One of the most impressive routes in Spain, it uses the traces of an impressive engineering work which started in 1753 in order the prevent the isolation of the towns in Castilla León and which would provide fluvial communication and economical development to the regions between Segovia and Santander, which is where this network of channels and locks and gates was supposed to end, since the transportation of products before that era was very difficult due to the difficult terrains and a horrible road network. However, the woks stopped at the beginning of the Peninsular War and,after that, king Ferdinand VIIth sold the project to a private company. It was not until the year 1849 when the route started to grant their services to the inhabitants of the region, but it suddenly stopped with the arrival of a great railway route, which traveled parallel to this route, being faster and cheaper.
The Original Canal de Castilla (Castillian Channel) starts in Alar del Rey. However, we have considered a good opportunity to know the glorious city of Segovia first and be amazed by its aqueduct, its enormous cathedral, called 'The Lady of the Cathedrals', and its castle, the well-known Alcázar, which is said that inspired Walt Disney in order to recreate the castle of the film 'Cinderella' (1950) and the castles of the different Disney parks.
Following the path, we will reach to Valladolid, another of the big, old, Castillian capital cities, and where you will see the beautiful church of Saint Paul, funded in 1286, or the incredible Campo Grande, a huge garden from the XVIIIth century, and the Museum of the Cavalry Academy for the history lovers.
We will follow the paths of the Pisuerga and Carrión rivers in order to reach the city of Palencia, where we shouldn't leave without visiting the Cathedral and its cript, which host the reamins of the first Visigothic church of the city and whose last remodelation left a quite curious 'reminder' such as the astronaut in Salamanca's cathedral, a photographer gargoyle. Also, the Roman bridge of Puentecillas is a mandatory visit for the tourist, since it hasn't been reshaped since the XVth and only being based on the previous Roman bridge. Our last important spot in Palencia would be the Otero Christ, which is the second larger christ statue after Brazilian Ipanema Christ with its 20 meters height, and which forms part of the lovely chapel of Santa María de Otero, just at the top of a steep hill.
Once we reach Alar del Rey, we will continue the channel path, through the river Pisuerga side which lasts around 150 km and where we will see different lovely Castillian towns such as Nogales de Pisuerga, Aguilar de Campoó, Cordovilla de Aguilar,and Villaescusa until we reach Reinosa, where its main monuments are 'La Casona' and the Saint Sebastian church, from the XVIIIth century.
Just after that, we will continue the track until we reach Llanes in Asturias, passing through Cabezón de la Sal and Caviedes. Once in Llanes, we will be able to see the whole Historic Corpus of Llanes Ville, which include several monuments like the Doors of the city which give access to it, the Church of Santa maría del Conceyu, the Partarriu Palace or the 'Casa del Cercáu' and the beautiful Playa de El Sablón, in the centre of the city.
While at Castilla León region, we shouldn't let go the opportunity of tasting any of their famous roasted lamb or piglet, specially while we are at Segovia, where roasted suckling piglet is more or less like art. In Valladolid we should take into account that, along with our roasted lamb, some of the finest wines will be served, so take the time to taste them and enjoy the different flavours. But if there's one region that outstands of the rest is Palencia, where the main dish is not lamb or piglet, but river crabs from the Pisuerga river, along with some delicious 'Patatas a la importancia', a deep dish of potatoes made in two steps, first fried in oil, and second, stewed with a little bit saphron,garlic and white wine soup.
After that, we will move to Cantabria, where the fishes and the seafood are the main characters, the anchovies are one of their specialities, along with the fried squid strips called 'rabas'.
And to end our gastronomic route we will go to Asturias, where dishes are strong and full of flavour, like the famous fabada, the Cabrales cheese or the cachopo, but there's also a lot of apple cider to make those impressive foods a little bit more funny
