada ibex take principally to that part called San Geronimo, 

 Picacho de Veleta, and Guejar. 



I have no experience of Sierra de Credos, but my friend Count San Martin de 

 Hoyos, a well-known sportsman of the north, who has shot several times there, tells 

 me that ibex are plentiful, the ground being very much like that of the Sierra de Ojen, 

 well adapted for stalking, which he has carried out, and not so precipitous as the 

 Picos de Europa of Asturias. Sierra Credos is, I believe, about 8,000 feet high, and lies 

 between Castilla and Estremadura, with big ravines running down on either side. The 

 Laguna de Credos, on the top of the sierra, is the most central place for camping. 

 Sierra Credos belongs in great part to the Marquis de la Torrecilla, but he does 

 not preserve it. Here, as in all the sierras, tents and provisions have to be taken. 



On the high and wild Picos de Europa, about 9,000 feet above the sea-level, which 



lie in the provinces of Santander, Asturias, and Leon, strange to say there are no ibex, 



and only chamois are to be found, with bears on the lower parts. I have 



. , ■ , r^ r Chamois. 



shot chamois there with Count San Martin, but only once attempted to 



stalk them. We there had them driven. Most of the higher parts of this sierra are 



so steep, with such enormous walls of rock and deep crevasses, that I should think 



it would be most difficult, if not impossible, to stalk even when knowing the ground 



well. 



I remember shooting five chamois on one occasion from where I was posted, and 



the men could only pick up three of them, the others having to be abandoned to the 



eagles, having dropped into abysses impossible for a human being to descend without 



risking his life. Sajos, Peiia-Sabra, and Sagra (where there are bears also), and the 



high peaks of Trebana and Pajares, Aliva and Liordes (which latter is the best place 



to camp, there being a mine, worked in the summer, and some huts), all these in the 



province of Asturias, are to be got at from Potes, through which town there is a carriage 



road, and by going through the town of Panes to the village of Cabrales, you get on 



to the peaks of Hoyo Crande, Los Boches, Peha Vieja, and by the village of Bulnes 



to Potes, Penas de Bulnes, and Peiia Santa. On the lower hills, round Reinosa, there 



are bears, and the chamois may be more easily stalked. The only time to go on 



the Picos is in the summer, when the snow has melted, and even then you get frozen 



snow in some of the enormous ravines. To get over this it is necessary to place steel 



spikes on the soles or heels of one's boots to prevent slipping. 



