Time to move on south but we would like to return to the
Spanish Pyrenees sometime to look at the other side of the Aigustortes national
park and the other parks west and east.
Much of the first part of our route was outlined in green on
our Michelin map, which is meant to indicate a picturesque road. We often try
to plot a route using these green roads and it is often rewarding but sometimes
we can’t quite understand Michelin’s choice. As we followed the Aneu down we
crossed many streams and rivers and the scenery was beautiful. Eventually the
views started to open out a little and by the time that we reached Tremp, the
land had become dry with large infertile areas with sparse scrub. We turned
west here on a much smaller road that twisted through the countryside and climbing
through hills. We came to a pass, the Coll de Montllebar where we stopped to
admire the view and watch the large number of vultures and red kites that were
circling around us. Here an information board told us that some of the rock in
the area contains dinosaur fossils and that explained the group of students
that we saw examining a section of hillside. This was another very picturesque
road although the scenery was very different to the earlier mountains and
valleys.
On then, west to Huesca and south to Zaragoza on much faster
roads. Turning north-west we turned off near Tudela to reach Cascante, our stop
for the night. Staying at aires allows us to see small towns and villages and
often to discover gems that we would otherwise have missed. Cascante was one of
those gems. We knew nothing about the town except the very brief notes in the
Vicarious Books ‘All the Aires of Spain and Portugal’ that told us that there
was the Basilica de Ntra Sta del Romero with an unusual baroque covered walkway.
What it didn’t tell us about was the reclamation yard that we passed on the way
in with a line of traction engines parked in the front.
There was a handy town map in the sports centre car park where
we were parked so we set off in the direction of the park and basilica. Both
are set on a small hill but in the context of the flat land around, it was a
mountain and provided great 360º
view over the town and the surrounding countryside. We wanted to have a meal
out in the town in the evening and went in search of a bar for a coffee and a
restaurant for later. We found a bar (there were quite a few) and had an
excellent coffee and we also found the restaurant but it was closed for
a holiday. None of the bars showed any sign of doing food so we decided that we
would have to eat in. On the way back we came across the reclamation yard which
was enormous and stuffed with every type of antique – from farm machinery to
wagons, sewing machines, furniture, stills, garden statues etc. etc. Absolutely
fascinating and it must have taken a lifetime to accumulate. Heaven knows how
much the stock is valued at.
When we
got back to the aire we noticed that another British motorhome had joined us
and after dinner we got chatting with Larry and Lorraine. We invited them over
for a drink and a very pleasant evening ensued. Larry and Lorraine are
currently living in France and have only recently purchased their motorhome so
we compared notes on motorhomes, aires and campsites. We also talked about life
in France and were very impressed that Lorraine was a member of the local town
council – something that requires a lot of dedication in Britain, but to do it
all in French deserves great respect. The evening went so well and the wine
went down so easily (at least for Larry and me) that we came to the conclusion
that our planned 09:00 start in the morning might be a little too ambitious!
Photos: The view from the Coll de Montllebar; The baroque
covered walkway leading up to the Romero basilica in Cascante; The traction
engine line-up in Cascante’s reclamation yard; And just a few pots; This is
just a small part of the yard!
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