Monday 9th November 2015 – Sos del Rey Catolico (Sos of the Catholic King), Spain

I managed to buy some sourdough bread in Arguedas that was really lovely, some of the best bread that we have had in Spain. After a leisurely breakfast we drove 5.5km from the aire into the Bardenas Reales and the Information Centre. There was an auspicious start as the sun was shining, it was warm and at least fifty storks took flight from the marshes – a very impressive sight. At the Information Centre we were issued with a map and guide in English and, having explained that we had a motorhome, we were told suitable routes through the park, all of which were unsurfaced dirt tracks.

This part of the Bardenas Reales is called ‘La Blanca Baja’ and is a white, semi-desert area, hot in the summer, cold in the winter and with little rainfall. Most of the rock is a very soft sandstone with thin strata of limestone and as erosion has taken its toll, this has left an intriguing landscape of strangely shaped hills and low humps topped with limestone hats. When the rain comes, it creates ravines and erodes the soft mudstone of the hills creating folds in the hillsides. A picture paints a thousand words – take a look below – but it doesn’t come close to seeing it in the flesh. This was a magical visit and well worth a trip if you are in the area.

We wanted to travel north, so we exited the park on a long unsurfaced track, a route not used by most of the visitors. In fact four of the five vehicles that we past were motorhomes – it was good to know that we weren’t the only mad people around!

We had a number of sights that we wanted to visit just south-east of Pamplona and the aire at Sos del Rey Catolico was the ideal base. We parked up and set off to investigate the Mediaeval town famous for being the birthplace of Ferdinand the Catholic (1452). The sun was setting and the sky reddening as we entered through one of the gates and got hopelessly lost in the tangle of narrow streets with towering houses on all sides. The sparse sodium lighting gave the town a lovely atmosphere and we found a bar with a terrace to enjoy a glass of wine and a tapas before returning to the van. Another change of plan – we really want to take another look at Sos tomorrow morning.

Photos: Bardenas Reales - this large flat hill is still protected by a layer of limestone but water and wind attack the edges; This hill has lost its hat of limestone and will be gradually eroded until it reaches the next limestone layer; The most impressive feature in the park will surely lose its hat soon; This low-level, clay feature reminded us of an octopus; Leaving by the north track took us closer to these high hills; A street of Sos del Rey Catolico.