The Pyrenees
The Pyrenees mountains are apparently the oldest limestone massif
in Europe. Compared to the NZ Southern
Alps, which are about the same height, they are worn, eroded, and full of
history. We crossed ancient Roman roads,
stayed near the remains of a monastery
built in 833BC, and walked past megalithic monumentss.
Our drive from the Basque Country through Pamplona went
well, and after reaching the Carmino Santiago walking path we headed north to
Jaca for lunch. The helpful Tourist Info
office gave us maps and pointed us towards The Echo Valley. The sides of the valley became closer
together, the hills bigger and the road narrower. We stopped first at the lovely town of Echo,
then went on a couple of km’s to Siresa, to an atmospheric old hotel. Siresa iss famous for its old Romanesque
monastery, narrow streets lined with buildings made from the local stone. The houses were very pretty with window boxes
full of brightly coloured flowers.
Temperatures were predicted to be around 27 degrees C next
day so we tried to get away early, although typically the dining room wasn’t
open for breakfast till after 8-30am. We drove through the Boca del Infierno (
Mouth of Hell) to the very end of the Guarrinza valley and tramped up to a pass
Aquas Tuertas , and on to a mountain lake called Ibon de Estanes. Perfect weather, great scenery, and virtually no other people. There was some wildlife though – cows with
cowbells, vultures, wild horses and marmots.
We saw a lot of fresh pig rooting and had been told there were a lot of
wild boar about, but we didn’t see any.
The day ended pleasantly at the out-side bar at Echo, drinking good
cheap local wine in the town square with a few locals and some loud Americans.
Still slightly unused to local custom, we turned up at the hotel dining room
for dinner at 8.45pm, only to find that we were the first ones there yet
again. It’s hard to get used to all
meals being about 2 hours later than home.
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