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Last week we took a stroll up to the old castle ruins above the town of Boltaña - which is where our flat is.
Boltaña, like so many of these old European towns, comprises of the "old town" up on a hill with the new town spread out below it. The castle is higher still, up above the old town.
The footpath up to the castle from the old town is easy enough and not too steep, but if you start off down in the new town, walk up to the old town and then continue on up to the castle you will have climbed a fair way. 🙂
Views north and west . . . .
You can just make out the castle at the top of the shadow of the hill we were on.....
Standing up here enjoying the sun and the views, something special happened.
At the far end of the road in this picture (too far away to see clearly I'm afraid) are a couple of small buildings on the left where the local Hunters meet. Hunting was on this weekend and by the time we climbed up here on Sunday afternoon the hunters had finished their hunting and were "back at base". Across the road from where they meet is a fenced off patch of ground where they throw away all the stuff they don't want. We didn't actually know any of this until we were standing admiring the views and Mrs Spekkie saw a vulture glide by overhead. We watched where it went and then worked out what was happening from that because I had remembered seeing the signposted buildings when I'd ridden past there previously.
Once we were aware of what was going on we kept a look out and very quickly spotted dozens of vultures gliding down from all directions towards where the carcasses were. In the end there must have been 40 of them. A couple of minutes after seeing our first vulture pass overhead I heard a noise like a plane passing by at high altitude. It was the noise of the wind passing through the feathers of a huge vulture as it glided overhead. I don't know if it's by smell, sight or just knowing where meat gets dumped on a Sunday during winter - but these guys came in from miles around. It took them five minutes to clean up the dump site and then they all flew off in different directions. Some came our way and settled in the sun on a ledge below us.
I was just talking to someone last week about how, aside from the attraction of the MTB trails here, we also have the two attractions of amazing local Geology and Birds of Prey . . . and then this happened. I'm glad out timing was right. 10 minutes later and we'd have missed it all!
One of the reasons for choosing to live on this side of the Pyrenees was the fact that the weather is so different on the southern side.
Northern Europe gets so much of its weather from the west - damp air coming in from over the atlantic - whereas we don't.
I've said on here before, once we're up and running we will definately have a "weather-cam" on our web site so that people sitting somewhere cold and grey can see what they're missing!
Great pics Spekkie, very very different to the Basque Country right now. 6ºC and pouring rain for the holiday weekend!
Have you ever been up the Peña Montanesa? I fancied a crack at it last time but ran out of time.
I'm considering a family trip up to Aínsa over Xmas - we usually spend it in UK or Bordeaux but I guess neither of those will be happening. Need a change of scenery as we've been confined within city limits since early November...
Brilliant. Just brilliant.
I'm not sure whether moving from one autonomous community to another is allowed under the current Covid restrictions Bob. We've knocked a UK visit on the head, we had a short visit to attend MrsPB's mother's funeral in October which meant a week of travelling there and back for a half hour funeral service. Trish is missing her boys who are stuck in Sheffield so to cheer her up, I've booked a 3 day stay in a Parador in Lleida so staying within Cataluña. It's Tuesday to Thursday which is Christmas Eve as travel outside our village "terme" is forbidden at weekends. They've got a deal of €60 per night for a double room in a place which is usually 3x that.
I use these updates and especially the photos to continue an incredibly boring and painful physiotherapy programme to rebuild my knee after a big operation so I can one day ride the Spanish trails like many moons ago.
I’m not sure whether moving from one autonomous community to another is allowed under the current Covid restrictions Bob
You're allowed to travel to meet family or "close friends/associates".
And we've got loads of vultures in the mountains outside Madrid, and it's really cool to hear them fly close by - it's a very distinctive noise.
Ah yes "allegados" the Spanish equivalent of the substantial meal🤔 I wonder if I was stopped by the Guarda Civil I could use the Scotch Egg defence.😁
Reminds me of being out on a run last winter, wind in my face carrying a strong smell of death . I 'surprised' 6 or so vultures feasting on a wild pony in a ditch, and they all took off together when I was about 20-30 feet away. The noise that made was incredible, they are griffon vultures so get up to about 10kg and 3m across.
I’m not sure whether moving from one autonomous community to another is allowed under the current Covid restrictions Bob
Was thinking more towards the end of the month or before Reyes - supposed to be lifting restrictions on Thursday. That said, they probably want to avoid mass movements to second homes or ski stations, so it might come to naught
@bob_summers - I've climbed the Pena several times. Always up from the south side, which takes longer but is easier/safer/warmer. In good weather the return trip is about a 7hr walk. Nothing too difficult, but it's up all the way! Views from the top are amazing of course. Never done it when there's been snow up there though . . . .
Not sure what the restrictions on movement will be in the near future. We've seen people from Barca, Madrid, Zaragoza . . . here lately, so some people are certainly still moving around.
@mogrim - the noise is really loud close up, but only as they pass. Before that you hear nothing.
We took a drive up to France a couple of days ago on the road north out of Ainsa. The border is 45km away and it's an easy enough drive. We had snow/sleet/rain down here last Monday, but it only settled for a couple of hours before the sun melted it. Up in the mountains on the road to France the snow fell some while ago. It's deeper and it's here to stay. Every so often we go and have a look.
Through the 3.5km long "Bielsa Tunnel" to the northern side on the Pyrenees and the snow is suddenly meters deep at the side of the road. Nice to look at and get out and stand in for 5 minutes, but I woudn't want to live like that!
Down where we are we only see snow up on the peaks at the moment . . . . here the Pena Montenesa has snow down to about 1000m.
Our photo's don't capture the sheer beauty of the snow covered trees on the mountains, but here's the best we could do . . . .
Then it was home for a nice hot lunch!
Not sure what the restrictions on movement will be in the near future. We’ve seen people from Barca, Madrid, Zaragoza . . .
As of today I can move around País Vasco but not leave it. Which is a pain because I wanted to at least get up to the Navarran Pyrenees over the hols.
There are a couple of days amnesty at Xmas and NY to allow people to get home - but otherwise there’s no leaving the perimeter of the comunidad without a valid reason. If you’re in Aragon then you have the same restrictions. So if you see anyone from outside the comunidad, they’ve either got a work justification or are flouting the rules!
From here: https://elpais.com/sociedad/2020-12-09/coronavirus-en-espana-medidas-y-restricciones-por-comunidades-para-navidad.html
Alongside the Rio Ara, Zona Zero, Spain . . . . . 5 mins from home.
Yesterday I had time to pop up to one of my fav viewing points.
Ainsa Old Town, with the New Town below it and the Mountains behind it in the distance. There was some morning mist over the rivers and the dam...
Wow looks so different from when we were there! Beautiful. We're staying warm in the Algarve!
Nice shot of the three Marias, Spekkie!
Back in the Autumn I had the use of the company pickup for a week while our car was in the garage for some repairs and I took the opportunity to hunt for stones/rocks suitable for wall building.
Almost everything built here - houses/barns/boundary walls are built from rocks just laying around in the veld.... you just have to make sure they have at least one good "face" on them. Thanks to the local geology, the way rocks are formed here makes that pretty easy.
Picking up rocks . . . . . it's not work - it's cross-training!
They said I was doing a good job!
The philosophy here is "If you're riding a trail and you see a stone in the way, just move it". If everyone does that then the Zona Zero trails remain well maintained with the minimum of work.
The Zona Zero team have provided a broom at the Pump Track so that if anyone turns up to ride and the track is a bit dirty, they can give it a sweep.....
🙂
Looks amazing , hopefully I can start my pirineos dream this year COVID pending. I remember a very drunk fiesta in Boltana and a few strange party barns.
Went for a local trail run yesterday, clear weather brought the Pyrenees into view (would've been there this week if not for the travel restrictions) - camera doesn't really show much but could see Pic D'Anie clearly enough, and Midi d'Ossau?).
Ossau is about 120km as the crow flies, looking north could also see Dune du Pilat which is about 150km.
So you run over Jaizkibel. We've walked along there from Hendaye to St Seb a few times, train back. I can see the same mountains from the other side from my garden in Pau. Snow forecast for tomorrow . 🙂
@edukator that’s the one. It’s been off limits for a month and a half due to covid movement restrictions so it was nice to get up again.
It’s a 15km run getting the train out and climbing up from Lezo, up the crags on the south side. Run down the ridge and either train back or cross the harbour and run the extra 10k home over Ulia.
Btw you said you could see Dune du Pilat from up here and I didn’t believe you, but on about 5 days of the year when it’s not hazy or raining, it is indeed visible!
Always nice to have views to distract you when you're digging deep on a climb!
The spanish people love Christmas and we have lots of Christmas Trees here in Spain, but out on my ride yesterday I came across this "Christmas Ladder" in the nearby village of Margudged, decorated with baubles, flowers and cuddly toys..... 🙂
Mrs Spekkie & I wish everyone on Singletrack a Merry Christmas.
Best wishes to everyone.
Wot no Pooping Log 🙂
🙂
Haven't seen the traditional "man taking a dump" yet!
https://www.thenotsoinnocentsabroad.com/blog/caganer-a-crappy-spanish-christmas-tradition-explained
Another happy Christmas from me and the other mogrims in Madrid 🙂
Bones Festes from us in Cataluña, all the best for 2021 Tony and Andrea. Bring on the return to normal service.
Er and and felicitous novadudes from the DoD’s in Murcia.
There's always somewhere to get a drink of water here!
Temps dropped here over the last week - and then last night around midnight it started snowing!
I took these outside our rented flat at 1am last night. It was amazingly quiet and still, with just a light falling of snow coming down . . . . . the tyre tracks were from a patrolling police car.
Pump track isn't going to get much use today!
Off to get a couple of warm French loaves from the bakers for breakfast....
With Spanish Butter & Jam and a cup of English breakfast Tea . . . .perfect!
Snow & Sunshine - outside the village of Latorrecilla, just down the road from our "Project"
Last ride of the year - a spin in the snow. 🙂
It's cold here now, need to dig out my winter kit. Summer kit plus "arm warmers and a Buff" are just not enough!
You know you’ve been in Spain too long when you dig out full winter gear for temps you’d still be on shorts and lightweight jacket in the UK.
After 35 years in Valencia my sis brings a coat over in the summer. She can barely cope with our winter.
Yep - acclimatization is a real thing. My first winter in South Africa I wore shorts when everyone else had jumpers on. 3 years later and I had a jumper on too.
Here in Spain I fare better than most of the locals with the cold, but I'm also getting more used to the summer each year. First year here 40 degrees in summer was impossible. Now it's manageable.
Hi Spekkie, Boxing Day night (living the dream, or at least yours) I sat and read the entire thread (have been going to do it for a while) it was quite the journey binge reading it and it was really like one of those TV dramas or books you can't put down.
Anyway, I trust you and yours have a year that finally brings everything to fruition and I look forward to following it here. Los mejores deseos y buena suerte
Thanks white101 - igualmente.
Glad you've enjoyed it so far - it certainly has been a journey. Let's see what this year brings now . . . .
Wishing you and yours all the best too.
It's slowly melting away now, but the day it snowed we took a drive and some photos.
It's beautiful, but you have to be careful where you try and drive. We have a 4WD SUV for this very reason - rural and snowy winters - but even so we didn't go "off Piste!"!
This is Latorrecilla . . . .
Guaso, where our project is, with the Pena Montenesa in the distance.
Ainsa Old Town . . .
Stick to the middle of the road . . . .
We took a drive up out of the back of Boltana on the gravel road to Morillo de San Pietro (Sampietro) yesterday but we had to stop a couple of km short of the village when the snow got too deep.
It's a route I often cycle - so I knew what was coming up - and although we have a 4WD SUV, we weren't taking any chances!
It was a nice drive regardless.
"Mrs Spekkie" checking for cell phone signal and muttering something about "mountain rescue . . ." 🙂
So we had some snow, which we enjoyed. Most of that melted and life returned to normal - then along came Storm Filomena!
Spain was hit pretty bad, some places (mostly down in the south) with rain resulting in localised flooding and some places (Madrid for example) with a lot of snow, which closed major airports & freeways etc.
We got off lightly, maybe 15cm of snow over 36 hrs - which is what we generally get when it snows here the once or twice over a normal winter. The council snow ploughs have been out in force and the pavements have been salted.....
We did one of our local footpath walks yesterday and it really was beautiful. Not too cold as long as you were wrapped up (no wind helps) and everyone we bumped into was very socialble & in good spirits.
Happy days . . . .
Boltana monastario . . .
Footpaths were 10cm deep . . .
The Map said "Snow", which was correct . . .
"Villaboya" - We swim here in Summer!
That one guy . . . .
Spain was hit pretty bad, some places (mostly down in the south) with rain resulting in localised flooding and some places (Madrid for example) with a lot of snow, which closed major airports & freeways etc.
Yeah, we got hit quite hard - WFH and it hitting at the weekend mean I'm not too concerned! It did make for a couple of lovely (albeit slow) runs in the snow, too 🙂
Yeah - if it was going to come, then the weekend was as good a time as any. We got off pretty lightly all things considered 🙂
After the latest snowfall last week some of our local "property developers" (kids) went into business.
A lovely little property to live in during the winter and turns itself into a swimming pool come summer!
Sometimes it's funny how you meet fellow riders and make new friends . . . .
After last weeks snowfall, followed by 36 odd hrs of steady rain, the middle of the normally grassy public carpark behind our rented flat had turned into a bit of a quagmire. From our lounge window we could look down and see a little white Peugot 306 halfway across the carpark - spinning its wheels in the mud.
After a couple of minutes the driver got out, gave the mud "a good looking at" and then got back in a tried again, to no avail. I put on my wellies and went down to help him. Between him driving and me pushing we managed to get the car onto firmer ground and then over to the entrance of the carpark, which is tarred.
He got out and thanked me and wanted to buy me a coffee - there's a coffee shop next door to us - but my dinner was on the table so I declined. Then I noticed a bike roof-rack on his car and said in Spanish "you ride?". His face lit up and we chatted for 10 minutes about cycling. He rides road & MTB, same as me.
We friended each other on FB, swapped phone numbers and "promised to ride together soon". Then he thanked me again, looked up at the sky and said "You're an Angel". I laughed then he said "I should know, I'm the Priest of Boltaña church!"
Tomorrow we're doing a road ride together....
Lovely story! 😃
Have a great ride.
A couple of pics from yesterdays Road Ride.
Jose (the Priest from Boltaña church) and I started together in Boltaña, rode through to Ainsa, where we were joined by his friend Rafael (the Priest from Ainsa church!), carried on out to the "Collado de Foradada" which sits at 1020m, then back again. 55km in all.
Climbed around 700m, almost all of it during the "there" part of the ride, making the "and back" part easy!
It was a great ride. Sunny, but we still needed to wrap up. It is January after all....
I've never been on a ride before where I was out-numbered by Priests!
Living in the foothills of the Pyrenees means that the weather here can be very localised.
We can have nice weather here in Boltaña, which is protected bacause it nestles behind hills, while Ainsa, which is 6km east of us, can have wetter colder weather - because it sits at the bottom of the Bielsa valley that brings the colder weather straight down from the Alto Pyrenees. The campsite where I often work sits in the Bielsa valley and the temperatures there in wnter are some of the coldest locally.
The village of Guaso, where our Project is, sits about 4km south of both Boltaña & Ainsa and is on the sunny south-facing side of another protective hill. This gives us warmth from the south and protection from the north - giving Guaso its own little micro-climate.
Of course sometimes the weather is the same everywhere. At the height of Summer we can top out at more than 40 degrees on occasion (thankfully not often) and in Winter in can be minus 5 in the middle of the night. The coldest its ever been at the campsite, some years ago now, was apparently -24 degrees....
These are photos I took throughout last year that show a little bit of our local geography 🙂
Boltaña nestling in the hills ....
Ainsa, with the Bielsa valley on the right leading north towards France:
From the viewpoint behind Ainsa Old Town you can see how the heavy weather comes down the Bielsa valley:
Guaso, tucked behind a protective hill but still able to see Monte Perdido and the Pyrenees. We love this village!
Gorgeous pics spekkie. Lovely to see the high mountains rising up in the background behind Ainsa. And the last pic is made for me by that sliver of low-lying mist.
We often get mist in the valleys and low areas Rona.
Sometimes it's thicker and then it's amazing to ride up through it and come out in sunshine above it. I'll look for another pic later - I have a few 🙂
From last year - starting the descent from the "Muro de Roda" (The Wall of Roda) castle in La Fueva, 20 mins outside Ainsa, on Route ZL-04 - on a sunny day with the Mediano Dam in the background.....
Sometimes it’s thicker and then it’s amazing to ride up through it and come out in sunshine above it
The famous "mar de nubes", we get that here quite a bit. Absolutely stunning when you see it.
There are loads of little walks around here. One of our favs takes us along the Rio Ara to this little bridge next to a picnic spot just outside Boltaña. Today I read that the local council are going to refurbish the bridge and improve the picnic area for the summer.
I enjoy the walks, but invariably I see bike tracks...... and I wish we were riding!
Do you think 'refurbish' means adding a handrail of some kind, great bridge that:)
I don't know. They might want to keep the bridge looking like it is and focus more on upgrading the picnic area behind it and possbly improve access to the river from the picnic area for family swimming....
(this bridge crosses a stream that feeds into the Rio Ara about 50m to the left of the pic)
Wednesdays Zona Zero road ride Route and Profile.
The last 10km were faaaaast! 🙂
Saturdays blast on the MTB . . . . stopped up in the Old Town to grab some water and a couple of pics.....
My bike with the Peña Montañesa behind it and the Rio Cinca looking south towards the Mediano Dam.
It was a beautiful day and good to be out 🙂
Bittersweet pics @spekkie! Was really hoping to stop in Ainsa over Easter en route to Catalunya but not hearing the right noises about opening up travel between Comunidades Autónomas.
Hope it’s all going well up there (and my fave bars are weathering the storm!)
There's always a line . . .
Long-time lurker on this thread and just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading your updates and getting a glimpse into life in your part of the world. Particularly enjoyed the little priest vignette, are you still riding with them? Hope all works out for you going forwards and one day having you guide me around the superb riding that you have!
Thanks @funkrodent, glad you're enjoying it.
Yes, the Route and Profile of the road ride a few posts ago were with the Priest of Boltana (the one I originally helped in the mud). We keep in touch and ride when we can. I'm free most Sundays but of course he's always working! 🙂
Be good to see you over here one day!
A bit of XC last weekend . . .
@spekkie Do you take the XC bike out on the enduro trails? It looks fairly chunky in your pic before last pic.
@tails - Having been here for a while now, I've learned what I can do and what I can't do on my Specialized Epic. It generally copes with everything I want to ride here, including the "easier" Enduro trails. I avoid the descents on the Black routes - the geometery of an XC bike just makes them too tricky - but pretty much everything else is do-able. If I come across a section I can't do, I'm happy to jump off for a few secs. I'd rather do that and still ride most of a route than not ride the route at all. One day I'll fit a dropper-post and that will help me along I'm sure. Also, I'm one of those people who enjoys climbing, and the XC bike is great to ride on the climbs 🙂
I'll buy myself an Enduro bike one day, but until then I oocasionally borrow one from one of my mates if I want to try the more extreme stuff. The bike hire shops here only hire out Enduro bikes as far as I know, including the ebikes.
That’s good, always thought I’d be under biked but sounds similar to my riding, jump off rather than fall off.
Yep, if you ride XC/Technical XC you can have a great time here 🙂
One of our local swimming spots . . . looking forward to summer now! 🙂
Really quite jealous. Been thinking about buying a place in Spain for a few years now. We were all set to start looking 'properly' (ie a nice holiday travelling around various places), but our Spanish friend became ill, so we had no translator. And obviously Covid has shelved things for a while longer too, and I dread to think what Brexit has done for things.
Having been here for a while now, I’ve learned what I can do and what I can’t do on my Specialized Epic. It generally copes with everything I want to ride here, including the “easier” Enduro trails. I avoid the descents on the Black routes – the geometery of an XC bike just makes them too tricky – but pretty much everything else is do-able. If I come across a section I can’t do, I’m happy to jump off for a few secs. I’d rather do that and still ride most of a route than not ride the route at all. One day I’ll fit a dropper-post and that will help me along I’m sure. Also, I’m one of those people who enjoys climbing, and the XC bike is great to ride on the climbs
Spekkie that's spookily so relevant to my own search for a new bike (see my wonderful thread regarding the matter 😉 )! Yours is the kind of lifestyle I'd really quite like myself, for at least part of the year. Nice.
One of our local swimming spots . . . looking forward to summer now! 🙂
You are really making me quite jealous showing off views like that..
We did a "Drive 'n' Hike" today up to the semi-abandonded village of Morillo de San Pietro.
The village sits at an altitude of 970m (we live at 600m) and is about 4km north of us in a straight line (9.5km by "mountain gravel road"). The climb from Boltaña up to the turn off to the village is part of route ZE-09 which I've ridden several times. It's a nice steady workout 🙂
There's one couple who still live up in the village and two other "holiday" houses that are visited during the year. The remaining dozen or so properties are in varying states of repair - from "passable" to "only the external walls still standing". The local council refurbished the gravel road and installed solar electricity to all the properties a few years ago in an effort to encourage people to move back there.
The views are spectacular, but it's pretty rural. The 9km drive takes a good 25 mins to complete and the village becomes isolated when it snows heavily - so not entirely practicle for most people . . . .
With the Alto-Pyrenees to the North and the Lakes to the south, there are enough big landmarks around here that although you might take a little wrong turn occasionally, no one should ever really get lost.......
Zona Zero have taken care of the sign posting and done a great job.....and even if you prefer to ride the unofficial "secret" trails you'll come across a sign before long!
Happy trails . . . . .
🙂
Did a "Lycra-clad" road ride with "Jose the Priest" and "Fermin the Sculptor" on Saturday afternoon. Beautiful day for it and the views are always worth the climb!
Fermin is 76 years old and climbed the first 7km - which rises 500 odd meters - without any problems. If I can ride like that at 76 I'll be a happy man!
From FB:
A "Colombiano", an "Ingles" and an "Español" riding together on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
At one point Fermin (he's a Sculptor who also sings Opera) and I were singing "El Mondo"..........
What a happy looking bunch. 😃
Sunshine, quiet roads and good friends..... Livin' the dream!