Boltaña : Sobrarbe Region ; July 2018
We left Arguedas pretty snappily the next morning. Well early for Spain 10am!
Along the way, we stopped off for a coffee and a bocadillo. What a sandwich! Filled with yummy pork and so delicious. We added a muffin, the house speciality made with almonds and chocolate. A lunch fit for Parsleys Pursuits at just €7.
We are heading to the Sobrarde area. It’s the area just bordering the Pyrenees and it’s full of national parks, four actually and they are all part of the European Geoparks Network. (Read all about this area here if you fancy)
A lovely scenic area with a multitude of camping spots and lots of walk and hikes to everywhere. We did of course spot a Camino sign, so must be one of the routes.
We chose Camping Boltaña and it was a great choice. Lovely friendly staff and a lovely shady pitch.
We settled in and set up camp and had a little lunch. My plan was to lie at the pool but then we realized the football was on and we couldn’t resist watching. The atmosphere was good with a fair amount of both Argentinian and French supporters to compete. Afterwards, I hit the pool and really amazing to lie and sun at 7pm at night!
Supper that night was at 10pm as it was so hot! We took a walk around the very full campsite that night and were amazed to see how many Spanish literally bought the kitchen sink with them. I mean they had a caravan, and then a tent for the dining area and a separate tent for the kitchen which had a sink and stove and all the cooking utensils. Of course, they all had TV’s, not small portable ones but huge screen tv’s, one even had a TV cabinet with what looked like a VCR machine and DVD machine. I wanted to take pics but it was a bit obvious….
BUT on this note have you seen Chris’ home office? so we look like we have all the office equipment as well, including a printer! – kitchen sink or what!
The next day we walked along the path to the town of Boltaña. We decided to take the Camino way into own and it was worth it. The view over the river Ara was spectacular and all along you could amazing water holes and beaches with people swimming. I would have taken a dip but I only brought my bikini top and not the bottom, and Chris thought they might be inappropriate!
We ventured into the tourist office and we met the MOST enthusiastic woman ever. She rambled on for 20min telling us about her area. We realized we would need to stay for a year to see all the things she was offering. We don’t have this time but I would highly recommend this area to anyone who loves walking and hiking. There is so much to see. We took a long hike up the hill to Plaza Mayor for a drink. We have worked out all the main squares of every village are on a hill!
We had a lovely drink and then ventured around the corner for a ‘menu del dia’. The menu handwritten on a piece of paper was cryptic but we kinda worked it out.
Pasta salad and pasta for starters, and then fish ( actually moray eel) and beef or oxtail for mains. Dessert a yummy flan and a cuadaja ( milk curd that is set) sounds funny but very delicious served with honey! It included wine, beer and bread for €13! Parsley’s pursuit of the perfect menu del día is happy.
Now for the long walk back!
We made it just in time to watch Spain vs Russia game. Watching the game in the terrazzo was such a vibe as it was full full of Spaniards and very very vocal about every move made. The game was so tense we could barely watch and sadly Spain lost! Supper was a subdued affair.
The next morning we packed up and used a new gadget we had not seen before. It was a machine that cleaned and emptied your cassette ( the toilet) for €2. It was so cool you just popped the cassette in and shush schooooz out it came all clean and refilled with chemicals. We like it. ( chris took a pic but oprator error, its missing)
Well, we needed to empty the grey water and fill up with fresh. Some idiot in front of us took 40min to do nothing…we were not sure what the hell he was up to but eventually after getting glares from both Chris and I he moved off. God knows what he was doing cos he then proceeded to park to the side and open all his windows, then he doodled back into the camp site. When we were done and about to set off, he decided to come back…not sure what was going on…annoying!
Before we got onto our route, I convinced Chris to take a little detour, just a few minutes up the road to a village called Sieste. It just looked so pretty on the hill above us. He was keen until we headed up the steps and very narrow road to the top. Well this is a family rated blog so I won’t mention the words he said, but the view from the top was worth it!
We made a decision last night to head over to France already today. I don’t think Chris can wait another day! So we are crossing at the tunnel of Bielsa/Aragnouet.
We stop for a coffee and tortilla at Aínsa and it was yum. A typical Spanish breakfast is this egg and potato omelette but thick like a cake cut into wedges and served with a bit of bread. No banters in Spain!
The drive up was spectacular and the Road follows the river Cinca with beautiful vistas of waterfalls all along. The tunnel when we arrived was actually a little disappointing and wasn’t very long, so before we know we are in France, just like that!
Parsleys Pursuits 