Just noticed that and deffo.
CC = Christopher Class.It would suit his sartorial elegance.
(I’m stick tickled that he takes a proper mug for his “brews with views” - that’s classy).
Espaniola - A Smart Trip, for Smart People, in a Smart Car…
- Thread starter geotim
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Spain day 3.
This morning we started off with good intentions, a half hour session in the hotel gym. It’s hardly likely to stave off the inevitable ‘flab creep’ as we continue to gorge on jams, cheeses and other local delicacies, but certainly was worth it for the smugness factor…
Breakfast awaits, with timed slots, so obviously this is a larger hotel than others.
Then we head out in the mighty Smartie, searching for sarcophagi… before we reach Soria for the evening.
(Some googling of teruelite required… might need a side trip).
This morning we started off with good intentions, a half hour session in the hotel gym. It’s hardly likely to stave off the inevitable ‘flab creep’ as we continue to gorge on jams, cheeses and other local delicacies, but certainly was worth it for the smugness factor…
Breakfast awaits, with timed slots, so obviously this is a larger hotel than others.
Then we head out in the mighty Smartie, searching for sarcophagi… before we reach Soria for the evening.
(Some googling of teruelite required… might need a side trip).
Don't i spend enough on stickers.
£70 quid a batch
Not as cool as the Portsmouth statue, but there’s a nice one in Simonstown in the South African Cape. A reminder of the safety diver/clearance diver fraternity.
Well we checked out alongside ‘Supergrass’, who were touring the area.
Who knew!
The road trip was good, once we had managed to negotiate the nonsensical one way systems in town.
We took the back roads to Soria, some fun twisties along the CL117 and a B road (904?).
Stopping for a break at the Necrópolis de Cuyacabras and a couple of other spots on the way, along some rather dusty tracks.
The Necropolis is a series of sandstone outcrops which have been carved to hold the bodies of the dead.
All rather strange.
They did have a funky little viewing window that showed what it might have looked like when the temple was still in place.
Then it was onward to Soria and a check in with the grumpiest young lady we have ever met…
Shower time, free drink and then in to town for dinner…
Who knew!
The road trip was good, once we had managed to negotiate the nonsensical one way systems in town.
We took the back roads to Soria, some fun twisties along the CL117 and a B road (904?).
Stopping for a break at the Necrópolis de Cuyacabras and a couple of other spots on the way, along some rather dusty tracks.
The Necropolis is a series of sandstone outcrops which have been carved to hold the bodies of the dead.
All rather strange.
They did have a funky little viewing window that showed what it might have looked like when the temple was still in place.
Then it was onward to Soria and a check in with the grumpiest young lady we have ever met…
Shower time, free drink and then in to town for dinner…
Restaurant El Fogon.
Octopus.
1/4 lamb.
Salad.
Couple of glasses of white and a local red.
Delightful.
A brisk walk back up to the hotel for coffee and dark chocolate.
Perfect.
And it’s a full moon tonight!!!!
Octopus.
1/4 lamb.
Salad.
Couple of glasses of white and a local red.
Delightful.
A brisk walk back up to the hotel for coffee and dark chocolate.
Perfect.
And it’s a full moon tonight!!!!
The quarries are to the south west of Teruel city on the horrible road towards Cuenca. You could also take a little spin up to the summit of Javalambre.Oooooo, I hadn’t planned to. But now that you’ve told me about teruelite…
I’ve worked in Dacia (dacite), the Nkomati area (Komatiite, Spinfex textures in Spinifex creek), the Atamcama (atacamite) the Lizard peninsular (lizardite) and visited a few other ‘type locations’. Always fun for a rock licker
So much to see all over Teruel I spent a month there each tear pretty much throughout the 2010s
It’s actually very nice. Yes, it’s not an old building, but it’s very well situated in the hill top.
Spain day 4.
Wiggly mountain roads today.
We set off from Soria, after a quick breakfast, a visit to the archeological ruins in the hotel basement, and a short walk through the park next to the hotel. Very picturesque.
The plan was to drive to Laguna Negra, which is supposed to be one of the ‘must see’ beauty spots in Soria.
The roads did not disappoint; lots of curves, great tarmac, barely any other traffic.
We took the westernmost road from Soria to Laguna Negra and then followed the road over the tops of the range and down into La Rioja.
Great driving. Would be lovely on a motorbike, though it was hovering between 32 and 33 degrees for most of the day!
Laguna Negra is a nice touristic spot. There’s a large car park at the bottom of the route up (2km walk) and a tourist bus which will take you up the hill for €1.50 - it departs every half an hour.
Many people were walking up the road, we discovered a much nicer route up by the stream which is really well marked with rings of paint on the trees.
The lake itself is a glacial tarn, with a stunning backdrop of cliffs comprised of the sandstone and conglomerate common to the area.
The conglomerate is almost entirely mono-mictic, comprised of what appear to be rounded to sub-angular quartz pebbles.
As we drove over the mountains to the north, we encountered a real change in the scenery, quite obviously an impact of the underlying geology. As you enter the plains of La Rioja, you leave behind a stunning series of cliffs and outcrops of what looks like haematitic, or ‘red’ sandstone - like St Bees Head in Cumbria.
More research needed in those rocks…
We finally made it to our next lodging at around 3:30pm, and were joined by another couple of soft-top Mercedes… they were not as dusty as ours, so clearly their Belgian drivers just don’t know how to have fun
Time for a shower and a cooling drink before we investigate our surrounds.
The view of the cathedral from our bedroom window. Let’s hope the bells don’t start too early
Wiggly mountain roads today.
We set off from Soria, after a quick breakfast, a visit to the archeological ruins in the hotel basement, and a short walk through the park next to the hotel. Very picturesque.
The plan was to drive to Laguna Negra, which is supposed to be one of the ‘must see’ beauty spots in Soria.
The roads did not disappoint; lots of curves, great tarmac, barely any other traffic.
We took the westernmost road from Soria to Laguna Negra and then followed the road over the tops of the range and down into La Rioja.
Great driving. Would be lovely on a motorbike, though it was hovering between 32 and 33 degrees for most of the day!
Laguna Negra is a nice touristic spot. There’s a large car park at the bottom of the route up (2km walk) and a tourist bus which will take you up the hill for €1.50 - it departs every half an hour.
Many people were walking up the road, we discovered a much nicer route up by the stream which is really well marked with rings of paint on the trees.
The lake itself is a glacial tarn, with a stunning backdrop of cliffs comprised of the sandstone and conglomerate common to the area.
The conglomerate is almost entirely mono-mictic, comprised of what appear to be rounded to sub-angular quartz pebbles.
As we drove over the mountains to the north, we encountered a real change in the scenery, quite obviously an impact of the underlying geology. As you enter the plains of La Rioja, you leave behind a stunning series of cliffs and outcrops of what looks like haematitic, or ‘red’ sandstone - like St Bees Head in Cumbria.
More research needed in those rocks…
We finally made it to our next lodging at around 3:30pm, and were joined by another couple of soft-top Mercedes… they were not as dusty as ours, so clearly their Belgian drivers just don’t know how to have fun
Time for a shower and a cooling drink before we investigate our surrounds.
The view of the cathedral from our bedroom window. Let’s hope the bells don’t start too early
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Spain day 5.
Today was a route through the mountains, on minor roads, through the Parque Natural de Montes Obarenes-San Zadornil, taking in the village of Frias.
Some great roads, and we have been surprised on the whole trip by the low traffic density.
The gorges and mountain roads are wonderfully windy, good tarmac for the most part, and some lovely small villages to call in to for refreshment.
The it was on the N232 and the N629 to Limpias.
The website isn’t allowing photos to load, so you’ll just have to wait in anticipation…
Today was a route through the mountains, on minor roads, through the Parque Natural de Montes Obarenes-San Zadornil, taking in the village of Frias.
Some great roads, and we have been surprised on the whole trip by the low traffic density.
The gorges and mountain roads are wonderfully windy, good tarmac for the most part, and some lovely small villages to call in to for refreshment.
The it was on the N232 and the N629 to Limpias.
The website isn’t allowing photos to load, so you’ll just have to wait in anticipation…
That region is really great and as you say fairly quiet. Many just blast down through it on main roads from the port. The Parador at Limpias was my favourite on a recent trip. Good food. Bar El Norte had a very nice selection of beers with a proper brown one on draught.
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A roadside stop for peaches and a drink. Top down, it’s been a great car to drive on these little roads, being able to do a U turn in the main squares is a bonus!
The Main Street up into the village of Frias.
The castle is built into the rock promontory, and alongside the church, they dominate the surrounding lowlands.
The church, like all the older buildings hereabouts, is made of a particularly soft fossiliferous limestone and also some blocks which look almost like poorly consolidated tufa. Certainly very soft and prone to weathering.
Some of the cavities are huge… and they have made interesting use of shards of brick and pottery to help fill the gaps in the mortar joints…
There was a touristic market on today, which was fun to see, though the pipes and drums were a bit much!
As we continued over toward our Parador at Limpias, we started descending toward Covalanas and stopped for some spectacular views near caves and via Feratta routes up the cliff faces.
The contrasting scenery, made so by rapid changes to the underlying geology, has been really a treat to see and experience.
We finally arrived at our Parador, just in time for a cooling and refreshing drink and then a quick dip in the pool…
Dinner is booked for 8:30pm, as we want and early dinner on our last night in Spain
Tomorrow we will explore further and then head to the ferry for an overnight to Plymouth.
I will try to sketch our route out when I have a larger screen - some of these small roads are so worth the effort!
Wonderful.
Whoops, my mistake, I thought you were at Frias de Albarracin - definitely next time matey, you don't know what you've missed
Spain day 6.
Last day.
We break our fast at the Parador. Very pleasant.
Last night somebody may have felt the need for the patio heaters to be wheeled out… they were still out this morning.
24 degrees right now…
Time to pack, head to Santander and do a little sightseeing and shopping before we board later this afternoon.
Last day.
We break our fast at the Parador. Very pleasant.
Last night somebody may have felt the need for the patio heaters to be wheeled out… they were still out this morning.
24 degrees right now…
Time to pack, head to Santander and do a little sightseeing and shopping before we board later this afternoon.
you can check in at the port and then wander across the road to the city centre for a spot of lunch. Your boarding pass operates the pedestrian gate. You go through passport control afterwards. Pedestrian gate is just past the new toilet block.
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