Once across SPAIN

It's been a while since our trip from the Atlantic on the French side to the Mediterranean on the Spanish side and we've been enjoying the pleasant Mediterranean climate for 9 days. I can completely understand why pensioners never have time for anything. I'm experiencing this feeling right now and resolve every day, today you'll write and then it's midnight again and I'll blissfully fall into a deep sleep. But now it's finally here and I'm in the flow of writing.

As in the past, I had planned a route starting in Saint Jean de Luz and going to Figueras Spain. Half of this was to run over the French Pyrenees and then over the Spanish Pyrenees. But even then the plan changed pretty quickly, as many French campsites had their season end at the beginning of September and the Spanish campsites were still very happy to welcome guests. So we headed straight for Spain and experienced spectacular mountain and rock formations on the way. Our first overnight stay was in Artieda.

Artieda is a Spanish municipality in the foothills of the Pyrenees on the edge of the Way of St. James. The village has largely retained its medieval character and lives from agriculture and livestock farming. Only recently have new sources of income opened up with the Way of St. James and rural tourism, so that there is an excellent campsite and an associated pilgrim hostel. There you can eat and drink great for little money. We tested it and were very impressed.

The next day our mountain journey took us to Alquézar. Alquézar is located in the province of Huesca, at the foothills of the Pyrenees, in the Sierra y Cañones de Guara Natural Park. The pretty citadel village is definitely worth a visit and so we spent several hours wandering through the streets and marveling at the buildings and churches. We were also extremely fascinated, and our cameras were running hot, at the presence and low-flying flights of countless bearded and griffon vultures.

The next day we went on a hike through the Las Pasarelas de Vero canyon. The starting point for this hike is in the center of Alquezar. You pay a fee of 10 euros and you can only walk this path in one direction because of the narrow paths. Initially the route led over wooden footbridges, which made the descent to Vero easier. This section is characterized by numerous small caves. When you arrive at the Vero riverbed you will come across the Picamartillo Cave, which is definitely worth a visit. The path continued uphill until you reached a longer stretch, a path consisting of accessible gratings that were built directly onto the mountain or rock. It took a little effort for me in some places (still nervous :-), as the gratings allow a clear view of the gorge, but it was a fantastic experience and we were happy to have chosen this hike.

The next morning we left Alquezar and, as I said at the beginning, the Mediterranean lured us. After a stopover in Benicasim, not worth mentioning, we are now in Villajoyosa. We really like it here and enjoy Spanish life. There will be a report about this magical place soon, because tomorrow we decided to go about 200 km further south to the “Snake Bay”. Sending sunny greetings Lulu, Ralf and Elke.