Wednesday August 22 Jaca, Spain

August 22, 2018

Wednesday August 22 Jaca, Spain

SPAIN!!! Great views of the Pyrenees from the old town of Ainsa

Yes, we are finally in Spain and absorbing the different culture. It was a beautiful morning as we climbed up to 1500 metres and through the 3km Bielsa Tunnel into Spain, a great piece of engineering that was built 40 years ago. The drive up was beautiful but we couldn’t enjoy the first part of it as Ian was dealing with lots of cyclists on the road, doing a time trial. A narrow road and lots of corners meant there were few places you could pass them, but once they turned off Ian could relax a little. The scenery was magnificent and reminded us of Norway. Through to Spain and a great ride down the Pyrenees following the beautiful Rio Cinca.
I wanted to get a Michelin spiral bound map book for Spain, like I have used in France so decided to stop in the town of Ainsa, little knowing what an historic place it was. Found a very large parking area for visitors near to the historic castle and town. What an amazing place with its huge medieval castle leading into the old town with its ancient cobbled paths and small alley ways. Found the information centre and the girl was great and marked on a map where we would find a bookshop – which happened to be in the new town, down the bottom of the hill! Off we set walking through the old village and then down the 147 steps to town….I counted them on the way back up! Great little shop and they had the exact map book I wanted, also a little Spanish/English dictionary!
The day was warm and by the time we walked back up to the old town it was well into the afternoon so ended up having a cold beer and an excellent lunch – I had Confit Duck and Ian had Suckling Pork, both superb and an excellent welcome to Spain.
Decided to continue for another hours drive to the town of Sabinanigo where I had found an overnight camp near the town centre. The drive through the gorge was fabulous, but the really narrow road was fairly testing for the driver! Always a shame on these roads that there is no where to stop and take photos. Soon we were back onto a new highway that climbed very steeply and through a three lane 3km tunnel. Arrived at the campspot to find it closed as an event was on. Back to the drawing board and onto the next town of Jaca and an Aire with about 30 spaces, and when we got to it at 5pm there were only two spaces left. It’s only a carpark but perfectly adequate for an overnight stop.
Found that there was a really nice old town about 15 minutes’ walk up the hill, which was well worth the effort. Such a contrast to the towns we have been in France, with really dense housing. People are out and about walking and there is such a relaxed atmosphere. Great shops and so many restaurants and bars. We stopped and had a beer and just people watched, really enjoyable. Back to the van and after our wonderful lunch just had some cheese and bread for supper.