When I looked at the map this morning, it felt like we haven\u2019t come very far at all. We really are just inching our way through Spain. But that\u2019s part of the fun. We\u2019ve been sticking to the back roads, and today turned out to be one of those days where one wow moment just led to another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our first stop was a building built into a cave. It looked really cool from the outside, and as we arrived a tour group was kitted up in helmets and head-nets ready to go in.. Apparently the cave ceilings inside have been painted with murals. It sounded interesting, but the entire tour was in Spanish, and I\u2019m not a huge fan of being underground, so we skipped it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then came the first proper wow moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A village built on top of a bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From down below, it looked incredible. A huge stone bridge spanning the river, with a whole village perched on top as if it had grown out of the rock. In the heat of the day, we climbed up to the village. It was far too hot for uphill walks, but it was worth it. The little town was lovely, and the views over the valley stretched for miles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was also an amazing cycle path running through the gorge below. It\u2019s a shame we\u2019re not more organised. If we\u2019d arrived earlier, we could have spent a few hours exploring it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After that, we really committed to the back roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We could have taken the main road, but that\u2019s not our style. So we turned off. The route turned into narrow, winding mountain lanes that climbed higher and higher before dropping back down again. At one point, we had a near miss with a car coming the other way at speed. I was happily chatting away to the GoPro one second, and the next… a few expletives slipped out. I\u2019ll definitely need to bleep those out later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next funny moment came when we met a school bus on one of these tiny roads. The driver stopped and kindly signalled for us to come through. The only problem was there was absolutely no way our van was fitting past him. Luckily there was a farm track beside us, so we ducked into that and let him squeeze through instead. It\u2019s exactly the sort of moment I should be filming, but never seem to be. Doh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then, around the next corner, came another WOW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A hill covered in giant rock formations.They looked like enormous sculptures sitting on top of the ridge, each with its own shape and character. One was shaped like an arch, another like a chimney, and a cluster of others looked uncannily like giant stone fingers reaching into the sky. I\u2019m still not entirely sure how nature created them, but they were spectacular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We grabbed a few photos and carried on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then we rounded another bend and arrived at Orbaneja del Castillo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WOW. WOW. WOW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is one of the most beautiful villages I\u2019ve ever visited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the top sits a small village, but below it is a wide cascading waterfall tumbling down through the landscape into crystal-clear pools. The water then continues flowing through more terraces and pools below. The pools were a deep emerald green and absolutely gorgeous. It was so hot I just wanted to plunge right it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, that\u2019s not allowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We walked up through the village, still frikking hot, and discovered that the waterfalls actually run through the town itself. At the very top is the source of the water, emerging straight out of the mountainside. The village was beautiful too, with old stone buildings, quirky little streets and hidden corners everywhere you looked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What surprised me most was how quiet it was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A place this stunning should be absolutely crawling with people, but there was hardly anyone around. Maybe we just arrived at exactly the right time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We probably could have stayed the night in the car park under the trees, but even in the shade the heat was stifling. So despite it only being 5pm, we decided to keep moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the end, we settled on a campground in the town of Aguilar de Campoo. Which is an apt name, because we most likely will do a campoo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a pretty basic campground. The toilets have no seats, although they do at least provide toilet paper. The only catch is that the toilet paper is in the communal part of the bathroom, so you have to estimate your requirements in advance, gather your chosen amount, bunch it up in your hand and then head off to the cubicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think I\u2019ll just take the whole roll with me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When I looked at the map this morning, it felt like we haven\u2019t come very far at all. We really are just inching our way through Spain. But that\u2019s part of the fun. We\u2019ve been sticking to the back roads, … Continue reading