In the morning the weather was so good that you didn't feel like moving a leg. Clean sun, open views, the silence that can be heard. The reservoir was still there, still, as if to say that nothing had happened another night either. But the date prevailed. December 31st is not a day to improvise too much and we had to think about the basic logistics, which is enough food so as not to chew air for two days.

We left almost at three, without hurry but with intention, heading for Candeleda. The centre of the town didn't tell us much. Normal streets, a dull atmosphere and all the supermarkets closed, except for two Chinese ones of those called bazaar and food and they promise everything without guaranteeing anything. Papi Edu bought the essentials, just enough to survive and not cry. With that we considered ourselves supplied and we left the town via the gorge of Santa María, a name that still sounds very strange to me even though I say it very seriously. We stopped at the Fuente de la Luz, got water and continued to the end of the road, a picnic area where there was no one. There we ate quietly in the camper while I watched that nothing fell to the ground without my supervision.

During the meal, Papi Edu took out the maps, that unequivocal sign that something is going to change. He came to the conclusion that the Regional Park of the Sierra de Gredos must be more interesting at the top, really in the mountains, and not so much at its feet. In a straight line it seemed close, but the mountains don't understand straight lines, so we had to go around the entire massif. More than eighty kilometres, which meant going back on the same road as yesterday, but in reverse.

We went up north, passed through Mombeltrán, crossed the Puerto del Pico again and continued west through San Martín del Pimpollar, which has a much more fun name than the town itself, and Hoyos del Espino. There was still some light left when we entered the Regional Park of the Sierra de Gredos and went up to the Plataforma de Gredos, the great access to the high mountain, the starting point for routes, lagoons and summits. The road goes up and up until the landscape changes suddenly. Snow everywhere, white pines, frozen rocks and a cold that gets into your whiskers without asking permission.

We parked in the large car park at the end of the road. There were quite a few people eager to tread snow, touch it, photograph it and check that it was indeed cold. We also went for a short walk. All white, all in silence, that type of place that is a bit imposing but very engaging. Shortly before six o'clock we went back to the car, when the light was starting to leave without saying goodbye.

We had to find a place to sleep. We took the road to Navarcepeda de Tormes, very beautiful but almost night. We saw several possible places, but none of them convinced us. Too open, inclined, without coverage or with that "I don't know what" that tells you that it is better to go a little further. In the end we returned to Hoyos del Espino, where there is a large car park reserved for motorhomes although it has no services. The place is fine, quiet, and there are already four more, just enough not to feel alone but not in a campsite either.

Here we stayed. Outside, the thermometer reads about five degrees below zero. It's not strange, we are at about 1450 metres above sea level and the mountain doesn't forgive. Inside the camper we are warm, gathered and calm. It's New Year's Eve, but up here you don't notice absolutely anything, no noise, no lights, no rush. And the truth is that it seems perfect to us.