Mountains, Wine & Desert (May 30 - June 7, 2022)

In this post, we will tell you about several places. This is not meant to devalue the individual places, we just didn't have the opportunity to document everything in a timely manner. ;)

Picos de Europa
The Picos de Europa is a relatively small karstic mountain range that extends from the coast of northern Spain to an altitude of over 2500 meters above sea level. The mountain range forms a funnel: you can only enter the valley of the Rio Cares and the national park of the same name from above, via a high plateau at an altitude of 1500 meters, through a very winding mountain pass road. At the outlet of the 'funnel', the river flows through a 15-kilometer-long gorge that can only be hiked on foot. The hike is considered one of the most beautiful hiking routes in Spain.

We don't want to miss this. Since the two villages at the ends of the hiking trail are two and a half hours apart by car, we hike there and back. The landscape is really impressive. However, there are a bit too many tourists for our liking and the hiking trail is a bit too prepared. Jonas also seems to have a hiking allergy, which manifests itself after about 20 kilometers. The symptoms resemble a classic man flu.

After a day of rest, we hop on our bikes and go on a great tour while the weather around us goes crazy.

Ezcaray in La Rioja
The autonomous region of La Rioja impresses with its picturesque villages and, of course, with its wine. Ezcaray is located on the Rio Oja in the west of La Rioja. By chance, there is a festival taking place on the weekend we are there. Men with huge masks chase children and young women to spank their buttocks with an oversized feather duster to the sound of carnival music. Everyone seems to enjoy it. We sit down in a café, order tapas and wine, and watch.

The semi-desert Bardenas Reales
We drive from La Rioja to the east, and the landscape changes dramatically over a short distance. The lush green forests in the west of the region give way to a dry steppe landscape in the east. Here in Bardenas Reales, the evaporation of water is greater than the amount of rainfall (about 700 to 500 liters per square meter per year). We cross the desert landscape by car and admire the bizarre rock formations.