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  1. Curiosity Drive @[email protected] ·

    Andorra and Occitanie

    For this mission our focus had been on Spain and Portugal, but we took the opportunity to briefly transit Andorra and to visit those western parts of Occitanie we didn’t have time for on our previous trip into France.

    Coordinates

    Andorra

    Andorra in a nutshell

    Andorra isn’t an EU country (so there was a border crossing from Spain and no EU roaming—46€ per SMS—just robbery!), but it uses the Euro by agreement. It has a similar GDP per capita to NZ, with a population of ~80,000 who speak Catalan as a first language (most of whom also speak Spanish and/or French). Andorra is a co-principality (with largely ceremonial co-princes being the President of France and Spain’s Bishop of Urgel), governed as a parliamentary democracy.

    🧭 Exploring

    Andorra la Vella, the capital, put on a damp and cold welcome after weeks of sunshine in Spain and Portugal (📷1). It does have geothermal waters (Caldea in contiguous Escaldes-Engordany is one of Europe’s largest thermal spa complexes) but isn’t regarded as a traditional spa town. We found it:

    • Like Spain, but less dry and warm—possibly unfair given our limited transit.
    • Like France, but without old stones—much of Barri Antic appears comparatively modern (📷2) and there are no Roman ruins (although Casa de la Vall, a former parliament building, dates from 1580)
    • Like Monaco, but without yachts—although a fast-flowing river runs through this valley-confined city (📷3)
    • Like Dubai, but without sand—although money passes through fingers here similarly in this shopping mecca, due to low taxes (📷4).

    A machete with your charge cable?

    We are at a loss to explain why most electronic stores also sell “personal weapons” (knives, guns, etc…). We find this both weird and scary!

    🤔 Curiosity

    Andorra is more than a country of one city: ~94% of the land and ~73% of the population are outside Andorra la Vella. Vall del Madriu-Perafita-Claror | Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley is Andorra’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed as a cultural landscape. We accessed it via the official “Volta a Ràmio” trail. From parking above the village of Engolasters it was a steep 35min climb through pine forest to Coll de Jovell at 1,780m, from where we began descending into the glacier-formed valley. At the 2km mark we reached Ràmio in the valley’s bottom end (📷1). The valley makes up ~9% of Andorra and is regarded as a time capsule for traditional mountain usage with limited modern development. Ràmio gave us a first glimpse into how people shaped the high Pyrenees over centuries through pastoralism, farming and communal land management (📷2). The trail continued up the valley, mostly alongside the Riu Madriu to the constant roar of white water, with ever-present granite underfoot/ in dry-stone walls and the scent of damp moss and pine needles in the air. At just over 4km/ 2h 10min into the hike we came to Refugi de Fontverd, not unlike a NZ-style DOC hut, at 1,875m elevation (📷3). We returned to the Coll via a higher path, which gave us superior views back up the valley (📷4). The 9km loop hike took us 4h 15min.

    As we drove back down from Engolasters we stopped to snap the top end of Escaldes-Engordany, which illustrates its rather dramatic valley confinement (📷1). A switchback sequence took us to Mirador Roc del Quer near Canillo, where we appreciated the views in several directions, such as this (📷2), without paying 6€ pp to stand on a suspended platform. Just beyond Canillo we stopped again at Sant Joan de Caselles, said to be a fine example of old Andorran architecture (📷3) and inside, one of the best preserved Romanesque interiors; the door was however bolted. We exited Andorra by heading for Col de Puymorens at 1,915m in the French Pyrénées (📷4); you can avoid the pass via a tolled tunnel.

    Occitanie

    A piece of Spain—inside France!

    After reaching Occitanie we transited the Spanish/ Catalonian enclave of Llívia, a town of some 13 square kilometres that was excluded from transfer to France in the Treaty of the Pyrénées (1659) because the said border agreement only specified the transfer of “villages”!

    🧭 Exploring

    We parked for our first night in Occitanie in Mont-Louis, beneath the walls of the town (📷1); at ~1,600m elevation it’s France’s highest fortified town and together with the c. 1679 citadel—an active commando training facility—is part of the “Fortifications of Vauban” UNESCO listing. Villefranche-de-Conflent is another of 12 UNESCO-listed fortified sites designed by military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, together representing a coherent defensive system across France. It’s considerably more tourist-oriented; we took the opportunity to walk the restored late 17th C. ramparts (📷2) and stroll through the town’s medieval streets (📷3). Next up was Musée de Préhistoire de Tautavel | Tautavel Prehistory Museum, featuring rather dated and underwhelming exhibits (cf. Altamira) around findings from La Caune de l’Arago | the Arago Cave. People seasonally camped here from ~690,000 years ago, as imagined in this unconvincing “facsimile” cave set 500,000 years ago (📷4). All displayed human bones (including the signature “Tautavel Man”, possibly a Homo erectus subspecies, compiled from fragments of ~20 individuals) are moulds. We also drove to the actual limestone cave in nearby Gouleyrous gorge, situated in the middle of a cliff, but you can’t access it.

    Château de Quéribus at Cucugnan (📷1) and nearby Château de Peyrepertuse at Duilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse (📷2) are two of eight “Royal Fortresses of Languedoc” aspiring to UNESCO World Heritage status. Languedoc was shaped by Roman rule, became a centre of medieval Occitan culture, was devastated by the Albigensian Crusade before being integrated into the French kingdom. Château de Peyrepertuse sits on a limestone ridge at 800m elevation and is first mentioned in records from 1020 CE (📷3); this view is from parking close to the ticket gate (we decided not to go inside). It came into royal possession in 1240 CE, its former owner William of Peyrepertuse having been excommunicated for supporting the Cathars (a medieval Christian sect in southern Europe who believed in strict division between a good spiritual realm and an evil material world, leading the Pope to label them heretics). After the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees the castle lost its strategic importance; it was finally abandoned during the French Revolution. There’s free access to a lookout platform from which you can see the ruin of Château de Quéribus and beyond it, the Mediterranean Sea (📷4).

    Upon leaving Château de Peyrepertuse bound for Carcassonne we took the D14, a narrow winding backroad between hills cloaked in forest and meadows, intermittently punctuated with small villages. One such village is Bugarach, on the outskirts of which is a 700m path to Pont Romain, a single-arch stone bridge across a limestone basin on the Roman road linking the village to Rennes-les-Bains (📷1). Although the original was probably Gallo-Roman, it was destroyed in 1992 by flooding but faithfully restored the following year. What caught our eye was the trailside orchids, three of which were new to us. All native, first up is Neotinea ustulata | the burnt-tip orchid, which can be found up to 2,400m elevation in the mountains of central and southern Europe (📷2). The aptly-named Serapias lingua | tongue orchid is found throughout the Mediterranean (📷3). Ophrys scolopax | the woodcock orchid is recognisably a bee orchid given its morphology (📷4); it can be found in both the Mediterranean and Middle East. We also re-identified Orchis mascula | the early-purple orchid (📷5).

    Cité de Carcassonne is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as an outstanding example of a medieval fortified town (📷1). First fortified in the Gallo-Roman period ~3rd–4th C. CE, it underwent extensive restorations in the 19th C. Set upon a hill overlooking the modern urban sprawl, the compact site is protected by ~3km of double walls and 52 defensive towers (📷2); it’s 19 € pp to walk the ramparts/ visit the restored château, but free to walk between the rows (without climbing on the outer battlements). The enclosed town is very touristy, filled with trinket shops and eateries, but also offers some architectural curiosities (📷3). Later, at nearby Trèbes, we walked alongside Canal du Midi, a ~360km network of navigable waterways linking the Atlantic (via Garonne) to the Mediterranean using locks, aqueducts, bridges and reservoirs. The canal is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, created through the vision of Pierre-Paul Riquet during 1667–94. The Trèbes Orbiel aqueduct (📷4) was designed by Vauban in 1688 and the town’s staircase lock dates from ~1674.

    Lagrasse is listed among Les Plus Beaux Villages de France | the Most Beautiful Villages of France; S had enjoyed her visit ~20 years ago and wanted to return to this relatively quiet locale, surrounded by hills on the Orbieu River (📷1). It developed around Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse, a Benedictine abbey founded during the 8th C. (📷2), becoming an important religious and economic hub. The village is compact, with stone houses/ artisan shops (in Jul/ Aug it is filled with tourists) and a medieval open-air market hall (📷3). On the path between camp and village we also discovered a new-to-us native orchid, Serapias vomeracea | the long-lipped serapias (📷4).

    Bonus pictures of pretty Lagrasse. A monk in the courtyard of Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse; it’s still an active religious site (📷1). A grey heron fishing in the Orbieu River (📷2). The 40m high fortified bell tower (clocher fortifié) of the abbey church, featuring buttresses with curved flyers; it was heavily modified in the late Middle Ages when the monastery was adapted for defense during periods like the Hundred Years’ War (📷3). Entrance on Rue de la Porte d’Eau, through which typical stone buildings can be seen (📷4). A view from the old bridge, looking back towards the hill on which we camped (📷5). A random village door (📷6). Anacamptis pyramidalis | the pyramidal orchid, with the monastery in the background (📷7).

    Our “small of the day” was captured when S went to empty the toilet cassette—not when you expect to hear “Quick, bring the camera!” This is a native moth, Arctia villica | the cream-spot tiger (📷1). We made our way to Salins de Saint-Martin outside of Gruissan on the Gulf of Lion, although being too early for florid algal blooms, colour differences between salt ponds were subtle (📷2). We followed the marked path 2.1km out to Plage de la Vieille Nouvelle (📷3). En route we did identify a number of birds, mostly at a distance: Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo; Anarhynchus alexandrinus | Kentish plover; Chlidonias hybrida | whiskered tern; Motacilla flava | western yellow wagtail; and Milvus migrans | the black kite. Later we stopped in Béziers, where we watched as boats navigated “Les 9 écluses de Fonseranes”, one of the most impressive engineering features of the Canal du Midi (📷4). Originally a sequence of nine locks (a “staircase”) completed in 1697, seven are typically in use, raising or lowering vessels ~21.5 meters over a short distance.

    Etang Des Mouettes is a a coastal lagoon in Frontignan, formerly a salt production pond with over 600 years of service, now gradually rewilding (📷1). On our dawn walk we found a heron stalking in the shallows (📷2), but there wasn’t enough light to be sure of the species. As the sun rose it illuminated flocks of Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo traversing the pond, with their distinctive long necks, large kinked bills, trailing long pink legs and striking deep pink/ black underside wing plumage (📷3). A look at Frontignan Plage before departing the Mediterranean shore (📷4).

    We drove to the Mont Aigoual summit at 1,565m elevation in Parc national des Cévennes | Cevennes National Park; the park is recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Our route up via Nant and Dourbies was long, winding and frankly tedious, so despite views towards the coast (📷1) and further inland (📷2) we felt less appreciative than we should have. We decided against our intended hike in 7°C and headed down via Gorges de la Jonte. En route the road verge was decorated with numerous native Dactylorhiza sambucina | the elder-flowered orchid, in shades of yellow, deep purple and pink (we first saw it in Theth, Albania). As is common practice, some of the formations in the gorge are named; this is Arcade des Bergers | Shepherds’ Arcade (📷3). The hamlet of Le Truel, where terraces once held vineyards, orchards and vegetable gardens, while sheep and goats grazed sloping pastures (📷4). Gyps fulvus | griffon vultures soar from the cliffs above, seemingly untroubled by the loss of a traditional way of life.

    Gorges du Tarn, also within Parc nationaldes Cévennes, is a canyon carved by the Tarn ~50km long and up to 500m deep. Large parts of the gorge are also included within the UNESCO-listed “Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape”. We began the scenic drive at Le Rozier, working our way west to east via cliffs and tunnels, with frequent stops at viewpoints towards Sainte-Enimie. Hameau semi-troglodyte d’Eglazines | the “semi-troglodyte hamlet of Eglazines” was first to catch our eye (📷1). Although not as high, the hamlet of La Sablière is on the opposite bank of the Tarn, so access/ supplies is via a cableway (📷2). The larger settlement of La Malène is billed as a Petite Cité de Caractère | “Little City of Character” (📷3). Sainte-Enimie is listed as one of the “Most Beautiful Villages in France”; this view is from the river beach (📷4).

    From Sainte-Enimie we entered “Home” into the nav system and headed out of Occitaine. After 8,217km this tour was complete. Related missions logs are as follows:

    Plans for our next trip are uncertain as we await easing of global disruption.

    #2026 #andorra #camperVan #europe #france #hiking #nationalPark #nature #nomad #occitanie #roadTrip #romans #spain #travel #unesco #vanLife
    #andorra #campervan #europe #france #hiking #nationalpark
  2. Curiosity Drive @[email protected] ·

    Andorra and Occitanie

    For this mission our focus had been on Spain and Portugal, but we took the opportunity to briefly transit Andorra and to visit those western parts of Occitanie we didn’t have time for on our previous trip into France.

    Coordinates

    Andorra

    Andorra in a nutshell

    Andorra isn’t an EU country (so there was a border crossing from Spain and no EU roaming—46€ per SMS—just robbery!), but it uses the Euro by agreement. It has a similar GDP per capita to NZ, with a population of ~80,000 who speak Catalan as a first language (most of whom also speak Spanish and/or French). Andorra is a co-principality (with largely ceremonial co-princes being the President of France and Spain’s Bishop of Urgel), governed as a parliamentary democracy.

    🧭 Exploring

    Andorra la Vella, the capital, put on a damp and cold welcome after weeks of sunshine in Spain and Portugal (📷1). It does have geothermal waters (Caldea in contiguous Escaldes-Engordany is one of Europe’s largest thermal spa complexes) but isn’t regarded as a traditional spa town. We found it:

    • Like Spain, but less dry and warm—possibly unfair given our limited transit.
    • Like France, but without old stones—much of Barri Antic appears comparatively modern (📷2) and there are no Roman ruins (although Casa de la Vall, a former parliament building, dates from 1580)
    • Like Monaco, but without yachts—although a fast-flowing river runs through this valley-confined city (📷3)
    • Like Dubai, but without sand—although money passes through fingers here similarly in this shopping mecca, due to low taxes (📷4).

    A machete with your charge cable?

    We are at a loss to explain why most electronic stores also sell “personal weapons” (knives, guns, etc…). We find this both weird and scary!

    🤔 Curiosity

    Andorra is more than a country of one city: ~94% of the land and ~73% of the population are outside Andorra la Vella. Vall del Madriu-Perafita-Claror | Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley is Andorra’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed as a cultural landscape. We accessed it via the official “Volta a Ràmio” trail. From parking above the village of Engolasters it was a steep 35min climb through pine forest to Coll de Jovell at 1,780m, from where we began descending into the glacier-formed valley. At the 2km mark we reached Ràmio in the valley’s bottom end (📷1). The valley makes up ~9% of Andorra and is regarded as a time capsule for traditional mountain usage with limited modern development. Ràmio gave us a first glimpse into how people shaped the high Pyrenees over centuries through pastoralism, farming and communal land management (📷2). The trail continued up the valley, mostly alongside the Riu Madriu to the constant roar of white water, with ever-present granite underfoot/ in dry-stone walls and the scent of damp moss and pine needles in the air. At just over 4km/ 2h 10min into the hike we came to Refugi de Fontverd, not unlike a NZ-style DOC hut, at 1,875m elevation (📷3). We returned to the Coll via a higher path, which gave us superior views back up the valley (📷4). The 9km loop hike took us 4h 15min.

    As we drove back down from Engolasters we stopped to snap the top end of Escaldes-Engordany, which illustrates its rather dramatic valley confinement (📷1). A switchback sequence took us to Mirador Roc del Quer near Canillo, where we appreciated the views in several directions, such as this (📷2), without paying 6€ pp to stand on a suspended platform. Just beyond Canillo we stopped again at Sant Joan de Caselles, said to be a fine example of old Andorran architecture (📷3) and inside, one of the best preserved Romanesque interiors; the door was however bolted. We exited Andorra by heading for Col de Puymorens at 1,915m in the French Pyrénées (📷4); you can avoid the pass via a tolled tunnel.

    Occitanie

    A piece of Spain—inside France!

    After reaching Occitanie we transited the Spanish/ Catalonian enclave of Llívia, a town of some 13 square kilometres that was excluded from transfer to France in the Treaty of the Pyrénées (1659) because the said border agreement only specified the transfer of “villages”!

    🧭 Exploring

    We parked for our first night in Occitanie in Mont-Louis, beneath the walls of the town (📷1); at ~1,600m elevation it’s France’s highest fortified town and together with the c. 1679 citadel—an active commando training facility—is part of the “Fortifications of Vauban” UNESCO listing. Villefranche-de-Conflent is another of 12 UNESCO-listed fortified sites designed by military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, together representing a coherent defensive system across France. It’s considerably more tourist-oriented; we took the opportunity to walk the restored late 17th C. ramparts (📷2) and stroll through the town’s medieval streets (📷3). Next up was Musée de Préhistoire de Tautavel | Tautavel Prehistory Museum, featuring rather dated and underwhelming exhibits (cf. Altamira) around findings from La Caune de l’Arago | the Arago Cave. People seasonally camped here from ~690,000 years ago, as imagined in this unconvincing “facsimile” cave set 500,000 years ago (📷4). All displayed human bones (including the signature “Tautavel Man”, possibly a Homo erectus subspecies, compiled from fragments of ~20 individuals) are moulds. We also drove to the actual limestone cave in nearby Gouleyrous gorge, situated in the middle of a cliff, but you can’t access it.

    Château de Quéribus at Cucugnan (📷1) and nearby Château de Peyrepertuse at Duilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse (📷2) are two of eight “Royal Fortresses of Languedoc” aspiring to UNESCO World Heritage status. Languedoc was shaped by Roman rule, became a centre of medieval Occitan culture, was devastated by the Albigensian Crusade before being integrated into the French kingdom. Château de Peyrepertuse sits on a limestone ridge at 800m elevation and is first mentioned in records from 1020 CE (📷3); this view is from parking close to the ticket gate (we decided not to go inside). It came into royal possession in 1240 CE, its former owner William of Peyrepertuse having been excommunicated for supporting the Cathars (a medieval Christian sect in southern Europe who believed in strict division between a good spiritual realm and an evil material world, leading the Pope to label them heretics). After the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees the castle lost its strategic importance; it was finally abandoned during the French Revolution. There’s free access to a lookout platform from which you can see the ruin of Château de Quéribus and beyond it, the Mediterranean Sea (📷4).

    Upon leaving Château de Peyrepertuse bound for Carcassonne we took the D14, a narrow winding backroad between hills cloaked in forest and meadows, intermittently punctuated with small villages. One such village is Bugarach, on the outskirts of which is a 700m path to Pont Romain, a single-arch stone bridge across a limestone basin on the Roman road linking the village to Rennes-les-Bains (📷1). Although the original was probably Gallo-Roman, it was destroyed in 1992 by flooding but faithfully restored the following year. What caught our eye was the trailside orchids, three of which were new to us. All native, first up is Neotinea ustulata | the burnt-tip orchid, which can be found up to 2,400m elevation in the mountains of central and southern Europe (📷2). The aptly-named Serapias lingua | tongue orchid is found throughout the Mediterranean (📷3). Ophrys scolopax | the woodcock orchid is recognisably a bee orchid given its morphology (📷4); it can be found in both the Mediterranean and Middle East. We also re-identified Orchis mascula | the early-purple orchid (📷5).

    Cité de Carcassonne is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as an outstanding example of a medieval fortified town (📷1). First fortified in the Gallo-Roman period ~3rd–4th C. CE, it underwent extensive restorations in the 19th C. Set upon a hill overlooking the modern urban sprawl, the compact site is protected by ~3km of double walls and 52 defensive towers (📷2); it’s 19 € pp to walk the ramparts/ visit the restored château, but free to walk between the rows (without climbing on the outer battlements). The enclosed town is very touristy, filled with trinket shops and eateries, but also offers some architectural curiosities (📷3). Later, at nearby Trèbes, we walked alongside Canal du Midi, a ~360km network of navigable waterways linking the Atlantic (via Garonne) to the Mediterranean using locks, aqueducts, bridges and reservoirs. The canal is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, created through the vision of Pierre-Paul Riquet during 1667–94. The Trèbes Orbiel aqueduct (📷4) was designed by Vauban in 1688 and the town’s staircase lock dates from ~1674.

    Lagrasse is listed among Les Plus Beaux Villages de France | the Most Beautiful Villages of France; S had enjoyed her visit ~20 years ago and wanted to return to this relatively quiet locale, surrounded by hills on the Orbieu River (📷1). It developed around Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse, a Benedictine abbey founded during the 8th C. (📷2), becoming an important religious and economic hub. The village is compact, with stone houses/ artisan shops (in Jul/ Aug it is filled with tourists) and a medieval open-air market hall (📷3). On the path between camp and village we also discovered a new-to-us native orchid, Serapias vomeracea | the long-lipped serapias (📷4).

    Bonus pictures of pretty Lagrasse. A monk in the courtyard of Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse; it’s still an active religious site (📷1). A grey heron fishing in the Orbieu River (📷2). The 40m high fortified bell tower (clocher fortifié) of the abbey church, featuring buttresses with curved flyers; it was heavily modified in the late Middle Ages when the monastery was adapted for defense during periods like the Hundred Years’ War (📷3). Entrance on Rue de la Porte d’Eau, through which typical stone buildings can be seen (📷4). A view from the old bridge, looking back towards the hill on which we camped (📷5). A random village door (📷6). Anacamptis pyramidalis | the pyramidal orchid, with the monastery in the background (📷7).

    Our “small of the day” was captured when S went to empty the toilet cassette—not when you expect to hear “Quick, bring the camera!” This is a native moth, Arctia villica | the cream-spot tiger (📷1). We made our way to Salins de Saint-Martin outside of Gruissan on the Gulf of Lion, although being too early for florid algal blooms, colour differences between salt ponds were subtle (📷2). We followed the marked path 2.1km out to Plage de la Vieille Nouvelle (📷3). En route we did identify a number of birds, mostly at a distance: Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo; Anarhynchus alexandrinus | Kentish plover; Chlidonias hybrida | whiskered tern; Motacilla flava | western yellow wagtail; and Milvus migrans | the black kite. Later we stopped in Béziers, where we watched as boats navigated “Les 9 écluses de Fonseranes”, one of the most impressive engineering features of the Canal du Midi (📷4). Originally a sequence of nine locks (a “staircase”) completed in 1697, seven are typically in use, raising or lowering vessels ~21.5 meters over a short distance.

    Etang Des Mouettes is a a coastal lagoon in Frontignan, formerly a salt production pond with over 600 years of service, now gradually rewilding (📷1). On our dawn walk we found a heron stalking in the shallows (📷2), but there wasn’t enough light to be sure of the species. As the sun rose it illuminated flocks of Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo traversing the pond, with their distinctive long necks, large kinked bills, trailing long pink legs and striking deep pink/ black underside wing plumage (📷3). A look at Frontignan Plage before departing the Mediterranean shore (📷4).

    We drove to the Mont Aigoual summit at 1,565m elevation in Parc national des Cévennes | Cevennes National Park; the park is recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Our route up via Nant and Dourbies was long, winding and frankly tedious, so despite views towards the coast (📷1) and further inland (📷2) we felt less appreciative than we should have. We decided against our intended hike in 7°C and headed down via Gorges de la Jonte. En route the road verge was decorated with numerous native Dactylorhiza sambucina | the elder-flowered orchid, in shades of yellow, deep purple and pink (we first saw it in Theth, Albania). As is common practice, some of the formations in the gorge are named; this is Arcade des Bergers | Shepherds’ Arcade (📷3). The hamlet of Le Truel, where terraces once held vineyards, orchards and vegetable gardens, while sheep and goats grazed sloping pastures (📷4). Gyps fulvus | griffon vultures soar from the cliffs above, seemingly untroubled by the loss of a traditional way of life.

    Gorges du Tarn, also within Parc nationaldes Cévennes, is a canyon carved by the Tarn ~50km long and up to 500m deep. Large parts of the gorge are also included within the UNESCO-listed “Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape”. We began the scenic drive at Le Rozier, working our way west to east via cliffs and tunnels, with frequent stops at viewpoints towards Sainte-Enimie. Hameau semi-troglodyte d’Eglazines | the “semi-troglodyte hamlet of Eglazines” was first to catch our eye (📷1). Although not as high, the hamlet of La Sablière is on the opposite bank of the Tarn, so access/ supplies is via a cableway (📷2). The larger settlement of La Malène is billed as a Petite Cité de Caractère | “Little City of Character” (📷3). Sainte-Enimie is listed as one of the “Most Beautiful Villages in France”; this view is from the river beach (📷4).

    From Sainte-Enimie we entered “Home” into the nav system and headed out of Occitaine. After 8,217km this tour was complete. Related missions logs are as follows:

    Plans for our next trip are uncertain as we await easing of global disruption.

    #2026 #andorra #camperVan #europe #france #hiking #nationalPark #nature #nomad #occitanie #roadTrip #romans #spain #travel #unesco #vanLife
    #andorra #campervan #europe #france #hiking #nationalpark
  3. Curiosity Drive @[email protected] ·

    Andorra and Occitanie

    For this mission our focus had been on Spain and Portugal, but we took the opportunity to briefly transit Andorra and to visit those western parts of Occitanie we didn’t have time for on our previous trip into France.

    Coordinates

    Andorra

    Andorra in a nutshell

    Andorra isn’t an EU country (so there was a border crossing from Spain and no EU roaming—46€ per SMS—just robbery!), but it uses the Euro by agreement. It has a similar GDP per capita to NZ, with a population of ~80,000 who speak Catalan as a first language (most of whom also speak Spanish and/or French). Andorra is a co-principality (with largely ceremonial co-princes being the President of France and Spain’s Bishop of Urgel), governed as a parliamentary democracy.

    🧭 Exploring

    Andorra la Vella, the capital, put on a damp and cold welcome after weeks of sunshine in Spain and Portugal (📷1). It does have geothermal waters (Caldea in contiguous Escaldes-Engordany is one of Europe’s largest thermal spa complexes) but isn’t regarded as a traditional spa town. We found it:

    • Like Spain, but less dry and warm—possibly unfair given our limited transit.
    • Like France, but without old stones—much of Barri Antic appears comparatively modern (📷2) and there are no Roman ruins (although Casa de la Vall, a former parliament building, dates from 1580)
    • Like Monaco, but without yachts—although a fast-flowing river runs through this valley-confined city (📷3)
    • Like Dubai, but without sand—although money passes through fingers here similarly in this shopping mecca, due to low taxes (📷4).

    A machete with your charge cable?

    We are at a loss to explain why most electronic stores also sell “personal weapons” (knives, guns, etc…). We find this both weird and scary!

    🤔 Curiosity

    Andorra is more than a country of one city: ~94% of the land and ~73% of the population are outside Andorra la Vella. Vall del Madriu-Perafita-Claror | Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley is Andorra’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed as a cultural landscape. We accessed it via the official “Volta a Ràmio” trail. From parking above the village of Engolasters it was a steep 35min climb through pine forest to Coll de Jovell at 1,780m, from where we began descending into the glacier-formed valley. At the 2km mark we reached Ràmio in the valley’s bottom end (📷1). The valley makes up ~9% of Andorra and is regarded as a time capsule for traditional mountain usage with limited modern development. Ràmio gave us a first glimpse into how people shaped the high Pyrenees over centuries through pastoralism, farming and communal land management (📷2). The trail continued up the valley, mostly alongside the Riu Madriu to the constant roar of white water, with ever-present granite underfoot/ in dry-stone walls and the scent of damp moss and pine needles in the air. At just over 4km/ 2h 10min into the hike we came to Refugi de Fontverd, not unlike a NZ-style DOC hut, at 1,875m elevation (📷3). We returned to the Coll via a higher path, which gave us superior views back up the valley (📷4). The 9km loop hike took us 4h 15min.

    As we drove back down from Engolasters we stopped to snap the top end of Escaldes-Engordany, which illustrates its rather dramatic valley confinement (📷1). A switchback sequence took us to Mirador Roc del Quer near Canillo, where we appreciated the views in several directions, such as this (📷2), without paying 6€ pp to stand on a suspended platform. Just beyond Canillo we stopped again at Sant Joan de Caselles, said to be a fine example of old Andorran architecture (📷3) and inside, one of the best preserved Romanesque interiors; the door was however bolted. We exited Andorra by heading for Col de Puymorens at 1,915m in the French Pyrénées (📷4); you can avoid the pass via a tolled tunnel.

    Occitanie

    A piece of Spain—inside France!

    After reaching Occitanie we transited the Spanish/ Catalonian enclave of Llívia, a town of some 13 square kilometres that was excluded from transfer to France in the Treaty of the Pyrénées (1659) because the said border agreement only specified the transfer of “villages”!

    🧭 Exploring

    We parked for our first night in Occitanie in Mont-Louis, beneath the walls of the town (📷1); at ~1,600m elevation it’s France’s highest fortified town and together with the c. 1679 citadel—an active commando training facility—is part of the “Fortifications of Vauban” UNESCO listing. Villefranche-de-Conflent is another of 12 UNESCO-listed fortified sites designed by military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, together representing a coherent defensive system across France. It’s considerably more tourist-oriented; we took the opportunity to walk the restored late 17th C. ramparts (📷2) and stroll through the town’s medieval streets (📷3). Next up was Musée de Préhistoire de Tautavel | Tautavel Prehistory Museum, featuring rather dated and underwhelming exhibits (cf. Altamira) around findings from La Caune de l’Arago | the Arago Cave. People seasonally camped here from ~690,000 years ago, as imagined in this unconvincing “facsimile” cave set 500,000 years ago (📷4). All displayed human bones (including the signature “Tautavel Man”, possibly a Homo erectus subspecies, compiled from fragments of ~20 individuals) are moulds. We also drove to the actual limestone cave in nearby Gouleyrous gorge, situated in the middle of a cliff, but you can’t access it.

    Château de Quéribus at Cucugnan (📷1) and nearby Château de Peyrepertuse at Duilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse (📷2) are two of eight “Royal Fortresses of Languedoc” aspiring to UNESCO World Heritage status. Languedoc was shaped by Roman rule, became a centre of medieval Occitan culture, was devastated by the Albigensian Crusade before being integrated into the French kingdom. Château de Peyrepertuse sits on a limestone ridge at 800m elevation and is first mentioned in records from 1020 CE (📷3); this view is from parking close to the ticket gate (we decided not to go inside). It came into royal possession in 1240 CE, its former owner William of Peyrepertuse having been excommunicated for supporting the Cathars (a medieval Christian sect in southern Europe who believed in strict division between a good spiritual realm and an evil material world, leading the Pope to label them heretics). After the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees the castle lost its strategic importance; it was finally abandoned during the French Revolution. There’s free access to a lookout platform from which you can see the ruin of Château de Quéribus and beyond it, the Mediterranean Sea (📷4).

    Upon leaving Château de Peyrepertuse bound for Carcassonne we took the D14, a narrow winding backroad between hills cloaked in forest and meadows, intermittently punctuated with small villages. One such village is Bugarach, on the outskirts of which is a 700m path to Pont Romain, a single-arch stone bridge across a limestone basin on the Roman road linking the village to Rennes-les-Bains (📷1). Although the original was probably Gallo-Roman, it was destroyed in 1992 by flooding but faithfully restored the following year. What caught our eye was the trailside orchids, three of which were new to us. All native, first up is Neotinea ustulata | the burnt-tip orchid, which can be found up to 2,400m elevation in the mountains of central and southern Europe (📷2). The aptly-named Serapias lingua | tongue orchid is found throughout the Mediterranean (📷3). Ophrys scolopax | the woodcock orchid is recognisably a bee orchid given its morphology (📷4); it can be found in both the Mediterranean and Middle East. We also re-identified Orchis mascula | the early-purple orchid (📷5).

    Cité de Carcassonne is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as an outstanding example of a medieval fortified town (📷1). First fortified in the Gallo-Roman period ~3rd–4th C. CE, it underwent extensive restorations in the 19th C. Set upon a hill overlooking the modern urban sprawl, the compact site is protected by ~3km of double walls and 52 defensive towers (📷2); it’s 19 € pp to walk the ramparts/ visit the restored château, but free to walk between the rows (without climbing on the outer battlements). The enclosed town is very touristy, filled with trinket shops and eateries, but also offers some architectural curiosities (📷3). Later, at nearby Trèbes, we walked alongside Canal du Midi, a ~360km network of navigable waterways linking the Atlantic (via Garonne) to the Mediterranean using locks, aqueducts, bridges and reservoirs. The canal is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, created through the vision of Pierre-Paul Riquet during 1667–94. The Trèbes Orbiel aqueduct (📷4) was designed by Vauban in 1688 and the town’s staircase lock dates from ~1674.

    Lagrasse is listed among Les Plus Beaux Villages de France | the Most Beautiful Villages of France; S had enjoyed her visit ~20 years ago and wanted to return to this relatively quiet locale, surrounded by hills on the Orbieu River (📷1). It developed around Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse, a Benedictine abbey founded during the 8th C. (📷2), becoming an important religious and economic hub. The village is compact, with stone houses/ artisan shops (in Jul/ Aug it is filled with tourists) and a medieval open-air market hall (📷3). On the path between camp and village we also discovered a new-to-us native orchid, Serapias vomeracea | the long-lipped serapias (📷4).

    Bonus pictures of pretty Lagrasse. A monk in the courtyard of Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse; it’s still an active religious site (📷1). A grey heron fishing in the Orbieu River (📷2). The 40m high fortified bell tower (clocher fortifié) of the abbey church, featuring buttresses with curved flyers; it was heavily modified in the late Middle Ages when the monastery was adapted for defense during periods like the Hundred Years’ War (📷3). Entrance on Rue de la Porte d’Eau, through which typical stone buildings can be seen (📷4). A view from the old bridge, looking back towards the hill on which we camped (📷5). A random village door (📷6). Anacamptis pyramidalis | the pyramidal orchid, with the monastery in the background (📷7).

    Our “small of the day” was captured when S went to empty the toilet cassette—not when you expect to hear “Quick, bring the camera!” This is a native moth, Arctia villica | the cream-spot tiger (📷1). We made our way to Salins de Saint-Martin outside of Gruissan on the Gulf of Lion, although being too early for florid algal blooms, colour differences between salt ponds were subtle (📷2). We followed the marked path 2.1km out to Plage de la Vieille Nouvelle (📷3). En route we did identify a number of birds, mostly at a distance: Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo; Anarhynchus alexandrinus | Kentish plover; Chlidonias hybrida | whiskered tern; Motacilla flava | western yellow wagtail; and Milvus migrans | the black kite. Later we stopped in Béziers, where we watched as boats navigated “Les 9 écluses de Fonseranes”, one of the most impressive engineering features of the Canal du Midi (📷4). Originally a sequence of nine locks (a “staircase”) completed in 1697, seven are typically in use, raising or lowering vessels ~21.5 meters over a short distance.

    Etang Des Mouettes is a a coastal lagoon in Frontignan, formerly a salt production pond with over 600 years of service, now gradually rewilding (📷1). On our dawn walk we found a heron stalking in the shallows (📷2), but there wasn’t enough light to be sure of the species. As the sun rose it illuminated flocks of Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo traversing the pond, with their distinctive long necks, large kinked bills, trailing long pink legs and striking deep pink/ black underside wing plumage (📷3). A look at Frontignan Plage before departing the Mediterranean shore (📷4).

    We drove to the Mont Aigoual summit at 1,565m elevation in Parc national des Cévennes | Cevennes National Park; the park is recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Our route up via Nant and Dourbies was long, winding and frankly tedious, so despite views towards the coast (📷1) and further inland (📷2) we felt less appreciative than we should have. We decided against our intended hike in 7°C and headed down via Gorges de la Jonte. En route the road verge was decorated with numerous native Dactylorhiza sambucina | the elder-flowered orchid, in shades of yellow, deep purple and pink (we first saw it in Theth, Albania). As is common practice, some of the formations in the gorge are named; this is Arcade des Bergers | Shepherds’ Arcade (📷3). The hamlet of Le Truel, where terraces once held vineyards, orchards and vegetable gardens, while sheep and goats grazed sloping pastures (📷4). Gyps fulvus | griffon vultures soar from the cliffs above, seemingly untroubled by the loss of a traditional way of life.

    Gorges du Tarn, also within Parc nationaldes Cévennes, is a canyon carved by the Tarn ~50km long and up to 500m deep. Large parts of the gorge are also included within the UNESCO-listed “Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape”. We began the scenic drive at Le Rozier, working our way west to east via cliffs and tunnels, with frequent stops at viewpoints towards Sainte-Enimie. Hameau semi-troglodyte d’Eglazines | the “semi-troglodyte hamlet of Eglazines” was first to catch our eye (📷1). Although not as high, the hamlet of La Sablière is on the opposite bank of the Tarn, so access/ supplies is via a cableway (📷2). The larger settlement of La Malène is billed as a Petite Cité de Caractère | “Little City of Character” (📷3). Sainte-Enimie is listed as one of the “Most Beautiful Villages in France”; this view is from the river beach (📷4).

    From Sainte-Enimie we entered “Home” into the nav system and headed out of Occitaine. After 8,217km this tour was complete. Related missions logs are as follows:

    Plans for our next trip are uncertain as we await easing of global disruption.

    #2026 #andorra #camperVan #europe #france #hiking #nationalPark #nature #nomad #occitanie #roadTrip #romans #spain #travel #unesco #vanLife
    #andorra #campervan #europe #france #hiking #nationalpark
  4. Curiosity Drive @[email protected] ·

    Andorra and Occitanie

    For this mission our focus had been on Spain and Portugal, but we took the opportunity to briefly transit Andorra and to visit those western parts of Occitanie we didn’t have time for on our previous trip into France.

    Coordinates

    Andorra

    Andorra in a nutshell

    Andorra isn’t an EU country (so there was a border crossing from Spain and no EU roaming—46€ per SMS—just robbery!), but it uses the Euro by agreement. It has a similar GDP per capita to NZ, with a population of ~80,000 who speak Catalan as a first language (most of whom also speak Spanish and/or French). Andorra is a co-principality (with largely ceremonial co-princes being the President of France and Spain’s Bishop of Urgel), governed as a parliamentary democracy.

    🧭 Exploring

    Andorra la Vella, the capital, put on a damp and cold welcome after weeks of sunshine in Spain and Portugal (📷1). It does have geothermal waters (Caldea in contiguous Escaldes-Engordany is one of Europe’s largest thermal spa complexes) but isn’t regarded as a traditional spa town. We found it:

    • Like Spain, but less dry and warm—possibly unfair given our limited transit.
    • Like France, but without old stones—much of Barri Antic appears comparatively modern (📷2) and there are no Roman ruins (although Casa de la Vall, a former parliament building, dates from 1580)
    • Like Monaco, but without yachts—although a fast-flowing river runs through this valley-confined city (📷3)
    • Like Dubai, but without sand—although money passes through fingers here similarly in this shopping mecca, due to low taxes (📷4).

    A machete with your charge cable?

    We are at a loss to explain why most electronic stores also sell “personal weapons” (knives, guns, etc…). We find this both weird and scary!

    🤔 Curiosity

    Andorra is more than a country of one city: ~94% of the land and ~73% of the population are outside Andorra la Vella. Vall del Madriu-Perafita-Claror | Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley is Andorra’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed as a cultural landscape. We accessed it via the official “Volta a Ràmio” trail. From parking above the village of Engolasters it was a steep 35min climb through pine forest to Coll de Jovell at 1,780m, from where we began descending into the glacier-formed valley. At the 2km mark we reached Ràmio in the valley’s bottom end (📷1). The valley makes up ~9% of Andorra and is regarded as a time capsule for traditional mountain usage with limited modern development. Ràmio gave us a first glimpse into how people shaped the high Pyrenees over centuries through pastoralism, farming and communal land management (📷2). The trail continued up the valley, mostly alongside the Riu Madriu to the constant roar of white water, with ever-present granite underfoot/ in dry-stone walls and the scent of damp moss and pine needles in the air. At just over 4km/ 2h 10min into the hike we came to Refugi de Fontverd, not unlike a NZ-style DOC hut, at 1,875m elevation (📷3). We returned to the Coll via a higher path, which gave us superior views back up the valley (📷4). The 9km loop hike took us 4h 15min.

    As we drove back down from Engolasters we stopped to snap the top end of Escaldes-Engordany, which illustrates its rather dramatic valley confinement (📷1). A switchback sequence took us to Mirador Roc del Quer near Canillo, where we appreciated the views in several directions, such as this (📷2), without paying 6€ pp to stand on a suspended platform. Just beyond Canillo we stopped again at Sant Joan de Caselles, said to be a fine example of old Andorran architecture (📷3) and inside, one of the best preserved Romanesque interiors; the door was however bolted. We exited Andorra by heading for Col de Puymorens at 1,915m in the French Pyrénées (📷4); you can avoid the pass via a tolled tunnel.

    Occitanie

    A piece of Spain—inside France!

    After reaching Occitanie we transited the Spanish/ Catalonian enclave of Llívia, a town of some 13 square kilometres that was excluded from transfer to France in the Treaty of the Pyrénées (1659) because the said border agreement only specified the transfer of “villages”!

    🧭 Exploring

    We parked for our first night in Occitanie in Mont-Louis, beneath the walls of the town (📷1); at ~1,600m elevation it’s France’s highest fortified town and together with the c. 1679 citadel—an active commando training facility—is part of the “Fortifications of Vauban” UNESCO listing. Villefranche-de-Conflent is another of 12 UNESCO-listed fortified sites designed by military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, together representing a coherent defensive system across France. It’s considerably more tourist-oriented; we took the opportunity to walk the restored late 17th C. ramparts (📷2) and stroll through the town’s medieval streets (📷3). Next up was Musée de Préhistoire de Tautavel | Tautavel Prehistory Museum, featuring rather dated and underwhelming exhibits (cf. Altamira) around findings from La Caune de l’Arago | the Arago Cave. People seasonally camped here from ~690,000 years ago, as imagined in this unconvincing “facsimile” cave set 500,000 years ago (📷4). All displayed human bones (including the signature “Tautavel Man”, possibly a Homo erectus subspecies, compiled from fragments of ~20 individuals) are moulds. We also drove to the actual limestone cave in nearby Gouleyrous gorge, situated in the middle of a cliff, but you can’t access it.

    Château de Quéribus at Cucugnan (📷1) and nearby Château de Peyrepertuse at Duilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse (📷2) are two of eight “Royal Fortresses of Languedoc” aspiring to UNESCO World Heritage status. Languedoc was shaped by Roman rule, became a centre of medieval Occitan culture, was devastated by the Albigensian Crusade before being integrated into the French kingdom. Château de Peyrepertuse sits on a limestone ridge at 800m elevation and is first mentioned in records from 1020 CE (📷3); this view is from parking close to the ticket gate (we decided not to go inside). It came into royal possession in 1240 CE, its former owner William of Peyrepertuse having been excommunicated for supporting the Cathars (a medieval Christian sect in southern Europe who believed in strict division between a good spiritual realm and an evil material world, leading the Pope to label them heretics). After the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees the castle lost its strategic importance; it was finally abandoned during the French Revolution. There’s free access to a lookout platform from which you can see the ruin of Château de Quéribus and beyond it, the Mediterranean Sea (📷4).

    Upon leaving Château de Peyrepertuse bound for Carcassonne we took the D14, a narrow winding backroad between hills cloaked in forest and meadows, intermittently punctuated with small villages. One such village is Bugarach, on the outskirts of which is a 700m path to Pont Romain, a single-arch stone bridge across a limestone basin on the Roman road linking the village to Rennes-les-Bains (📷1). Although the original was probably Gallo-Roman, it was destroyed in 1992 by flooding but faithfully restored the following year. What caught our eye was the trailside orchids, three of which were new to us. All native, first up is Neotinea ustulata | the burnt-tip orchid, which can be found up to 2,400m elevation in the mountains of central and southern Europe (📷2). The aptly-named Serapias lingua | tongue orchid is found throughout the Mediterranean (📷3). Ophrys scolopax | the woodcock orchid is recognisably a bee orchid given its morphology (📷4); it can be found in both the Mediterranean and Middle East. We also re-identified Orchis mascula | the early-purple orchid (📷5).

    Cité de Carcassonne is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as an outstanding example of a medieval fortified town (📷1). First fortified in the Gallo-Roman period ~3rd–4th C. CE, it underwent extensive restorations in the 19th C. Set upon a hill overlooking the modern urban sprawl, the compact site is protected by ~3km of double walls and 52 defensive towers (📷2); it’s 19 € pp to walk the ramparts/ visit the restored château, but free to walk between the rows (without climbing on the outer battlements). The enclosed town is very touristy, filled with trinket shops and eateries, but also offers some architectural curiosities (📷3). Later, at nearby Trèbes, we walked alongside Canal du Midi, a ~360km network of navigable waterways linking the Atlantic (via Garonne) to the Mediterranean using locks, aqueducts, bridges and reservoirs. The canal is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, created through the vision of Pierre-Paul Riquet during 1667–94. The Trèbes Orbiel aqueduct (📷4) was designed by Vauban in 1688 and the town’s staircase lock dates from ~1674.

    Lagrasse is listed among Les Plus Beaux Villages de France | the Most Beautiful Villages of France; S had enjoyed her visit ~20 years ago and wanted to return to this relatively quiet locale, surrounded by hills on the Orbieu River (📷1). It developed around Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse, a Benedictine abbey founded during the 8th C. (📷2), becoming an important religious and economic hub. The village is compact, with stone houses/ artisan shops (in Jul/ Aug it is filled with tourists) and a medieval open-air market hall (📷3). On the path between camp and village we also discovered a new-to-us native orchid, Serapias vomeracea | the long-lipped serapias (📷4).

    Bonus pictures of pretty Lagrasse. A monk in the courtyard of Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse; it’s still an active religious site (📷1). A grey heron fishing in the Orbieu River (📷2). The 40m high fortified bell tower (clocher fortifié) of the abbey church, featuring buttresses with curved flyers; it was heavily modified in the late Middle Ages when the monastery was adapted for defense during periods like the Hundred Years’ War (📷3). Entrance on Rue de la Porte d’Eau, through which typical stone buildings can be seen (📷4). A view from the old bridge, looking back towards the hill on which we camped (📷5). A random village door (📷6). Anacamptis pyramidalis | the pyramidal orchid, with the monastery in the background (📷7).

    Our “small of the day” was captured when S went to empty the toilet cassette—not when you expect to hear “Quick, bring the camera!” This is a native moth, Arctia villica | the cream-spot tiger (📷1). We made our way to Salins de Saint-Martin outside of Gruissan on the Gulf of Lion, although being too early for florid algal blooms, colour differences between salt ponds were subtle (📷2). We followed the marked path 2.1km out to Plage de la Vieille Nouvelle (📷3). En route we did identify a number of birds, mostly at a distance: Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo; Anarhynchus alexandrinus | Kentish plover; Chlidonias hybrida | whiskered tern; Motacilla flava | western yellow wagtail; and Milvus migrans | the black kite. Later we stopped in Béziers, where we watched as boats navigated “Les 9 écluses de Fonseranes”, one of the most impressive engineering features of the Canal du Midi (📷4). Originally a sequence of nine locks (a “staircase”) completed in 1697, seven are typically in use, raising or lowering vessels ~21.5 meters over a short distance.

    Etang Des Mouettes is a a coastal lagoon in Frontignan, formerly a salt production pond with over 600 years of service, now gradually rewilding (📷1). On our dawn walk we found a heron stalking in the shallows (📷2), but there wasn’t enough light to be sure of the species. As the sun rose it illuminated flocks of Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo traversing the pond, with their distinctive long necks, large kinked bills, trailing long pink legs and striking deep pink/ black underside wing plumage (📷3). A look at Frontignan Plage before departing the Mediterranean shore (📷4).

    We drove to the Mont Aigoual summit at 1,565m elevation in Parc national des Cévennes | Cevennes National Park; the park is recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Our route up via Nant and Dourbies was long, winding and frankly tedious, so despite views towards the coast (📷1) and further inland (📷2) we felt less appreciative than we should have. We decided against our intended hike in 7°C and headed down via Gorges de la Jonte. En route the road verge was decorated with numerous native Dactylorhiza sambucina | the elder-flowered orchid, in shades of yellow, deep purple and pink (we first saw it in Theth, Albania). As is common practice, some of the formations in the gorge are named; this is Arcade des Bergers | Shepherds’ Arcade (📷3). The hamlet of Le Truel, where terraces once held vineyards, orchards and vegetable gardens, while sheep and goats grazed sloping pastures (📷4). Gyps fulvus | griffon vultures soar from the cliffs above, seemingly untroubled by the loss of a traditional way of life.

    Gorges du Tarn, also within Parc nationaldes Cévennes, is a canyon carved by the Tarn ~50km long and up to 500m deep. Large parts of the gorge are also included within the UNESCO-listed “Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape”. We began the scenic drive at Le Rozier, working our way west to east via cliffs and tunnels, with frequent stops at viewpoints towards Sainte-Enimie. Hameau semi-troglodyte d’Eglazines | the “semi-troglodyte hamlet of Eglazines” was first to catch our eye (📷1). Although not as high, the hamlet of La Sablière is on the opposite bank of the Tarn, so access/ supplies is via a cableway (📷2). The larger settlement of La Malène is billed as a Petite Cité de Caractère | “Little City of Character” (📷3). Sainte-Enimie is listed as one of the “Most Beautiful Villages in France”; this view is from the river beach (📷4).

    From Sainte-Enimie we entered “Home” into the nav system and headed out of Occitaine. After 8,217km this tour was complete. Related missions logs are as follows:

    Plans for our next trip are uncertain as we await easing of global disruption.

    #2026 #andorra #camperVan #europe #france #hiking #nationalPark #nature #nomad #occitanie #roadTrip #romans #spain #travel #unesco #vanLife
    #vanlife #unesco #travel #spain #romans #roadtrip
  5. Curiosity Drive @[email protected] ·

    Andorra and Occitanie

    For this mission our focus had been on Spain and Portugal, but we took the opportunity to briefly transit Andorra and to visit those western parts of Occitanie we didn’t have time for on our previous trip into France.

    Coordinates

    Andorra

    Andorra in a nutshell

    Andorra isn’t an EU country (so there was a border crossing from Spain and no EU roaming—46€ per SMS—just robbery!), but it uses the Euro by agreement. It has a similar GDP per capita to NZ, with a population of ~80,000 who speak Catalan as a first language (most of whom also speak Spanish and/or French). Andorra is a co-principality (with largely ceremonial co-princes being the President of France and Spain’s Bishop of Urgel), governed as a parliamentary democracy.

    🧭 Exploring

    Andorra la Vella, the capital, put on a damp and cold welcome after weeks of sunshine in Spain and Portugal (📷1). It does have geothermal waters (Caldea in contiguous Escaldes-Engordany is one of Europe’s largest thermal spa complexes) but isn’t regarded as a traditional spa town. We found it:

    • Like Spain, but less dry and warm—possibly unfair given our limited transit.
    • Like France, but without old stones—much of Barri Antic appears comparatively modern (📷2) and there are no Roman ruins (although Casa de la Vall, a former parliament building, dates from 1580)
    • Like Monaco, but without yachts—although a fast-flowing river runs through this valley-confined city (📷3)
    • Like Dubai, but without sand—although money passes through fingers here similarly in this shopping mecca, due to low taxes (📷4).

    A machete with your charge cable?

    We are at a loss to explain why most electronic stores also sell “personal weapons” (knives, guns, etc…). We find this both weird and scary!

    🤔 Curiosity

    Andorra is more than a country of one city: ~94% of the land and ~73% of the population are outside Andorra la Vella. Vall del Madriu-Perafita-Claror | Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley is Andorra’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed as a cultural landscape. We accessed it via the official “Volta a Ràmio” trail. From parking above the village of Engolasters it was a steep 35min climb through pine forest to Coll de Jovell at 1,780m, from where we began descending into the glacier-formed valley. At the 2km mark we reached Ràmio in the valley’s bottom end (📷1). The valley makes up ~9% of Andorra and is regarded as a time capsule for traditional mountain usage with limited modern development. Ràmio gave us a first glimpse into how people shaped the high Pyrenees over centuries through pastoralism, farming and communal land management (📷2). The trail continued up the valley, mostly alongside the Riu Madriu to the constant roar of white water, with ever-present granite underfoot/ in dry-stone walls and the scent of damp moss and pine needles in the air. At just over 4km/ 2h 10min into the hike we came to Refugi de Fontverd, not unlike a NZ-style DOC hut, at 1,875m elevation (📷3). We returned to the Coll via a higher path, which gave us superior views back up the valley (📷4). The 9km loop hike took us 4h 15min.

    As we drove back down from Engolasters we stopped to snap the top end of Escaldes-Engordany, which illustrates its rather dramatic valley confinement (📷1). A switchback sequence took us to Mirador Roc del Quer near Canillo, where we appreciated the views in several directions, such as this (📷2), without paying 6€ pp to stand on a suspended platform. Just beyond Canillo we stopped again at Sant Joan de Caselles, said to be a fine example of old Andorran architecture (📷3) and inside, one of the best preserved Romanesque interiors; the door was however bolted. We exited Andorra by heading for Col de Puymorens at 1,915m in the French Pyrénées (📷4); you can avoid the pass via a tolled tunnel.

    Occitanie

    A piece of Spain—inside France!

    After reaching Occitanie we transited the Spanish/ Catalonian enclave of Llívia, a town of some 13 square kilometres that was excluded from transfer to France in the Treaty of the Pyrénées (1659) because the said border agreement only specified the transfer of “villages”!

    🧭 Exploring

    We parked for our first night in Occitanie in Mont-Louis, beneath the walls of the town (📷1); at ~1,600m elevation it’s France’s highest fortified town and together with the c. 1679 citadel—an active commando training facility—is part of the “Fortifications of Vauban” UNESCO listing. Villefranche-de-Conflent is another of 12 UNESCO-listed fortified sites designed by military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, together representing a coherent defensive system across France. It’s considerably more tourist-oriented; we took the opportunity to walk the restored late 17th C. ramparts (📷2) and stroll through the town’s medieval streets (📷3). Next up was Musée de Préhistoire de Tautavel | Tautavel Prehistory Museum, featuring rather dated and underwhelming exhibits (cf. Altamira) around findings from La Caune de l’Arago | the Arago Cave. People seasonally camped here from ~690,000 years ago, as imagined in this unconvincing “facsimile” cave set 500,000 years ago (📷4). All displayed human bones (including the signature “Tautavel Man”, possibly a Homo erectus subspecies, compiled from fragments of ~20 individuals) are moulds. We also drove to the actual limestone cave in nearby Gouleyrous gorge, situated in the middle of a cliff, but you can’t access it.

    Château de Quéribus at Cucugnan (📷1) and nearby Château de Peyrepertuse at Duilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse (📷2) are two of eight “Royal Fortresses of Languedoc” aspiring to UNESCO World Heritage status. Languedoc was shaped by Roman rule, became a centre of medieval Occitan culture, was devastated by the Albigensian Crusade before being integrated into the French kingdom. Château de Peyrepertuse sits on a limestone ridge at 800m elevation and is first mentioned in records from 1020 CE (📷3); this view is from parking close to the ticket gate (we decided not to go inside). It came into royal possession in 1240 CE, its former owner William of Peyrepertuse having been excommunicated for supporting the Cathars (a medieval Christian sect in southern Europe who believed in strict division between a good spiritual realm and an evil material world, leading the Pope to label them heretics). After the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees the castle lost its strategic importance; it was finally abandoned during the French Revolution. There’s free access to a lookout platform from which you can see the ruin of Château de Quéribus and beyond it, the Mediterranean Sea (📷4).

    Upon leaving Château de Peyrepertuse bound for Carcassonne we took the D14, a narrow winding backroad between hills cloaked in forest and meadows, intermittently punctuated with small villages. One such village is Bugarach, on the outskirts of which is a 700m path to Pont Romain, a single-arch stone bridge across a limestone basin on the Roman road linking the village to Rennes-les-Bains (📷1). Although the original was probably Gallo-Roman, it was destroyed in 1992 by flooding but faithfully restored the following year. What caught our eye was the trailside orchids, three of which were new to us. All native, first up is Neotinea ustulata | the burnt-tip orchid, which can be found up to 2,400m elevation in the mountains of central and southern Europe (📷2). The aptly-named Serapias lingua | tongue orchid is found throughout the Mediterranean (📷3). Ophrys scolopax | the woodcock orchid is recognisably a bee orchid given its morphology (📷4); it can be found in both the Mediterranean and Middle East. We also re-identified Orchis mascula | the early-purple orchid (📷5).

    Cité de Carcassonne is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as an outstanding example of a medieval fortified town (📷1). First fortified in the Gallo-Roman period ~3rd–4th C. CE, it underwent extensive restorations in the 19th C. Set upon a hill overlooking the modern urban sprawl, the compact site is protected by ~3km of double walls and 52 defensive towers (📷2); it’s 19 € pp to walk the ramparts/ visit the restored château, but free to walk between the rows (without climbing on the outer battlements). The enclosed town is very touristy, filled with trinket shops and eateries, but also offers some architectural curiosities (📷3). Later, at nearby Trèbes, we walked alongside Canal du Midi, a ~360km network of navigable waterways linking the Atlantic (via Garonne) to the Mediterranean using locks, aqueducts, bridges and reservoirs. The canal is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, created through the vision of Pierre-Paul Riquet during 1667–94. The Trèbes Orbiel aqueduct (📷4) was designed by Vauban in 1688 and the town’s staircase lock dates from ~1674.

    Lagrasse is listed among Les Plus Beaux Villages de France | the Most Beautiful Villages of France; S had enjoyed her visit ~20 years ago and wanted to return to this relatively quiet locale, surrounded by hills on the Orbieu River (📷1). It developed around Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse, a Benedictine abbey founded during the 8th C. (📷2), becoming an important religious and economic hub. The village is compact, with stone houses/ artisan shops (in Jul/ Aug it is filled with tourists) and a medieval open-air market hall (📷3). On the path between camp and village we also discovered a new-to-us native orchid, Serapias vomeracea | the long-lipped serapias (📷4).

    Bonus pictures of pretty Lagrasse. A monk in the courtyard of Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse; it’s still an active religious site (📷1). A grey heron fishing in the Orbieu River (📷2). The 40m high fortified bell tower (clocher fortifié) of the abbey church, featuring buttresses with curved flyers; it was heavily modified in the late Middle Ages when the monastery was adapted for defense during periods like the Hundred Years’ War (📷3). Entrance on Rue de la Porte d’Eau, through which typical stone buildings can be seen (📷4). A view from the old bridge, looking back towards the hill on which we camped (📷5). A random village door (📷6). Anacamptis pyramidalis | the pyramidal orchid, with the monastery in the background (📷7).

    Our “small of the day” was captured when S went to empty the toilet cassette—not when you expect to hear “Quick, bring the camera!” This is a native moth, Arctia villica | the cream-spot tiger (📷1). We made our way to Salins de Saint-Martin outside of Gruissan on the Gulf of Lion, although being too early for florid algal blooms, colour differences between salt ponds were subtle (📷2). We followed the marked path 2.1km out to Plage de la Vieille Nouvelle (📷3). En route we did identify a number of birds, mostly at a distance: Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo; Anarhynchus alexandrinus | Kentish plover; Chlidonias hybrida | whiskered tern; Motacilla flava | western yellow wagtail; and Milvus migrans | the black kite. Later we stopped in Béziers, where we watched as boats navigated “Les 9 écluses de Fonseranes”, one of the most impressive engineering features of the Canal du Midi (📷4). Originally a sequence of nine locks (a “staircase”) completed in 1697, seven are typically in use, raising or lowering vessels ~21.5 meters over a short distance.

    Etang Des Mouettes is a a coastal lagoon in Frontignan, formerly a salt production pond with over 600 years of service, now gradually rewilding (📷1). On our dawn walk we found a heron stalking in the shallows (📷2), but there wasn’t enough light to be sure of the species. As the sun rose it illuminated flocks of Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo traversing the pond, with their distinctive long necks, large kinked bills, trailing long pink legs and striking deep pink/ black underside wing plumage (📷3). A look at Frontignan Plage before departing the Mediterranean shore (📷4).

    We drove to the Mont Aigoual summit at 1,565m elevation in Parc national des Cévennes | Cevennes National Park; the park is recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Our route up via Nant and Dourbies was long, winding and frankly tedious, so despite views towards the coast (📷1) and further inland (📷2) we felt less appreciative than we should have. We decided against our intended hike in 7°C and headed down via Gorges de la Jonte. En route the road verge was decorated with numerous native Dactylorhiza sambucina | the elder-flowered orchid, in shades of yellow, deep purple and pink (we first saw it in Theth, Albania). As is common practice, some of the formations in the gorge are named; this is Arcade des Bergers | Shepherds’ Arcade (📷3). The hamlet of Le Truel, where terraces once held vineyards, orchards and vegetable gardens, while sheep and goats grazed sloping pastures (📷4). Gyps fulvus | griffon vultures soar from the cliffs above, seemingly untroubled by the loss of a traditional way of life.

    Gorges du Tarn, also within Parc nationaldes Cévennes, is a canyon carved by the Tarn ~50km long and up to 500m deep. Large parts of the gorge are also included within the UNESCO-listed “Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape”. We began the scenic drive at Le Rozier, working our way west to east via cliffs and tunnels, with frequent stops at viewpoints towards Sainte-Enimie. Hameau semi-troglodyte d’Eglazines | the “semi-troglodyte hamlet of Eglazines” was first to catch our eye (📷1). Although not as high, the hamlet of La Sablière is on the opposite bank of the Tarn, so access/ supplies is via a cableway (📷2). The larger settlement of La Malène is billed as a Petite Cité de Caractère | “Little City of Character” (📷3). Sainte-Enimie is listed as one of the “Most Beautiful Villages in France”; this view is from the river beach (📷4).

    From Sainte-Enimie we entered “Home” into the nav system and headed out of Occitaine. After 8,217km this tour was complete. Related missions logs are as follows:

    Plans for our next trip are uncertain as we await easing of global disruption.

    #2026 #andorra #camperVan #europe #france #hiking #nationalPark #nature #nomad #occitanie #roadTrip #romans #spain #travel #unesco #vanLife
    #andorra #campervan #europe #france #hiking #nationalpark
  6. Curiosity Drive @[email protected] ·

    The wild reaches of Aragón

    About half the size of Portugal, we knew very little of Spain’s Aragón region. That was about to change as our road from Extremadura led us through its northern reaches bound for the co-principality of Andorra.

    Coordinates

    Into Aragón

    From Aranjuez we began our journey northeast towards Zaragoza, noting changes in the landscape once we had escaped the spaghetti junctions, slow traffic and industrialized zones in Madrid’s orbit. We saw red earth in the hills near Medinaceli (📷1) and green fields further along the A-2 near Arcos de Jalón (📷2), both in the Castile and León region. Crossing into Aragón we came to the spa town of Alhama de Aragón, a name derived from Arabic, although its thermal springs were known in Roman times (📷3). A bridge crossing on Embalse de la Tranquera | Tranquillity Reservoir, which certainly lives up to its name, as we approached pitch in Nuévalos (📷4).

    Monasterio de Piedra near Nuévalos is a former monastery (now part ruin and part hotel) and Romantic landscaped park containing trees, waterfalls and caves along the Piedra River; this is Cascada la Caprichosa (📷1). The combination of Cascade Cola de Caballo (📷2) with Gruta Iris behind its curtain (📷3), reached via a staircase cut into the cliff, was easily the highlight. Some of the scenery was decidedly more tranquil, but no less dramatic (📷4). Visiting the ruin of Santa Maria de Piedra is included in the entry ticket; it was occupied by Cistercian monks from 1218 CE for 617 years, until confiscated by the Spanish Government in 1835 and coming into private ownership. Within the ruin there’s a museum about wine making and exhibit on the introduction of chocolate to Europe. Note that the site only reopened a year ago after severe flood damage in late 2024; it’s mass tourism-oriented, so an early start helps avoid the crowds.

    Zaragoza

    After leaving Nuévalos we enjoyed seeing semi-arid agricultural landscapes (📷1) before joining motorways bound for the metropolitan sprawl of Zaragoza. Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar is the city’s defining landmark, a huge baroque basilica with domes overlooking the Ebro, seen here behind 15th C. bridge of Puente de Piedra (📷2); the Romans had also bridged the Ebro here when the town was known as Caesaraugusta. The 11th C. Islamic Aljafería Palace is part of the Mudéjar Architecture of Aragón UNESCO listing (📷3); it was unfortunately closed for siesta when we arrived—having been caught out a few times by this already! La Seo Cathedral | Cathedral of the Saviour is also part of the UNESCO listing, being built atop the Roman forum and serving as a mosque—evident in its exterior Mudéjar wall (📷4)—before expansion as a Christian cathedral; the interior (€) mixes Romanesque, Gothic, Mudéjar, Renaissance and Baroque styles.

    Los Monegros

    The Ruta Jubierre | Jubierre track is an unpaved route that leads into the Barrancos de Jubierre, a badlands area within Aragón’s semi-arid Los Monegros region (it’s not technically a desert). We began from the southern end near the village of Castejón de Monegros, heading northward to exit onto the A-131 towards Sariñena. To visit Tozal Solitario, an isolated rock formation, we wisely left the van on the main track and walked to the formation (📷1). Tozal de Colásico is larger and can be seen without leaving the main track (📷2); you can also drive right up to it. Tozales de Los Pedregales is a collection of four eroded clay formations and ravines reached via a short but well-marked hike (📷3); this is formation no. 4. Tozal de la Cobeta is apparently the most photographed formation (📷4); we drove off the main track right up to this one, avoiding a hot 6km return hike. It took us ~3h to make the drive at ~30km/h max and to take short hikes to the formations. It had been dry so the dirt was very compacted and we had no concerns about clearance in our 2WD camper; we used the width of the road to avoid ruts and corrugations, as traffic was light. There was no avoiding the dust though!

    Parque Natural Sierra y Cañones de Guara

    The pretty but touristy village of Alquézar lies within Parque Natural Sierra y Cañones de Guara | Natural Park of the Sierra and Canyons of Guara; it’s crowned by Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor and Castillo Torre (📷1). The 6 € pp 3km Pasarelas de Alquézar descend from the ticket gate at the town hall into the adjacent Río Vero canyon, where we noted native Ramonda myconi | the Pyrenean violet in flower (📷2). We gained access to the clear-running river at Cueva Picamartillo (📷3) before taking the first of several gangways suspended over the riverbed (📷4).

    Continuing in the pasarelas, the hand of man is evident in the canyon, with industrial remnants including a weir and canal that was part of a small hydroelectric plant completed in 1913 (📷1); it reused an old mill and today’s visitor trail began as service paths. The dramatic limestone canyon itself however is of natural karst geology and the metal gangways purpose-built for tourism (📷2). Aphyllanthes monspeliensis | the blue aphyllanthes is endemic to the western Mediterranean (📷3). A look back towards town from Mirador del Vero as a thunderstorm approaches; you can see more of the gangways on the riverside cliffs (📷4). This was a 6.3km/ 2h 20min loop walk from the campsite.

    Our next hike in Parque Natural Sierra y Cañones de Guara was the S-3 Circular, anticlockwise, from the trailhead at Rodellar. We descended into Barranco del Mascún | the Mascún River gorge, noting rock climbers scaling sheer cliffs on both sides of the valley and gradually improving our view of the first of several rock windows we’d see on the trail (📷1). On reaching the riverbed we joined the Camino de Otín. There’s a nice view back to the window from near Surgencia de Mascún | the spring where Río Mascún stops being underground (📷2); shortly after the spring the intimidating Espolón de la Virgen via ferrata begins. Native Helianthemum apenninum | white rock-rose seemed to like living in the valley floor (📷3). We had views to Torre de Santiago for some time before reaching the formation (📷4).

    Ascending the S-3 trail beside Torre de Santiago (📷1). We found the lengthy and uneven climb from the riverbed to Mirador del Mascún (📷2) rather tough, but greatly enjoyed ever-changing perspectives on the Torre. Native Polygala calcarea | the chalk milkwort favoured living at elevation (📷3). At the abandoned village of Otín we turned towards Dolmen de la Losa Mora, ~5,000 years old (📷4). The trail was less dramatic but pleasant, until we began the descent back to the Río Mascún via the Andrebot ravine—here the path was formed of loose limestone and slow-going (use poles to reduce tumble risk). From the spring we backtracked up to Rodellar. The loop over 15km took us 5.5h. At camp we checked in with “I need a place to sleep, a beer & a hot shower—in any order!”

    Parque Natural Ordesa y Monte Perdido

    Pradera de Ordesa (parking near Torla-Ordesa) to the Cola de Caballo waterfall is a popular out-and-back trail in Parque Natural Ordesa y Monte Perdido | Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park. The Senda a la Cola de Caballo trail runs beside the Río Arazas, although the first section is under forest cover with limited views (📷1). After ~100min on trail things get more open and we found ourselves admiring spring greens next to clear mountain waters and impressive walls of rock in both downstream (📷2) and upstream (📷3) directions. The trail offers a number of waterfall waypoints, but they’re not all easy to see well due to vegetation overgrowth or flooded miradors; this is part of Gradas de Soaso, a sequence of steps (📷4).

    After ~2h on trail the landscape changed again, to a bleaker grassy expanse as we got nearer to the head of the valley (📷1). Water streamed off the cliffs, forming rivulets that found their way to the river, although not before leaving the ground boggy in many places (📷2). Our first new flower of the day was a native in the daisy family, Tussilago farfara | the colt’s foot (📷3). At 9km/ 3h on trail we reached the signature Cascada Cola de Caballo | horse trail waterfall, which felt somewhat anticlimactic (📷4).

    Our second new flower was native Narcissus pseudonarcissus | the wild daffodil, which seemed to favour growing within the protective cocoon offered by another (perfectly named) spiny native, Echinospartum horridum (📷1). Vultures circled overhead; we think we heard marmots whistling and the herd of native Rupicapra pyrenaica | Pyrenean chamois we’d seen on the way in had drawn closer to the river as we turned back (📷2). Cascada del Estrecho was our favourite waterfall; we detoured from the main path to its mirador on the return leg (📷3). Instead of rejoining the main path we crossed the river, which afforded new views en route to the parking area (📷4). 19km/ 5.5h return.

    A scenic drive out of the mountains from pitch in Broto to the town of Barbastro, where chores awaited. Here’s the view from Mirador de Jánovas, between the villages of Fiscal and Boltaña (📷1). Embalse de Mediano contained stands of flooded trees (📷2) and the threat of rain made for moody reflections (📷3). Embalse de El Grado I, the neighbouring reservoir, was looking very emerald from the van door as we stopped for lunch.

    Montfalcó

    Despite some reports, the 15km from the N-230 to public parking at Montfalcó (near Viacamp) weren’t at all challenging in a 2WD, with mostly good surface—but narrow in places. Mirador de Montfalcó overlooks Pantà de Canelles | Embalse de Canelles, but also offered a first glimpse of the Noguera Ribagorzana river that divides Aragón’s Montsec de L’Estall to the west (left bank) from Catalonia’s Montsec d’Ares on the eastern shore (📷1). These karst escarpments are part of the outer mountains of the Central Pyrenees, formed from Cretaceous and Jurassic materials.

    We’d come to hike the Camino Natural de Montfalcó al Congost de Mont-rebei | Natural Path from Montfalcó to the Congost de Mont-rebei. Here’s a view from the first pasarela | catwalk up a 30m escarpment, with 139 steps over 90m in length (📷2). The second pasarela is longer at 120m, with 215 steps ascending a 44m high escarpment (📷3). This is where you question how comfortable you are in the knowledge it was likely engineered by the lowest bidder… Sarcocapnos enneaphylla, native to southwestern Europe and northern Africa, is however quite at home on limestone escarpments (📷4).

    From the second pasarela we could anticipate the upcoming descent to the suspension bridge spanning the 35m gap between Aragón and Catalonia (📷1). From said bridge at Congost del Seguer, looking into the gorge of Mont-rebei, we could readily appreciate the depth of canyon the river had cut here (📷2); the cliffs reach over 500m high. Camino Natural de Montfalcó al Congost de Mont-rebei ascends a short way on the Catalonian side to intersect the Camí de Mont-rebei, itself a segment of the long-distance GR-1 (Sendero Histórico). As we climbed to join it we got a good look back at the second pasarela we’d used on the opposite bank (📷3). We also looked down of course (the path is uneven here) and avoided trampling this big darkling beetle (📷4); Blaps lusitanica can release a foul-smelling secretion from glands at its rear when threatened.

    Our original goal had been a mirador in the Mont-rebei Gorge, from which we could look back the way we had come (📷1) and also in the onward direction (📷2). Having met a Spanish couple who told us they were continuing in order to pick up a kayak and return by water, we decided to do the same. We thus continued beyond the mirador on Camí de Mont-rebei, a spectacular cliffside trail through the gorge known for its narrow path carved into rock walls above the river (📷3). After ~10km/ 3h 40min of hiking we arrived at a beach where, luckily, there was a spare double kayak available (we’d tried phoning, but had signal issues). Our 8km/ 1h 40min paddle back through the gorge (📷4) to a pier below Albergue de Montfalcó was followed by a 2km 4×4 transfer up the steep hill, where we paid for the rental—and our knees expressed their gratitude!

    Muralla de Finestres

    Roques de la Vila is a geological formation also popularly known as Muralla (China) de Finestres | the (Chinese) Wall Of Finestres. We followed online and local advice to park at Puente de Penavera, a bridge northeast of Estopiñán del Castillo, given the state of the dirt road. The 6.4km drive from our pitch in town took ~30 minutes. Although we sighted the formation ~4.5km into the hike, we first came to the former settlement of Finestres (📷1). It was depopulated in 1960 due to the filling of the Canelles reservoir; only one house, Casa Coix, is seasonally inhabited. A short and easy signposted walk links the village centre to Ermita de San Marcos | the Hermitage of Saint Mark; this is the best spot for panoramic views of the ~840m long formation (📷2). Folding of strata ~100 million years ago and subsequent erosion have created two primary parallel lines of vertical limestone that resemble a wall (📷3). Some of the formation is now partially submerged in the reservoir (📷4).

    Between the two lines of strata sits the 11–12th C. Romanesque Esglèsia de Sant Vicenç | Ermita San Vicente | Church of Saint Vincent, seen here from the more challenging path to reach it (📷1); poles are useful. On this part of the hike you cross over one of the walls and reach water level, where we noted this particular slab, nicely illustrating the process of continuing erosion (📷2). The hermitage is partially formed from limestone and the sanctuary is largely intact (📷3); the remnants of Castillo de Finestras, a medieval Moorish castle upon which the hermitage was built, are also evident. From this vantage point there’s an impressive view down the middle of the formation (📷4). The 15km/ 4.5h return hike was mostly exposed.

    After this hike it was farewell Aragón; it certainly made an impression and is an area we’d happily return to.

    #2026 #aragón #camperVan #catalonia #europe #hiking #nationalPark #nature #nomad #roadTrip #romans #spain #travel #unesco #vanLife
    #aragon #campervan #catalonia #europe #hiking #nationalpark
  7. Curiosity Drive @[email protected] ·

    The wild reaches of Aragón

    About half the size of Portugal, we knew very little of Spain’s Aragón region. That was about to change as our road from Extremadura led us through its northern reaches bound for the co-principality of Andorra.

    Coordinates

    Into Aragón

    From Aranjuez we began our journey northeast towards Zaragoza, noting changes in the landscape once we had escaped the spaghetti junctions, slow traffic and industrialized zones in Madrid’s orbit. We saw red earth in the hills near Medinaceli (📷1) and green fields further along the A-2 near Arcos de Jalón (📷2), both in the Castile and León region. Crossing into Aragón we came to the spa town of Alhama de Aragón, a name derived from Arabic, although its thermal springs were known in Roman times (📷3). A bridge crossing on Embalse de la Tranquera | Tranquillity Reservoir, which certainly lives up to its name, as we approached pitch in Nuévalos (📷4).

    Monasterio de Piedra near Nuévalos is a former monastery (now part ruin and part hotel) and Romantic landscaped park containing trees, waterfalls and caves along the Piedra River; this is Cascada la Caprichosa (📷1). The combination of Cascade Cola de Caballo (📷2) with Gruta Iris behind its curtain (📷3), reached via a staircase cut into the cliff, was easily the highlight. Some of the scenery was decidedly more tranquil, but no less dramatic (📷4). Visiting the ruin of Santa Maria de Piedra is included in the entry ticket; it was occupied by Cistercian monks from 1218 CE for 617 years, until confiscated by the Spanish Government in 1835 and coming into private ownership. Within the ruin there’s a museum about wine making and exhibit on the introduction of chocolate to Europe. Note that the site only reopened a year ago after severe flood damage in late 2024; it’s mass tourism-oriented, so an early start helps avoid the crowds.

    Zaragoza

    After leaving Nuévalos we enjoyed seeing semi-arid agricultural landscapes (📷1) before joining motorways bound for the metropolitan sprawl of Zaragoza. Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar is the city’s defining landmark, a huge baroque basilica with domes overlooking the Ebro, seen here behind 15th C. bridge of Puente de Piedra (📷2); the Romans had also bridged the Ebro here when the town was known as Caesaraugusta. The 11th C. Islamic Aljafería Palace is part of the Mudéjar Architecture of Aragón UNESCO listing (📷3); it was unfortunately closed for siesta when we arrived—having been caught out a few times by this already! La Seo Cathedral | Cathedral of the Saviour is also part of the UNESCO listing, being built atop the Roman forum and serving as a mosque—evident in its exterior Mudéjar wall (📷4)—before expansion as a Christian cathedral; the interior (€) mixes Romanesque, Gothic, Mudéjar, Renaissance and Baroque styles.

    Los Monegros

    The Ruta Jubierre | Jubierre track is an unpaved route that leads into the Barrancos de Jubierre, a badlands area within Aragón’s semi-arid Los Monegros region (it’s not technically a desert). We began from the southern end near the village of Castejón de Monegros, heading northward to exit onto the A-131 towards Sariñena. To visit Tozal Solitario, an isolated rock formation, we wisely left the van on the main track and walked to the formation (📷1). Tozal de Colásico is larger and can be seen without leaving the main track (📷2); you can also drive right up to it. Tozales de Los Pedregales is a collection of four eroded clay formations and ravines reached via a short but well-marked hike (📷3); this is formation no. 4. Tozal de la Cobeta is apparently the most photographed formation (📷4); we drove off the main track right up to this one, avoiding a hot 6km return hike. It took us ~3h to make the drive at ~30km/h max and to take short hikes to the formations. It had been dry so the dirt was very compacted and we had no concerns about clearance in our 2WD camper; we used the width of the road to avoid ruts and corrugations, as traffic was light. There was no avoiding the dust though!

    Parque Natural Sierra y Cañones de Guara

    The pretty but touristy village of Alquézar lies within Parque Natural Sierra y Cañones de Guara | Natural Park of the Sierra and Canyons of Guara; it’s crowned by Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor and Castillo Torre (📷1). The 6 € pp 3km Pasarelas de Alquézar descend from the ticket gate at the town hall into the adjacent Río Vero canyon, where we noted native Ramonda myconi | the Pyrenean violet in flower (📷2). We gained access to the clear-running river at Cueva Picamartillo (📷3) before taking the first of several gangways suspended over the riverbed (📷4).

    Continuing in the pasarelas, the hand of man is evident in the canyon, with industrial remnants including a weir and canal that was part of a small hydroelectric plant completed in 1913 (📷1); it reused an old mill and today’s visitor trail began as service paths. The dramatic limestone canyon itself however is of natural karst geology and the metal gangways purpose-built for tourism (📷2). Aphyllanthes monspeliensis | the blue aphyllanthes is endemic to the western Mediterranean (📷3). A look back towards town from Mirador del Vero as a thunderstorm approaches; you can see more of the gangways on the riverside cliffs (📷4). This was a 6.3km/ 2h 20min loop walk from the campsite.

    Our next hike in Parque Natural Sierra y Cañones de Guara was the S-3 Circular, anticlockwise, from the trailhead at Rodellar. We descended into Barranco del Mascún | the Mascún River gorge, noting rock climbers scaling sheer cliffs on both sides of the valley and gradually improving our view of the first of several rock windows we’d see on the trail (📷1). On reaching the riverbed we joined the Camino de Otín. There’s a nice view back to the window from near Surgencia de Mascún | the spring where Río Mascún stops being underground (📷2); shortly after the spring the intimidating Espolón de la Virgen via ferrata begins. Native Helianthemum apenninum | white rock-rose seemed to like living in the valley floor (📷3). We had views to Torre de Santiago for some time before reaching the formation (📷4).

    Ascending the S-3 trail beside Torre de Santiago (📷1). We found the lengthy and uneven climb from the riverbed to Mirador del Mascún (📷2) rather tough, but greatly enjoyed ever-changing perspectives on the Torre. Native Polygala calcarea | the chalk milkwort favoured living at elevation (📷3). At the abandoned village of Otín we turned towards Dolmen de la Losa Mora, ~5,000 years old (📷4). The trail was less dramatic but pleasant, until we began the descent back to the Río Mascún via the Andrebot ravine—here the path was formed of loose limestone and slow-going (use poles to reduce tumble risk). From the spring we backtracked up to Rodellar. The loop over 15km took us 5.5h. At camp we checked in with “I need a place to sleep, a beer & a hot shower—in any order!”

    Parque Natural Ordesa y Monte Perdido

    Pradera de Ordesa (parking near Torla-Ordesa) to the Cola de Caballo waterfall is a popular out-and-back trail in Parque Natural Ordesa y Monte Perdido | Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park. The Senda a la Cola de Caballo trail runs beside the Río Arazas, although the first section is under forest cover with limited views (📷1). After ~100min on trail things get more open and we found ourselves admiring spring greens next to clear mountain waters and impressive walls of rock in both downstream (📷2) and upstream (📷3) directions. The trail offers a number of waterfall waypoints, but they’re not all easy to see well due to vegetation overgrowth or flooded miradors; this is part of Gradas de Soaso, a sequence of steps (📷4).

    After ~2h on trail the landscape changed again, to a bleaker grassy expanse as we got nearer to the head of the valley (📷1). Water streamed off the cliffs, forming rivulets that found their way to the river, although not before leaving the ground boggy in many places (📷2). Our first new flower of the day was a native in the daisy family, Tussilago farfara | the colt’s foot (📷3). At 9km/ 3h on trail we reached the signature Cascada Cola de Caballo | horse trail waterfall, which felt somewhat anticlimactic (📷4).

    Our second new flower was native Narcissus pseudonarcissus | the wild daffodil, which seemed to favour growing within the protective cocoon offered by another (perfectly named) spiny native, Echinospartum horridum (📷1). Vultures circled overhead; we think we heard marmots whistling and the herd of native Rupicapra pyrenaica | Pyrenean chamois we’d seen on the way in had drawn closer to the river as we turned back (📷2). Cascada del Estrecho was our favourite waterfall; we detoured from the main path to its mirador on the return leg (📷3). Instead of rejoining the main path we crossed the river, which afforded new views en route to the parking area (📷4). 19km/ 5.5h return.

    A scenic drive out of the mountains from pitch in Broto to the town of Barbastro, where chores awaited. Here’s the view from Mirador de Jánovas, between the villages of Fiscal and Boltaña (📷1). Embalse de Mediano contained stands of flooded trees (📷2) and the threat of rain made for moody reflections (📷3). Embalse de El Grado I, the neighbouring reservoir, was looking very emerald from the van door as we stopped for lunch.

    Montfalcó

    Despite some reports, the 15km from the N-230 to public parking at Montfalcó (near Viacamp) weren’t at all challenging in a 2WD, with mostly good surface—but narrow in places. Mirador de Montfalcó overlooks Pantà de Canelles | Embalse de Canelles, but also offered a first glimpse of the Noguera Ribagorzana river that divides Aragón’s Montsec de L’Estall to the west (left bank) from Catalonia’s Montsec d’Ares on the eastern shore (📷1). These karst escarpments are part of the outer mountains of the Central Pyrenees, formed from Cretaceous and Jurassic materials.

    We’d come to hike the Camino Natural de Montfalcó al Congost de Mont-rebei | Natural Path from Montfalcó to the Congost de Mont-rebei. Here’s a view from the first pasarela | catwalk up a 30m escarpment, with 139 steps over 90m in length (📷2). The second pasarela is longer at 120m, with 215 steps ascending a 44m high escarpment (📷3). This is where you question how comfortable you are in the knowledge it was likely engineered by the lowest bidder… Sarcocapnos enneaphylla, native to southwestern Europe and northern Africa, is however quite at home on limestone escarpments (📷4).

    From the second pasarela we could anticipate the upcoming descent to the suspension bridge spanning the 35m gap between Aragón and Catalonia (📷1). From said bridge at Congost del Seguer, looking into the gorge of Mont-rebei, we could readily appreciate the depth of canyon the river had cut here (📷2); the cliffs reach over 500m high. Camino Natural de Montfalcó al Congost de Mont-rebei ascends a short way on the Catalonian side to intersect the Camí de Mont-rebei, itself a segment of the long-distance GR-1 (Sendero Histórico). As we climbed to join it we got a good look back at the second pasarela we’d used on the opposite bank (📷3). We also looked down of course (the path is uneven here) and avoided trampling this big darkling beetle (📷4); Blaps lusitanica can release a foul-smelling secretion from glands at its rear when threatened.

    Our original goal had been a mirador in the Mont-rebei Gorge, from which we could look back the way we had come (📷1) and also in the onward direction (📷2). Having met a Spanish couple who told us they were continuing in order to pick up a kayak and return by water, we decided to do the same. We thus continued beyond the mirador on Camí de Mont-rebei, a spectacular cliffside trail through the gorge known for its narrow path carved into rock walls above the river (📷3). After ~10km/ 3h 40min of hiking we arrived at a beach where, luckily, there was a spare double kayak available (we’d tried phoning, but had signal issues). Our 8km/ 1h 40min paddle back through the gorge (📷4) to a pier below Albergue de Montfalcó was followed by a 2km 4×4 transfer up the steep hill, where we paid for the rental—and our knees expressed their gratitude!

    Muralla de Finestres

    Roques de la Vila is a geological formation also popularly known as Muralla (China) de Finestres | the (Chinese) Wall Of Finestres. We followed online and local advice to park at Puente de Penavera, a bridge northeast of Estopiñán del Castillo, given the state of the dirt road. The 6.4km drive from our pitch in town took ~30 minutes. Although we sighted the formation ~4.5km into the hike, we first came to the former settlement of Finestres (📷1). It was depopulated in 1960 due to the filling of the Canelles reservoir; only one house, Casa Coix, is seasonally inhabited. A short and easy signposted walk links the village centre to Ermita de San Marcos | the Hermitage of Saint Mark; this is the best spot for panoramic views of the ~840m long formation (📷2). Folding of strata ~100 million years ago and subsequent erosion have created two primary parallel lines of vertical limestone that resemble a wall (📷3). Some of the formation is now partially submerged in the reservoir (📷4).

    Between the two lines of strata sits the 11–12th C. Romanesque Esglèsia de Sant Vicenç | Ermita San Vicente | Church of Saint Vincent, seen here from the more challenging path to reach it (📷1); poles are useful. On this part of the hike you cross over one of the walls and reach water level, where we noted this particular slab, nicely illustrating the process of continuing erosion (📷2). The hermitage is partially formed from limestone and the sanctuary is largely intact (📷3); the remnants of Castillo de Finestras, a medieval Moorish castle upon which the hermitage was built, are also evident. From this vantage point there’s an impressive view down the middle of the formation (📷4). The 15km/ 4.5h return hike was mostly exposed.

    After this hike it was farewell Aragón; it certainly made an impression and is an area we’d happily return to.

    #2026 #aragón #camperVan #catalonia #europe #hiking #nationalPark #nature #nomad #roadTrip #romans #spain #travel #unesco #vanLife
    #aragon #campervan #catalonia #europe #hiking #nationalpark
  8. Curiosity Drive @[email protected] ·

    The wild reaches of Aragón

    About half the size of Portugal, we knew very little of Spain’s Aragón region. That was about to change as our road from Extremadura led us through its northern reaches bound for the co-principality of Andorra.

    Coordinates

    Into Aragón

    From Aranjuez we began our journey northeast towards Zaragoza, noting changes in the landscape once we had escaped the spaghetti junctions, slow traffic and industrialized zones in Madrid’s orbit. We saw red earth in the hills near Medinaceli (📷1) and green fields further along the A-2 near Arcos de Jalón (📷2), both in the Castile and León region. Crossing into Aragón we came to the spa town of Alhama de Aragón, a name derived from Arabic, although its thermal springs were known in Roman times (📷3). A bridge crossing on Embalse de la Tranquera | Tranquillity Reservoir, which certainly lives up to its name, as we approached pitch in Nuévalos (📷4).

    Monasterio de Piedra near Nuévalos is a former monastery (now part ruin and part hotel) and Romantic landscaped park containing trees, waterfalls and caves along the Piedra River; this is Cascada la Caprichosa (📷1). The combination of Cascade Cola de Caballo (📷2) with Gruta Iris behind its curtain (📷3), reached via a staircase cut into the cliff, was easily the highlight. Some of the scenery was decidedly more tranquil, but no less dramatic (📷4). Visiting the ruin of Santa Maria de Piedra is included in the entry ticket; it was occupied by Cistercian monks from 1218 CE for 617 years, until confiscated by the Spanish Government in 1835 and coming into private ownership. Within the ruin there’s a museum about wine making and exhibit on the introduction of chocolate to Europe. Note that the site only reopened a year ago after severe flood damage in late 2024; it’s mass tourism-oriented, so an early start helps avoid the crowds.

    Zaragoza

    After leaving Nuévalos we enjoyed seeing semi-arid agricultural landscapes (📷1) before joining motorways bound for the metropolitan sprawl of Zaragoza. Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar is the city’s defining landmark, a huge baroque basilica with domes overlooking the Ebro, seen here behind 15th C. bridge of Puente de Piedra (📷2); the Romans had also bridged the Ebro here when the town was known as Caesaraugusta. The 11th C. Islamic Aljafería Palace is part of the Mudéjar Architecture of Aragón UNESCO listing (📷3); it was unfortunately closed for siesta when we arrived—having been caught out a few times by this already! La Seo Cathedral | Cathedral of the Saviour is also part of the UNESCO listing, being built atop the Roman forum and serving as a mosque—evident in its exterior Mudéjar wall (📷4)—before expansion as a Christian cathedral; the interior (€) mixes Romanesque, Gothic, Mudéjar, Renaissance and Baroque styles.

    Los Monegros

    The Ruta Jubierre | Jubierre track is an unpaved route that leads into the Barrancos de Jubierre, a badlands area within Aragón’s semi-arid Los Monegros region (it’s not technically a desert). We began from the southern end near the village of Castejón de Monegros, heading northward to exit onto the A-131 towards Sariñena. To visit Tozal Solitario, an isolated rock formation, we wisely left the van on the main track and walked to the formation (📷1). Tozal de Colásico is larger and can be seen without leaving the main track (📷2); you can also drive right up to it. Tozales de Los Pedregales is a collection of four eroded clay formations and ravines reached via a short but well-marked hike (📷3); this is formation no. 4. Tozal de la Cobeta is apparently the most photographed formation (📷4); we drove off the main track right up to this one, avoiding a hot 6km return hike. It took us ~3h to make the drive at ~30km/h max and to take short hikes to the formations. It had been dry so the dirt was very compacted and we had no concerns about clearance in our 2WD camper; we used the width of the road to avoid ruts and corrugations, as traffic was light. There was no avoiding the dust though!

    Parque Natural Sierra y Cañones de Guara

    The pretty but touristy village of Alquézar lies within Parque Natural Sierra y Cañones de Guara | Natural Park of the Sierra and Canyons of Guara; it’s crowned by Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor and Castillo Torre (📷1). The 6 € pp 3km Pasarelas de Alquézar descend from the ticket gate at the town hall into the adjacent Río Vero canyon, where we noted native Ramonda myconi | the Pyrenean violet in flower (📷2). We gained access to the clear-running river at Cueva Picamartillo (📷3) before taking the first of several gangways suspended over the riverbed (📷4).

    Continuing in the pasarelas, the hand of man is evident in the canyon, with industrial remnants including a weir and canal that was part of a small hydroelectric plant completed in 1913 (📷1); it reused an old mill and today’s visitor trail began as service paths. The dramatic limestone canyon itself however is of natural karst geology and the metal gangways purpose-built for tourism (📷2). Aphyllanthes monspeliensis | the blue aphyllanthes is endemic to the western Mediterranean (📷3). A look back towards town from Mirador del Vero as a thunderstorm approaches; you can see more of the gangways on the riverside cliffs (📷4). This was a 6.3km/ 2h 20min loop walk from the campsite.

    Our next hike in Parque Natural Sierra y Cañones de Guara was the S-3 Circular, anticlockwise, from the trailhead at Rodellar. We descended into Barranco del Mascún | the Mascún River gorge, noting rock climbers scaling sheer cliffs on both sides of the valley and gradually improving our view of the first of several rock windows we’d see on the trail (📷1). On reaching the riverbed we joined the Camino de Otín. There’s a nice view back to the window from near Surgencia de Mascún | the spring where Río Mascún stops being underground (📷2); shortly after the spring the intimidating Espolón de la Virgen via ferrata begins. Native Helianthemum apenninum | white rock-rose seemed to like living in the valley floor (📷3). We had views to Torre de Santiago for some time before reaching the formation (📷4).

    Ascending the S-3 trail beside Torre de Santiago (📷1). We found the lengthy and uneven climb from the riverbed to Mirador del Mascún (📷2) rather tough, but greatly enjoyed ever-changing perspectives on the Torre. Native Polygala calcarea | the chalk milkwort favoured living at elevation (📷3). At the abandoned village of Otín we turned towards Dolmen de la Losa Mora, ~5,000 years old (📷4). The trail was less dramatic but pleasant, until we began the descent back to the Río Mascún via the Andrebot ravine—here the path was formed of loose limestone and slow-going (use poles to reduce tumble risk). From the spring we backtracked up to Rodellar. The loop over 15km took us 5.5h. At camp we checked in with “I need a place to sleep, a beer & a hot shower—in any order!”

    Parque Natural Ordesa y Monte Perdido

    Pradera de Ordesa (parking near Torla-Ordesa) to the Cola de Caballo waterfall is a popular out-and-back trail in Parque Natural Ordesa y Monte Perdido | Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park. The Senda a la Cola de Caballo trail runs beside the Río Arazas, although the first section is under forest cover with limited views (📷1). After ~100min on trail things get more open and we found ourselves admiring spring greens next to clear mountain waters and impressive walls of rock in both downstream (📷2) and upstream (📷3) directions. The trail offers a number of waterfall waypoints, but they’re not all easy to see well due to vegetation overgrowth or flooded miradors; this is part of Gradas de Soaso, a sequence of steps (📷4).

    After ~2h on trail the landscape changed again, to a bleaker grassy expanse as we got nearer to the head of the valley (📷1). Water streamed off the cliffs, forming rivulets that found their way to the river, although not before leaving the ground boggy in many places (📷2). Our first new flower of the day was a native in the daisy family, Tussilago farfara | the colt’s foot (📷3). At 9km/ 3h on trail we reached the signature Cascada Cola de Caballo | horse trail waterfall, which felt somewhat anticlimactic (📷4).

    Our second new flower was native Narcissus pseudonarcissus | the wild daffodil, which seemed to favour growing within the protective cocoon offered by another (perfectly named) spiny native, Echinospartum horridum (📷1). Vultures circled overhead; we think we heard marmots whistling and the herd of native Rupicapra pyrenaica | Pyrenean chamois we’d seen on the way in had drawn closer to the river as we turned back (📷2). Cascada del Estrecho was our favourite waterfall; we detoured from the main path to its mirador on the return leg (📷3). Instead of rejoining the main path we crossed the river, which afforded new views en route to the parking area (📷4). 19km/ 5.5h return.

    A scenic drive out of the mountains from pitch in Broto to the town of Barbastro, where chores awaited. Here’s the view from Mirador de Jánovas, between the villages of Fiscal and Boltaña (📷1). Embalse de Mediano contained stands of flooded trees (📷2) and the threat of rain made for moody reflections (📷3). Embalse de El Grado I, the neighbouring reservoir, was looking very emerald from the van door as we stopped for lunch.

    Montfalcó

    Despite some reports, the 15km from the N-230 to public parking at Montfalcó (near Viacamp) weren’t at all challenging in a 2WD, with mostly good surface—but narrow in places. Mirador de Montfalcó overlooks Pantà de Canelles | Embalse de Canelles, but also offered a first glimpse of the Noguera Ribagorzana river that divides Aragón’s Montsec de L’Estall to the west (left bank) from Catalonia’s Montsec d’Ares on the eastern shore (📷1). These karst escarpments are part of the outer mountains of the Central Pyrenees, formed from Cretaceous and Jurassic materials.

    We’d come to hike the Camino Natural de Montfalcó al Congost de Mont-rebei | Natural Path from Montfalcó to the Congost de Mont-rebei. Here’s a view from the first pasarela | catwalk up a 30m escarpment, with 139 steps over 90m in length (📷2). The second pasarela is longer at 120m, with 215 steps ascending a 44m high escarpment (📷3). This is where you question how comfortable you are in the knowledge it was likely engineered by the lowest bidder… Sarcocapnos enneaphylla, native to southwestern Europe and northern Africa, is however quite at home on limestone escarpments (📷4).

    From the second pasarela we could anticipate the upcoming descent to the suspension bridge spanning the 35m gap between Aragón and Catalonia (📷1). From said bridge at Congost del Seguer, looking into the gorge of Mont-rebei, we could readily appreciate the depth of canyon the river had cut here (📷2); the cliffs reach over 500m high. Camino Natural de Montfalcó al Congost de Mont-rebei ascends a short way on the Catalonian side to intersect the Camí de Mont-rebei, itself a segment of the long-distance GR-1 (Sendero Histórico). As we climbed to join it we got a good look back at the second pasarela we’d used on the opposite bank (📷3). We also looked down of course (the path is uneven here) and avoided trampling this big darkling beetle (📷4); Blaps lusitanica can release a foul-smelling secretion from glands at its rear when threatened.

    Our original goal had been a mirador in the Mont-rebei Gorge, from which we could look back the way we had come (📷1) and also in the onward direction (📷2). Having met a Spanish couple who told us they were continuing in order to pick up a kayak and return by water, we decided to do the same. We thus continued beyond the mirador on Camí de Mont-rebei, a spectacular cliffside trail through the gorge known for its narrow path carved into rock walls above the river (📷3). After ~10km/ 3h 40min of hiking we arrived at a beach where, luckily, there was a spare double kayak available (we’d tried phoning, but had signal issues). Our 8km/ 1h 40min paddle back through the gorge (📷4) to a pier below Albergue de Montfalcó was followed by a 2km 4×4 transfer up the steep hill, where we paid for the rental—and our knees expressed their gratitude!

    Muralla de Finestres

    Roques de la Vila is a geological formation also popularly known as Muralla (China) de Finestres | the (Chinese) Wall Of Finestres. We followed online and local advice to park at Puente de Penavera, a bridge northeast of Estopiñán del Castillo, given the state of the dirt road. The 6.4km drive from our pitch in town took ~30 minutes. Although we sighted the formation ~4.5km into the hike, we first came to the former settlement of Finestres (📷1). It was depopulated in 1960 due to the filling of the Canelles reservoir; only one house, Casa Coix, is seasonally inhabited. A short and easy signposted walk links the village centre to Ermita de San Marcos | the Hermitage of Saint Mark; this is the best spot for panoramic views of the ~840m long formation (📷2). Folding of strata ~100 million years ago and subsequent erosion have created two primary parallel lines of vertical limestone that resemble a wall (📷3). Some of the formation is now partially submerged in the reservoir (📷4).

    Between the two lines of strata sits the 11–12th C. Romanesque Esglèsia de Sant Vicenç | Ermita San Vicente | Church of Saint Vincent, seen here from the more challenging path to reach it (📷1); poles are useful. On this part of the hike you cross over one of the walls and reach water level, where we noted this particular slab, nicely illustrating the process of continuing erosion (📷2). The hermitage is partially formed from limestone and the sanctuary is largely intact (📷3); the remnants of Castillo de Finestras, a medieval Moorish castle upon which the hermitage was built, are also evident. From this vantage point there’s an impressive view down the middle of the formation (📷4). The 15km/ 4.5h return hike was mostly exposed.

    After this hike it was farewell Aragón; it certainly made an impression and is an area we’d happily return to.

    #2026 #aragón #camperVan #catalonia #europe #hiking #nationalPark #nature #nomad #roadTrip #romans #spain #travel #unesco #vanLife
    #aragon #campervan #catalonia #europe #hiking #nationalpark
  9. Curiosity Drive @[email protected] ·

    The wild reaches of Aragón

    About half the size of Portugal, we knew very little of Spain’s Aragón region. That was about to change as our road from Extremadura led us through its northern reaches bound for the co-principality of Andorra.

    Coordinates

    Into Aragón

    From Aranjuez we began our journey northeast towards Zaragoza, noting changes in the landscape once we had escaped the spaghetti junctions, slow traffic and industrialized zones in Madrid’s orbit. We saw red earth in the hills near Medinaceli (📷1) and green fields further along the A-2 near Arcos de Jalón (📷2), both in the Castile and León region. Crossing into Aragón we came to the spa town of Alhama de Aragón, a name derived from Arabic, although its thermal springs were known in Roman times (📷3). A bridge crossing on Embalse de la Tranquera | Tranquillity Reservoir, which certainly lives up to its name, as we approached pitch in Nuévalos (📷4).

    Monasterio de Piedra near Nuévalos is a former monastery (now part ruin and part hotel) and Romantic landscaped park containing trees, waterfalls and caves along the Piedra River; this is Cascada la Caprichosa (📷1). The combination of Cascade Cola de Caballo (📷2) with Gruta Iris behind its curtain (📷3), reached via a staircase cut into the cliff, was easily the highlight. Some of the scenery was decidedly more tranquil, but no less dramatic (📷4). Visiting the ruin of Santa Maria de Piedra is included in the entry ticket; it was occupied by Cistercian monks from 1218 CE for 617 years, until confiscated by the Spanish Government in 1835 and coming into private ownership. Within the ruin there’s a museum about wine making and exhibit on the introduction of chocolate to Europe. Note that the site only reopened a year ago after severe flood damage in late 2024; it’s mass tourism-oriented, so an early start helps avoid the crowds.

    Zaragoza

    After leaving Nuévalos we enjoyed seeing semi-arid agricultural landscapes (📷1) before joining motorways bound for the metropolitan sprawl of Zaragoza. Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar is the city’s defining landmark, a huge baroque basilica with domes overlooking the Ebro, seen here behind 15th C. bridge of Puente de Piedra (📷2); the Romans had also bridged the Ebro here when the town was known as Caesaraugusta. The 11th C. Islamic Aljafería Palace is part of the Mudéjar Architecture of Aragón UNESCO listing (📷3); it was unfortunately closed for siesta when we arrived—having been caught out a few times by this already! La Seo Cathedral | Cathedral of the Saviour is also part of the UNESCO listing, being built atop the Roman forum and serving as a mosque—evident in its exterior Mudéjar wall (📷4)—before expansion as a Christian cathedral; the interior (€) mixes Romanesque, Gothic, Mudéjar, Renaissance and Baroque styles.

    Los Monegros

    The Ruta Jubierre | Jubierre track is an unpaved route that leads into the Barrancos de Jubierre, a badlands area within Aragón’s semi-arid Los Monegros region (it’s not technically a desert). We began from the southern end near the village of Castejón de Monegros, heading northward to exit onto the A-131 towards Sariñena. To visit Tozal Solitario, an isolated rock formation, we wisely left the van on the main track and walked to the formation (📷1). Tozal de Colásico is larger and can be seen without leaving the main track (📷2); you can also drive right up to it. Tozales de Los Pedregales is a collection of four eroded clay formations and ravines reached via a short but well-marked hike (📷3); this is formation no. 4. Tozal de la Cobeta is apparently the most photographed formation (📷4); we drove off the main track right up to this one, avoiding a hot 6km return hike. It took us ~3h to make the drive at ~30km/h max and to take short hikes to the formations. It had been dry so the dirt was very compacted and we had no concerns about clearance in our 2WD camper; we used the width of the road to avoid ruts and corrugations, as traffic was light. There was no avoiding the dust though!

    Parque Natural Sierra y Cañones de Guara

    The pretty but touristy village of Alquézar lies within Parque Natural Sierra y Cañones de Guara | Natural Park of the Sierra and Canyons of Guara; it’s crowned by Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor and Castillo Torre (📷1). The 6 € pp 3km Pasarelas de Alquézar descend from the ticket gate at the town hall into the adjacent Río Vero canyon, where we noted native Ramonda myconi | the Pyrenean violet in flower (📷2). We gained access to the clear-running river at Cueva Picamartillo (📷3) before taking the first of several gangways suspended over the riverbed (📷4).

    Continuing in the pasarelas, the hand of man is evident in the canyon, with industrial remnants including a weir and canal that was part of a small hydroelectric plant completed in 1913 (📷1); it reused an old mill and today’s visitor trail began as service paths. The dramatic limestone canyon itself however is of natural karst geology and the metal gangways purpose-built for tourism (📷2). Aphyllanthes monspeliensis | the blue aphyllanthes is endemic to the western Mediterranean (📷3). A look back towards town from Mirador del Vero as a thunderstorm approaches; you can see more of the gangways on the riverside cliffs (📷4). This was a 6.3km/ 2h 20min loop walk from the campsite.

    Our next hike in Parque Natural Sierra y Cañones de Guara was the S-3 Circular, anticlockwise, from the trailhead at Rodellar. We descended into Barranco del Mascún | the Mascún River gorge, noting rock climbers scaling sheer cliffs on both sides of the valley and gradually improving our view of the first of several rock windows we’d see on the trail (📷1). On reaching the riverbed we joined the Camino de Otín. There’s a nice view back to the window from near Surgencia de Mascún | the spring where Río Mascún stops being underground (📷2); shortly after the spring the intimidating Espolón de la Virgen via ferrata begins. Native Helianthemum apenninum | white rock-rose seemed to like living in the valley floor (📷3). We had views to Torre de Santiago for some time before reaching the formation (📷4).

    Ascending the S-3 trail beside Torre de Santiago (📷1). We found the lengthy and uneven climb from the riverbed to Mirador del Mascún (📷2) rather tough, but greatly enjoyed ever-changing perspectives on the Torre. Native Polygala calcarea | the chalk milkwort favoured living at elevation (📷3). At the abandoned village of Otín we turned towards Dolmen de la Losa Mora, ~5,000 years old (📷4). The trail was less dramatic but pleasant, until we began the descent back to the Río Mascún via the Andrebot ravine—here the path was formed of loose limestone and slow-going (use poles to reduce tumble risk). From the spring we backtracked up to Rodellar. The loop over 15km took us 5.5h. At camp we checked in with “I need a place to sleep, a beer & a hot shower—in any order!”

    Parque Natural Ordesa y Monte Perdido

    Pradera de Ordesa (parking near Torla-Ordesa) to the Cola de Caballo waterfall is a popular out-and-back trail in Parque Natural Ordesa y Monte Perdido | Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park. The Senda a la Cola de Caballo trail runs beside the Río Arazas, although the first section is under forest cover with limited views (📷1). After ~100min on trail things get more open and we found ourselves admiring spring greens next to clear mountain waters and impressive walls of rock in both downstream (📷2) and upstream (📷3) directions. The trail offers a number of waterfall waypoints, but they’re not all easy to see well due to vegetation overgrowth or flooded miradors; this is part of Gradas de Soaso, a sequence of steps (📷4).

    After ~2h on trail the landscape changed again, to a bleaker grassy expanse as we got nearer to the head of the valley (📷1). Water streamed off the cliffs, forming rivulets that found their way to the river, although not before leaving the ground boggy in many places (📷2). Our first new flower of the day was a native in the daisy family, Tussilago farfara | the colt’s foot (📷3). At 9km/ 3h on trail we reached the signature Cascada Cola de Caballo | horse trail waterfall, which felt somewhat anticlimactic (📷4).

    Our second new flower was native Narcissus pseudonarcissus | the wild daffodil, which seemed to favour growing within the protective cocoon offered by another (perfectly named) spiny native, Echinospartum horridum (📷1). Vultures circled overhead; we think we heard marmots whistling and the herd of native Rupicapra pyrenaica | Pyrenean chamois we’d seen on the way in had drawn closer to the river as we turned back (📷2). Cascada del Estrecho was our favourite waterfall; we detoured from the main path to its mirador on the return leg (📷3). Instead of rejoining the main path we crossed the river, which afforded new views en route to the parking area (📷4). 19km/ 5.5h return.

    A scenic drive out of the mountains from pitch in Broto to the town of Barbastro, where chores awaited. Here’s the view from Mirador de Jánovas, between the villages of Fiscal and Boltaña (📷1). Embalse de Mediano contained stands of flooded trees (📷2) and the threat of rain made for moody reflections (📷3). Embalse de El Grado I, the neighbouring reservoir, was looking very emerald from the van door as we stopped for lunch.

    Montfalcó

    Despite some reports, the 15km from the N-230 to public parking at Montfalcó (near Viacamp) weren’t at all challenging in a 2WD, with mostly good surface—but narrow in places. Mirador de Montfalcó overlooks Pantà de Canelles | Embalse de Canelles, but also offered a first glimpse of the Noguera Ribagorzana river that divides Aragón’s Montsec de L’Estall to the west (left bank) from Catalonia’s Montsec d’Ares on the eastern shore (📷1). These karst escarpments are part of the outer mountains of the Central Pyrenees, formed from Cretaceous and Jurassic materials.

    We’d come to hike the Camino Natural de Montfalcó al Congost de Mont-rebei | Natural Path from Montfalcó to the Congost de Mont-rebei. Here’s a view from the first pasarela | catwalk up a 30m escarpment, with 139 steps over 90m in length (📷2). The second pasarela is longer at 120m, with 215 steps ascending a 44m high escarpment (📷3). This is where you question how comfortable you are in the knowledge it was likely engineered by the lowest bidder… Sarcocapnos enneaphylla, native to southwestern Europe and northern Africa, is however quite at home on limestone escarpments (📷4).

    From the second pasarela we could anticipate the upcoming descent to the suspension bridge spanning the 35m gap between Aragón and Catalonia (📷1). From said bridge at Congost del Seguer, looking into the gorge of Mont-rebei, we could readily appreciate the depth of canyon the river had cut here (📷2); the cliffs reach over 500m high. Camino Natural de Montfalcó al Congost de Mont-rebei ascends a short way on the Catalonian side to intersect the Camí de Mont-rebei, itself a segment of the long-distance GR-1 (Sendero Histórico). As we climbed to join it we got a good look back at the second pasarela we’d used on the opposite bank (📷3). We also looked down of course (the path is uneven here) and avoided trampling this big darkling beetle (📷4); Blaps lusitanica can release a foul-smelling secretion from glands at its rear when threatened.

    Our original goal had been a mirador in the Mont-rebei Gorge, from which we could look back the way we had come (📷1) and also in the onward direction (📷2). Having met a Spanish couple who told us they were continuing in order to pick up a kayak and return by water, we decided to do the same. We thus continued beyond the mirador on Camí de Mont-rebei, a spectacular cliffside trail through the gorge known for its narrow path carved into rock walls above the river (📷3). After ~10km/ 3h 40min of hiking we arrived at a beach where, luckily, there was a spare double kayak available (we’d tried phoning, but had signal issues). Our 8km/ 1h 40min paddle back through the gorge (📷4) to a pier below Albergue de Montfalcó was followed by a 2km 4×4 transfer up the steep hill, where we paid for the rental—and our knees expressed their gratitude!

    Muralla de Finestres

    Roques de la Vila is a geological formation also popularly known as Muralla (China) de Finestres | the (Chinese) Wall Of Finestres. We followed online and local advice to park at Puente de Penavera, a bridge northeast of Estopiñán del Castillo, given the state of the dirt road. The 6.4km drive from our pitch in town took ~30 minutes. Although we sighted the formation ~4.5km into the hike, we first came to the former settlement of Finestres (📷1). It was depopulated in 1960 due to the filling of the Canelles reservoir; only one house, Casa Coix, is seasonally inhabited. A short and easy signposted walk links the village centre to Ermita de San Marcos | the Hermitage of Saint Mark; this is the best spot for panoramic views of the ~840m long formation (📷2). Folding of strata ~100 million years ago and subsequent erosion have created two primary parallel lines of vertical limestone that resemble a wall (📷3). Some of the formation is now partially submerged in the reservoir (📷4).

    Between the two lines of strata sits the 11–12th C. Romanesque Esglèsia de Sant Vicenç | Ermita San Vicente | Church of Saint Vincent, seen here from the more challenging path to reach it (📷1); poles are useful. On this part of the hike you cross over one of the walls and reach water level, where we noted this particular slab, nicely illustrating the process of continuing erosion (📷2). The hermitage is partially formed from limestone and the sanctuary is largely intact (📷3); the remnants of Castillo de Finestras, a medieval Moorish castle upon which the hermitage was built, are also evident. From this vantage point there’s an impressive view down the middle of the formation (📷4). The 15km/ 4.5h return hike was mostly exposed.

    After this hike it was farewell Aragón; it certainly made an impression and is an area we’d happily return to.

    #2026 #aragón #camperVan #catalonia #europe #hiking #nationalPark #nature #nomad #roadTrip #romans #spain #travel #unesco #vanLife
    #vanlife #unesco #travel #spain #romans #roadtrip
  10. Curiosity Drive @[email protected] ·

    The wild reaches of Aragón

    About half the size of Portugal, we knew very little of Spain’s Aragón region. That was about to change as our road from Extremadura led us through its northern reaches bound for the co-principality of Andorra.

    Coordinates

    Into Aragón

    From Aranjuez we began our journey northeast towards Zaragoza, noting changes in the landscape once we had escaped the spaghetti junctions, slow traffic and industrialized zones in Madrid’s orbit. We saw red earth in the hills near Medinaceli (📷1) and green fields further along the A-2 near Arcos de Jalón (📷2), both in the Castile and León region. Crossing into Aragón we came to the spa town of Alhama de Aragón, a name derived from Arabic, although its thermal springs were known in Roman times (📷3). A bridge crossing on Embalse de la Tranquera | Tranquillity Reservoir, which certainly lives up to its name, as we approached pitch in Nuévalos (📷4).

    Monasterio de Piedra near Nuévalos is a former monastery (now part ruin and part hotel) and Romantic landscaped park containing trees, waterfalls and caves along the Piedra River; this is Cascada la Caprichosa (📷1). The combination of Cascade Cola de Caballo (📷2) with Gruta Iris behind its curtain (📷3), reached via a staircase cut into the cliff, was easily the highlight. Some of the scenery was decidedly more tranquil, but no less dramatic (📷4). Visiting the ruin of Santa Maria de Piedra is included in the entry ticket; it was occupied by Cistercian monks from 1218 CE for 617 years, until confiscated by the Spanish Government in 1835 and coming into private ownership. Within the ruin there’s a museum about wine making and exhibit on the introduction of chocolate to Europe. Note that the site only reopened a year ago after severe flood damage in late 2024; it’s mass tourism-oriented, so an early start helps avoid the crowds.

    Zaragoza

    After leaving Nuévalos we enjoyed seeing semi-arid agricultural landscapes (📷1) before joining motorways bound for the metropolitan sprawl of Zaragoza. Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar is the city’s defining landmark, a huge baroque basilica with domes overlooking the Ebro, seen here behind 15th C. bridge of Puente de Piedra (📷2); the Romans had also bridged the Ebro here when the town was known as Caesaraugusta. The 11th C. Islamic Aljafería Palace is part of the Mudéjar Architecture of Aragón UNESCO listing (📷3); it was unfortunately closed for siesta when we arrived—having been caught out a few times by this already! La Seo Cathedral | Cathedral of the Saviour is also part of the UNESCO listing, being built atop the Roman forum and serving as a mosque—evident in its exterior Mudéjar wall (📷4)—before expansion as a Christian cathedral; the interior (€) mixes Romanesque, Gothic, Mudéjar, Renaissance and Baroque styles.

    Los Monegros

    The Ruta Jubierre | Jubierre track is an unpaved route that leads into the Barrancos de Jubierre, a badlands area within Aragón’s semi-arid Los Monegros region (it’s not technically a desert). We began from the southern end near the village of Castejón de Monegros, heading northward to exit onto the A-131 towards Sariñena. To visit Tozal Solitario, an isolated rock formation, we wisely left the van on the main track and walked to the formation (📷1). Tozal de Colásico is larger and can be seen without leaving the main track (📷2); you can also drive right up to it. Tozales de Los Pedregales is a collection of four eroded clay formations and ravines reached via a short but well-marked hike (📷3); this is formation no. 4. Tozal de la Cobeta is apparently the most photographed formation (📷4); we drove off the main track right up to this one, avoiding a hot 6km return hike. It took us ~3h to make the drive at ~30km/h max and to take short hikes to the formations. It had been dry so the dirt was very compacted and we had no concerns about clearance in our 2WD camper; we used the width of the road to avoid ruts and corrugations, as traffic was light. There was no avoiding the dust though!

    Parque Natural Sierra y Cañones de Guara

    The pretty but touristy village of Alquézar lies within Parque Natural Sierra y Cañones de Guara | Natural Park of the Sierra and Canyons of Guara; it’s crowned by Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor and Castillo Torre (📷1). The 6 € pp 3km Pasarelas de Alquézar descend from the ticket gate at the town hall into the adjacent Río Vero canyon, where we noted native Ramonda myconi | the Pyrenean violet in flower (📷2). We gained access to the clear-running river at Cueva Picamartillo (📷3) before taking the first of several gangways suspended over the riverbed (📷4).

    Continuing in the pasarelas, the hand of man is evident in the canyon, with industrial remnants including a weir and canal that was part of a small hydroelectric plant completed in 1913 (📷1); it reused an old mill and today’s visitor trail began as service paths. The dramatic limestone canyon itself however is of natural karst geology and the metal gangways purpose-built for tourism (📷2). Aphyllanthes monspeliensis | the blue aphyllanthes is endemic to the western Mediterranean (📷3). A look back towards town from Mirador del Vero as a thunderstorm approaches; you can see more of the gangways on the riverside cliffs (📷4). This was a 6.3km/ 2h 20min loop walk from the campsite.

    Our next hike in Parque Natural Sierra y Cañones de Guara was the S-3 Circular, anticlockwise, from the trailhead at Rodellar. We descended into Barranco del Mascún | the Mascún River gorge, noting rock climbers scaling sheer cliffs on both sides of the valley and gradually improving our view of the first of several rock windows we’d see on the trail (📷1). On reaching the riverbed we joined the Camino de Otín. There’s a nice view back to the window from near Surgencia de Mascún | the spring where Río Mascún stops being underground (📷2); shortly after the spring the intimidating Espolón de la Virgen via ferrata begins. Native Helianthemum apenninum | white rock-rose seemed to like living in the valley floor (📷3). We had views to Torre de Santiago for some time before reaching the formation (📷4).

    Ascending the S-3 trail beside Torre de Santiago (📷1). We found the lengthy and uneven climb from the riverbed to Mirador del Mascún (📷2) rather tough, but greatly enjoyed ever-changing perspectives on the Torre. Native Polygala calcarea | the chalk milkwort favoured living at elevation (📷3). At the abandoned village of Otín we turned towards Dolmen de la Losa Mora, ~5,000 years old (📷4). The trail was less dramatic but pleasant, until we began the descent back to the Río Mascún via the Andrebot ravine—here the path was formed of loose limestone and slow-going (use poles to reduce tumble risk). From the spring we backtracked up to Rodellar. The loop over 15km took us 5.5h. At camp we checked in with “I need a place to sleep, a beer & a hot shower—in any order!”

    Parque Natural Ordesa y Monte Perdido

    Pradera de Ordesa (parking near Torla-Ordesa) to the Cola de Caballo waterfall is a popular out-and-back trail in Parque Natural Ordesa y Monte Perdido | Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park. The Senda a la Cola de Caballo trail runs beside the Río Arazas, although the first section is under forest cover with limited views (📷1). After ~100min on trail things get more open and we found ourselves admiring spring greens next to clear mountain waters and impressive walls of rock in both downstream (📷2) and upstream (📷3) directions. The trail offers a number of waterfall waypoints, but they’re not all easy to see well due to vegetation overgrowth or flooded miradors; this is part of Gradas de Soaso, a sequence of steps (📷4).

    After ~2h on trail the landscape changed again, to a bleaker grassy expanse as we got nearer to the head of the valley (📷1). Water streamed off the cliffs, forming rivulets that found their way to the river, although not before leaving the ground boggy in many places (📷2). Our first new flower of the day was a native in the daisy family, Tussilago farfara | the colt’s foot (📷3). At 9km/ 3h on trail we reached the signature Cascada Cola de Caballo | horse trail waterfall, which felt somewhat anticlimactic (📷4).

    Our second new flower was native Narcissus pseudonarcissus | the wild daffodil, which seemed to favour growing within the protective cocoon offered by another (perfectly named) spiny native, Echinospartum horridum (📷1). Vultures circled overhead; we think we heard marmots whistling and the herd of native Rupicapra pyrenaica | Pyrenean chamois we’d seen on the way in had drawn closer to the river as we turned back (📷2). Cascada del Estrecho was our favourite waterfall; we detoured from the main path to its mirador on the return leg (📷3). Instead of rejoining the main path we crossed the river, which afforded new views en route to the parking area (📷4). 19km/ 5.5h return.

    A scenic drive out of the mountains from pitch in Broto to the town of Barbastro, where chores awaited. Here’s the view from Mirador de Jánovas, between the villages of Fiscal and Boltaña (📷1). Embalse de Mediano contained stands of flooded trees (📷2) and the threat of rain made for moody reflections (📷3). Embalse de El Grado I, the neighbouring reservoir, was looking very emerald from the van door as we stopped for lunch.

    Montfalcó

    Despite some reports, the 15km from the N-230 to public parking at Montfalcó (near Viacamp) weren’t at all challenging in a 2WD, with mostly good surface—but narrow in places. Mirador de Montfalcó overlooks Pantà de Canelles | Embalse de Canelles, but also offered a first glimpse of the Noguera Ribagorzana river that divides Aragón’s Montsec de L’Estall to the west (left bank) from Catalonia’s Montsec d’Ares on the eastern shore (📷1). These karst escarpments are part of the outer mountains of the Central Pyrenees, formed from Cretaceous and Jurassic materials.

    We’d come to hike the Camino Natural de Montfalcó al Congost de Mont-rebei | Natural Path from Montfalcó to the Congost de Mont-rebei. Here’s a view from the first pasarela | catwalk up a 30m escarpment, with 139 steps over 90m in length (📷2). The second pasarela is longer at 120m, with 215 steps ascending a 44m high escarpment (📷3). This is where you question how comfortable you are in the knowledge it was likely engineered by the lowest bidder… Sarcocapnos enneaphylla, native to southwestern Europe and northern Africa, is however quite at home on limestone escarpments (📷4).

    From the second pasarela we could anticipate the upcoming descent to the suspension bridge spanning the 35m gap between Aragón and Catalonia (📷1). From said bridge at Congost del Seguer, looking into the gorge of Mont-rebei, we could readily appreciate the depth of canyon the river had cut here (📷2); the cliffs reach over 500m high. Camino Natural de Montfalcó al Congost de Mont-rebei ascends a short way on the Catalonian side to intersect the Camí de Mont-rebei, itself a segment of the long-distance GR-1 (Sendero Histórico). As we climbed to join it we got a good look back at the second pasarela we’d used on the opposite bank (📷3). We also looked down of course (the path is uneven here) and avoided trampling this big darkling beetle (📷4); Blaps lusitanica can release a foul-smelling secretion from glands at its rear when threatened.

    Our original goal had been a mirador in the Mont-rebei Gorge, from which we could look back the way we had come (📷1) and also in the onward direction (📷2). Having met a Spanish couple who told us they were continuing in order to pick up a kayak and return by water, we decided to do the same. We thus continued beyond the mirador on Camí de Mont-rebei, a spectacular cliffside trail through the gorge known for its narrow path carved into rock walls above the river (📷3). After ~10km/ 3h 40min of hiking we arrived at a beach where, luckily, there was a spare double kayak available (we’d tried phoning, but had signal issues). Our 8km/ 1h 40min paddle back through the gorge (📷4) to a pier below Albergue de Montfalcó was followed by a 2km 4×4 transfer up the steep hill, where we paid for the rental—and our knees expressed their gratitude!

    Muralla de Finestres

    Roques de la Vila is a geological formation also popularly known as Muralla (China) de Finestres | the (Chinese) Wall Of Finestres. We followed online and local advice to park at Puente de Penavera, a bridge northeast of Estopiñán del Castillo, given the state of the dirt road. The 6.4km drive from our pitch in town took ~30 minutes. Although we sighted the formation ~4.5km into the hike, we first came to the former settlement of Finestres (📷1). It was depopulated in 1960 due to the filling of the Canelles reservoir; only one house, Casa Coix, is seasonally inhabited. A short and easy signposted walk links the village centre to Ermita de San Marcos | the Hermitage of Saint Mark; this is the best spot for panoramic views of the ~840m long formation (📷2). Folding of strata ~100 million years ago and subsequent erosion have created two primary parallel lines of vertical limestone that resemble a wall (📷3). Some of the formation is now partially submerged in the reservoir (📷4).

    Between the two lines of strata sits the 11–12th C. Romanesque Esglèsia de Sant Vicenç | Ermita San Vicente | Church of Saint Vincent, seen here from the more challenging path to reach it (📷1); poles are useful. On this part of the hike you cross over one of the walls and reach water level, where we noted this particular slab, nicely illustrating the process of continuing erosion (📷2). The hermitage is partially formed from limestone and the sanctuary is largely intact (📷3); the remnants of Castillo de Finestras, a medieval Moorish castle upon which the hermitage was built, are also evident. From this vantage point there’s an impressive view down the middle of the formation (📷4). The 15km/ 4.5h return hike was mostly exposed.

    After this hike it was farewell Aragón; it certainly made an impression and is an area we’d happily return to.

    #2026 #aragón #camperVan #catalonia #europe #hiking #nationalPark #nature #nomad #roadTrip #romans #spain #travel #unesco #vanLife
    #aragon #campervan #catalonia #europe #hiking #nationalpark
  11. Curiosity Drive @[email protected] ·

    Extremadura to the heart of Spain

    Instead of continuing south in Portugal and returning to Frankfurt via the Algarve and southern coast of Spain, we decided to cut through the middle of the Iberian Peninsula. Thus, we entered the new-to-us region of Extremadura.

    Coordinates

    Extremadura’s distant past

    Our first stop on re-entering Spain was in the pre-Roman era, when southern Iberia was influenced by Phoenician and Mediterranean contact, before Roman conquest. Cancho Roano near Zalamea de la Serena is named for the farm on which it was discovered in 1978. It’s a controversial Tartessian (late Bronze Age/ early Iron Age civilization with strong Phoenician influence) structure founded in the 6th C. BCE. Some think it was a palace/ elite residence, others a sanctuary; it lacks the domestic features of a typical settlement. The site was abandoned before 370 BCE after being intentionally sealed and burned—possibly in an act of ritualistic decommissioning.

    The complex is surrounded by a moat with an entrance terrace between two towers facing the rising sun; the threshold is a decorated stela (ordinarily placed vertically) and the red clay courtyard includes a 5m deep well (📷1). The building was originally entered through a central hall, beneath which are remains of an even earlier structure (📷2). A round altar on the floor formed from clay and lime features a triangular element that kept a ceramic bowl, presumed to contain/ collect a sacred liquid (📷3). The central bulding is surrounded by a corridor and outer enclosure divided into 24 small rooms (📷4); both had stone foundations, clay floors, adobe brick walls with lime plaster and wooden roofs.

    Roman Mérida

    We stopped overnight in Medellín, with a castle, Roman theatre and birthplace of Hernán Cortés (who toppled the Aztec Empire enabling Spanish control of Mexico, reshaping the region’s culture, population and power structures through conquest, disease and colonization). In nearby Mérida the UNESCO-listed “Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida” preserves and protects the remains of the Roman colony of Augusta Emérita, founded in 25 BCE. It’s the most complete Roman urban ensemble in Spain and within Europe ranks among an exceptional few outside of Italy. We parked across the Guadiana River near the foot of Puente Romano, one of the longest surviving Roman bridges at 783m (📷1). At its other end, the Alcazaba | citadel is a 9th C. Islamic fortress built atop Roman works to suppress the revolting local population after the city’s capture by Muslim forces (who renamed it Mérida) in the early 8th C. Most amazing, a vestibule provided access to a double staircase descending to a cistern that was refilled from river water filtered through gravel at the base of a Roman dyke (📷2). Nearby is Palacio de la China | China Palace in Plaza de España, a 1928 department store built in Sevillian style (📷3); like many modern buildings in Mérida, it incorporates Roman remains in its substructure. The Templo de Diana | Temple of Diana is a Roman temple in the ancient forum area that was later incorporated into a noble residence, 15th–16th C. Palacio de los Corbos (📷4); this act likely contributed to the temple’s preservation.

    Anfiteatro Romano | the Amphitheatre of Mérida was a gladiator arena opened in 8 BC, spanning ~64 by ~42 metres across and built partly from opus caementicium | concrete; the central pit was covered with a wooden floor during games watched by 20,000 people (📷1). Teatro Romano de Mérida | the Roman Theatre of Mérida is the city’s headline monument, built 16–15 BCE and still in use today for performance arts (📷2); in Roman times it also found use for town council meetings, electoral assemblies and posthumous tributes to important public figures. Nearby Casa del Anfiteatro | the Amphitheatre House includes rooms and corridors decorated with mosaics, such as this one depicting crushing of the grapes (📷3); note the juice collected in three vessels below the winepress. Circo romano | the Roman Circus was the city’s chariot-racing stadium, built in the 1st C. CE (📷4); one of the best preserved of its kind in the entire Roman world, it could entertain 30,000 spectators.

    Museo Nacional de Arte Romano | National Museum of Roman Art houses artefacts from Augusta Emérita, such as this original 1st C. CE statue of Ceres, goddess of agriculture, from the scaenae frons | backdrop of the Theatre (📷1); the building itself is inspired by Roman brick arches. Casa del Mitreo is another elite residence, built in the late 1st C. outside of the city walls and featuring mosaics, but also notably retaining multiple residual frescoes, such as these two candelabra | candlestick holders (📷2); it was initially mistakenly identified as a temple dedicated to Mithras. The remnant core of Arco de Trajano | Trajan’s Arch stands 14m high (📷3); it was originally clad in marble panels. The smaller Visigothic collection of the National Museum of Roman Art is housed in a separate building, closer to the Alcazaba; among the works is this 7th C. pilaster, a decorative element in this case featuring the motif of Roman window bars (📷4). The Visigoths took control of Mérida in the early 6th C. and it remained an important political and religious centre in the Visigothic kingdom. Our 13km wander through history in 30° took 5.5h.

    Cáceres

    The walled Old Town of Cáceres is a UNESCO World Heritage Site containing one of Europe’s best-preserved medieval ensembles, mixing Roman substructure (the 1st C. BCE colony of Norba Caesarina) with largely intact Islamic, Gothic and Renaissance architecture. On a Monday we found it largely deserted—even Plaza Mayor, the main square. A few tour groups did shuffle from ticket booth to ticket booth, but the homologous stone, populous pigeons and closed doors resisted our efforts to connect with this open-air museum, which seemed to lack residents to give it soul. In the late Gothic Santa Iglesia Concatedral de Santa María | Co-Cathedral of Santa María a spiral staircase (📷1) led to a small platform in the bell tower with views over the town (📷2); a number of other towers (including the 12th C. Moorish Torre de Bujaco) were in scaffold. We found the medieval streets and walls struggled to offer themselves as photographic subjects. An exception was at Palacio de Carvajal | Carvajal Palace, a 15th–16th century Renaissance-style palace, featuring a distinctive Gothic-style corner balcony beneath a pointed arch (📷3). We caught the bus back to camp feeling underwhelmed and questioning why this should be so. Camp itself is a highlight: we needed a break from travelling at pace, and what a delight to find an affordable pitch with en suite facilities (📷4)!

    Monumento Natural Los Barruecos

    We began at Museo Vostell-Malpartida, founded in 1976 near Malpartida de Cáceres; photography isn’t allowed inside, so we’ve nothing to share/ won’t attempt to describe the art. It’s within Monumento Natural Los Barruecos, given the museum’s buildings were part of a wool processing complex that created that reserve’s artificial ponds, formerly used for wool washing. The surrounding granitic landscape and the new wetland support colonies of Ciconia ciconia | the white stork (📷1); we also got fairly close at ground level (📷2). This hairy fellow is Isturgia famula, a moth native to southern Europe (📷3). This “bujío” is a traditional stone hut used by shepherds for protection from weather or as a temporary resting place (📷4); purportedly a common sight in pastoral landscapes where grazing was historically important.

    Aside from storks we identified a variety of birds on the ground, in the water and overhead, including Aegypius monachus | the black vulture; Phalacrocorax carbo | the great cormorant; Hieraaetus pennatus | the booted eagle; Actitis hypoleucos | the common sandpiper; Anser anser | the greylag goose; Podiceps cristatus | the great crested grebe; Ardea cinerea | the grey heron; and Motacilla alba | the pied wagtail. It’s a biodiversity hotspot in an otherwise dry plain!

    Charca de Barrueco de Arriba was the second pond we circumnavigated; info boards on the shoreline describe scenes from the “The Spoils of War” episode of Games of Thrones that was shot here (📷1). Safe from attack by fire-breathing dragons, the smaller-scale winged creatures we did see included this black and white beauty, Aporia crataegi | the black-veined white butterfly (📷2). A number of the granite formations have been named, such as Peña del Tiburón | Shark Rock, with natural erosion forming an eye and mouth (📷3); although we didn’t see any sharks in the pond, we did see Mauremys leprosa | the Mediterranean turtle. On the blue trail there are examples of petroglyphs from the Bronze Age, but all we made out was a caged rock. We could see only grass and granite at the site marked as a late Roman village. The “anthropomorphic tombs” were an easier spot, although there was no information on site regarding their age or occupants (📷4); possibly early medieval? Our route blended the green, red and blue trails, covering 8km in under 3h.

    Monfragüe National Park

    We celebrated Earth Day (as we all should) getting our dose of greens and blues in Parque Nacional de Monfragüe | Monfragüe National Park at the heart of the UNESCO Monfragüe Biosphere Reserve. This park in the Extremadura region is renowned for its birdlife and we had hardly begun our first trail when this small and familiar Fringilla coelebs | chaffinch sang us a fine tune (📷1); you can hear it below. The birds got rapidly bigger and soon we heard the whoosh of air through the flight feathers of Gyps fulvus | the griffin vulture (📷2). The park is also known for its landscapes, including rocky crags, scrubland, rivers and oak woodlands called dehesas in Spain—the montado in Portugal (📷3); this variety supports biodiversity. Gum rockrose were everywhere and on many of the bright white flowers beetles fulfilled a messy pollinator role; meet Heliotaurus ruficollis (📷4).

    We saw lots of butterflies in Monfragüe National Park—always a healthy sign—including Zerynthia rumina | the Spanish festoon, widespread across Spain (📷1) and Maniola jurtina | the meadow brown, which has a wider range (📷2). We began our second trail by crossing one of the bridges over the Río Tajo (📷3), a natural river by origin but reshaped by human activity including dam building. It was from a lookout of said river (Salto del Gitano) that we caught sight of our first Ciconia nigra | the black stork, recently arrived from sub-Saharan Africa and part of a European migratory population that come to breed here (📷4).

    Also at Salto del Gitano we spied—thanks to the line of bird scopes and lenses pointed at it—Monticola solitarius | the blue rock thrush, who appeared to be commenting on the attention being received (📷1). The geology at Salto del Gitano is noteworthy too; the near-vertical quartzite strata of Peña Falcón on the opposite bank shelters one of the most important griffon vulture colonies in Europe (📷2). We continued the trail to the hilltop Hermitage and Castle of Monfragüe, just closing as we arrived—but the free views of the landscape were worth the climb (📷3). As we got back to the van we were overflown by Milvus migrans | the black kite (📷4), a consolation prize for not having seen Aquila adalberti | the Spanish imperial eagle.

    Villareal de San Carlos to La Tajadilla, out-and-back was 9km and took a little over 3h. Our Fuente del Francés via Salto del Gitano and the castle return loop was 8km/ 3h.

    Toledo (Castilla-La Mancha)

    The historic centre of Toledo in Castilla-La Mancha (the plains around which are the stomping grounds of fictional character Don Quixote, first penned in 1605 CE) is a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site. Situated on a hill above the Río Tajo | Tagus River, the old town’s skyline is dominated by the Alcázar—a fortress with layers of Roman, Moorish and Spanish history, now a military museum (📷1); seen here from Mirador del Valle. Toledo’s listing in part reflects a long history of coexistence between Jewish, Muslim and Christian cultures—thus, references to the “city of three cultures”. In the Judería | Jewish Quarter we visited Sinagoga del Tránsito (1357–1391), converted to a church in 1492 and a museum of Jewish history since 1910 (📷2). There were queues to see the Moorish interior of Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca; also in the vicinity is the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes, known for its ornate cloisters (but we were feeling out-cloistered by now!). Instead we saw a Moorish exterior, at the former Mosque of Cristo de la Luz (999–1186), said to be one of the best-preserved Islamic structures in the city, despite conversion into a chapel (📷3). Catedral Primada Metropolitana de Santa María de la Asunción, the city’s 13th C. Gothic cathedral features an elaborate interior, including ornate carved “misericords” into which monks would lean backwards in order to remain technically standing during long services (📷4).

    Toledo’s UNESCO listing also reflects its concentration of monuments from different periods (Roman, Visigothic, Islamic, Gothic and Renaissance), as well as its roles as a former capital of Spain and an intellectual centre in medieval Europe. Puente de Alcántara is a bridge across the Río Tajo of Roman origin, although the current structure is largely medieval (📷1). Puerta del Sol | the Sun Gate was built by the Knights Hospitaller, a Catholic military order, in the late 13th to early 14th C. and combines Romanesque with Islamic styles (📷2). Both landmarks—the bridge and the gate—seem to typify Toledo’s architectural layer cake, in which the constructs of different periods are superimposed to create something not fully one thing nor the other. As a whole, the intact old town serves as a poignant reminder of the heritage lost to “strategic” bombing during WWII elsewhere in Europe (there was some damage during the Spanish Civil War). While wandering the old town this street corner made us think of the approach to the Treasury in Petra (📷3); even the more modern buildings are commonly sympathetic in style (📷4).

    Aranjuez (Madrid)

    Palacio Real de Aranjuez | the Royal Palace of Aranjuez is a UNESCO-listed component of the broader Aranjuez Cultural Landscape; this former royal residence lies ~50km south of Madrid. The palace was begun in 1561 CE by Philip II as a seasonal hunting lodge, with two subsequent wings enclosing a parade ground. To our eye the façade looks as if it had been commissioned under a restricted budget (📷1). Entry to the palace gardens is free. As Jardín del Parterre | the Parterre Garden has been demolished pending restoration, that left Jardín de la Isla | the Island Garden, a neglected-looking park consisting almost entirely of trees and hedges; note its fountains are on a timetable (📷2). A ticket buys internal access for a self-guided tour through some of the key royal apartments, the decoration of which largely reflects a mid-19th C. refurbishment under Isabella II. The Arab Study was our favourite, reminiscent of the Alhambra—indeed, it was designed by the man who restored that palace (📷3). Many rooms contained dark paintings with impaling scenes or female wardrobe malfunctions, perhaps gifting the royals some curious dreams. A bright exception was the garish Porcelain Room, a Rococo-style addition in 1763–65 which must have induced many a migraine since (📷4).

    Continuing or eastward journey, we exited Extremadura to enter another new-to-us region: Aragón.

    #2026 #camperVan #castillaLaMancha #europe #extremadura #hiking #madrid #nationalPark #nature #nomad #roadTrip #romans #spain #travel #unesco #vanLife
    #vanlife #unesco #travel #spain #romans #roadtrip
  12. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Gorges du Tarn, within Parc nationaldes Cévennes, is a canyon carved by the Tarn ~50km long & up to 500m deep. Large parts of the gorge are also included within the UNESCO-listed “Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape”. We began the scenic drive at Le Rozier, working our way W to E via cliffs & tunnels with frequent stops at viewpoints towards Sainte-Enimie. Hameau semi-troglodyte d'Eglazines | the “semi-troglodyte hamlet of Eglazines” was first to catch our eye (📷1). Although not as high, the hamlet of La Sablière is on the opposite bank of the Tarn, so access/ supplies is via a cableway (📷2). The larger settlement of La Malène is billed as a Petite Cité de Caractère | “Little City of Character” (📷3). Sainte-Enimie is listed as one of the "Most Beautiful Villages in France”; this view is from the river beach (📷4).

    From Sainte-Enimie we entered “Home” into the nav system & headed out of Occitaine. Plans for our next trip are uncertain as we await easing of global disruption.

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #nature #nationalPark 🌍 #unesco

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  13. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Gorges du Tarn, within Parc nationaldes Cévennes, is a canyon carved by the Tarn ~50km long & up to 500m deep. Large parts of the gorge are also included within the UNESCO-listed “Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape”. We began the scenic drive at Le Rozier, working our way W to E via cliffs & tunnels with frequent stops at viewpoints towards Sainte-Enimie. Hameau semi-troglodyte d'Eglazines | the “semi-troglodyte hamlet of Eglazines” was first to catch our eye (📷1). Although not as high, the hamlet of La Sablière is on the opposite bank of the Tarn, so access/ supplies is via a cableway (📷2). The larger settlement of La Malène is billed as a Petite Cité de Caractère | “Little City of Character” (📷3). Sainte-Enimie is listed as one of the "Most Beautiful Villages in France”; this view is from the river beach (📷4).

    From Sainte-Enimie we entered “Home” into the nav system & headed out of Occitaine. Plans for our next trip are uncertain as we await easing of global disruption.

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #nature #nationalPark 🌍 #unesco

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  14. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Gorges du Tarn, within Parc nationaldes Cévennes, is a canyon carved by the Tarn ~50km long & up to 500m deep. Large parts of the gorge are also included within the UNESCO-listed “Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape”. We began the scenic drive at Le Rozier, working our way W to E via cliffs & tunnels with frequent stops at viewpoints towards Sainte-Enimie. Hameau semi-troglodyte d'Eglazines | the “semi-troglodyte hamlet of Eglazines” was first to catch our eye (📷1). Although not as high, the hamlet of La Sablière is on the opposite bank of the Tarn, so access/ supplies is via a cableway (📷2). The larger settlement of La Malène is billed as a Petite Cité de Caractère | “Little City of Character” (📷3). Sainte-Enimie is listed as one of the "Most Beautiful Villages in France”; this view is from the river beach (📷4).

    From Sainte-Enimie we entered “Home” into the nav system & headed out of Occitaine. Plans for our next trip are uncertain as we await easing of global disruption.

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #nature #nationalPark 🌍 #unesco

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  15. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Gorges du Tarn, within Parc nationaldes Cévennes, is a canyon carved by the Tarn ~50km long & up to 500m deep. Large parts of the gorge are also included within the UNESCO-listed “Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape”. We began the scenic drive at Le Rozier, working our way W to E via cliffs & tunnels with frequent stops at viewpoints towards Sainte-Enimie. Hameau semi-troglodyte d'Eglazines | the “semi-troglodyte hamlet of Eglazines” was first to catch our eye (📷1). Although not as high, the hamlet of La Sablière is on the opposite bank of the Tarn, so access/ supplies is via a cableway (📷2). The larger settlement of La Malène is billed as a Petite Cité de Caractère | “Little City of Character” (📷3). Sainte-Enimie is listed as one of the "Most Beautiful Villages in France”; this view is from the river beach (📷4).

    From Sainte-Enimie we entered “Home” into the nav system & headed out of Occitaine. Plans for our next trip are uncertain as we await easing of global disruption.

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #nature #nationalPark 🌍 #unesco

    #unesco #nationalpark #nature #vanlife #roadtrip #nomad
  16. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Gorges du Tarn, within Parc nationaldes Cévennes, is a canyon carved by the Tarn ~50km long & up to 500m deep. Large parts of the gorge are also included within the UNESCO-listed “Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape”. We began the scenic drive at Le Rozier, working our way W to E via cliffs & tunnels with frequent stops at viewpoints towards Sainte-Enimie. Hameau semi-troglodyte d'Eglazines | the “semi-troglodyte hamlet of Eglazines” was first to catch our eye (📷1). Although not as high, the hamlet of La Sablière is on the opposite bank of the Tarn, so access/ supplies is via a cableway (📷2). The larger settlement of La Malène is billed as a Petite Cité de Caractère | “Little City of Character” (📷3). Sainte-Enimie is listed as one of the "Most Beautiful Villages in France”; this view is from the river beach (📷4).

    From Sainte-Enimie we entered “Home” into the nav system & headed out of Occitaine. Plans for our next trip are uncertain as we await easing of global disruption.

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #nature #nationalPark 🌍 #unesco

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  17. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    We drove to the Mont Aigoual summit at 1,565m elevation in Parc nationaldes Cévennes | Cevennes National Park; the park is recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Our route up via Nant & Dourbies was long, winding & frankly tedious, so despite views towards the coast (📷1) & further inland (📷2) we felt less appreciative than we should have. We decided against our intended hike in 7°C & headed down via Gorges de la Jonte. En route the road verge was decorated with numerous native Dactylorhiza sambucina | the elder-flowered orchid, in shades of yellow, deep purple & pink (we first saw it in Theth, Albania). As is common practice, some of the formations in the gorge are named; this is Arcade des Bergers | Shepherds' Arcade (📷3). The hamlet of Le Truel, where terraces once held vineyards, orchards & vegetable gardens, while sheep & goats grazed sloping pastures (📷4). Gyps fulvus | griffon vultures soar from the cliffs above, seemingly untroubled by the loss of a traditional way of life.

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #nationalPark 🌍 #unesco

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  18. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    We drove to the Mont Aigoual summit at 1,565m elevation in Parc nationaldes Cévennes | Cevennes National Park; the park is recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Our route up via Nant & Dourbies was long, winding & frankly tedious, so despite views towards the coast (📷1) & further inland (📷2) we felt less appreciative than we should have. We decided against our intended hike in 7°C & headed down via Gorges de la Jonte. En route the road verge was decorated with numerous native Dactylorhiza sambucina | the elder-flowered orchid, in shades of yellow, deep purple & pink (we first saw it in Theth, Albania). As is common practice, some of the formations in the gorge are named; this is Arcade des Bergers | Shepherds' Arcade (📷3). The hamlet of Le Truel, where terraces once held vineyards, orchards & vegetable gardens, while sheep & goats grazed sloping pastures (📷4). Gyps fulvus | griffon vultures soar from the cliffs above, seemingly untroubled by the loss of a traditional way of life.

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #nationalPark 🌍 #unesco

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  19. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    We drove to the Mont Aigoual summit at 1,565m elevation in Parc nationaldes Cévennes | Cevennes National Park; the park is recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Our route up via Nant & Dourbies was long, winding & frankly tedious, so despite views towards the coast (📷1) & further inland (📷2) we felt less appreciative than we should have. We decided against our intended hike in 7°C & headed down via Gorges de la Jonte. En route the road verge was decorated with numerous native Dactylorhiza sambucina | the elder-flowered orchid, in shades of yellow, deep purple & pink (we first saw it in Theth, Albania). As is common practice, some of the formations in the gorge are named; this is Arcade des Bergers | Shepherds' Arcade (📷3). The hamlet of Le Truel, where terraces once held vineyards, orchards & vegetable gardens, while sheep & goats grazed sloping pastures (📷4). Gyps fulvus | griffon vultures soar from the cliffs above, seemingly untroubled by the loss of a traditional way of life.

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #nationalPark 🌍 #unesco

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  20. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    We drove to the Mont Aigoual summit at 1,565m elevation in Parc nationaldes Cévennes | Cevennes National Park; the park is recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Our route up via Nant & Dourbies was long, winding & frankly tedious, so despite views towards the coast (📷1) & further inland (📷2) we felt less appreciative than we should have. We decided against our intended hike in 7°C & headed down via Gorges de la Jonte. En route the road verge was decorated with numerous native Dactylorhiza sambucina | the elder-flowered orchid, in shades of yellow, deep purple & pink (we first saw it in Theth, Albania). As is common practice, some of the formations in the gorge are named; this is Arcade des Bergers | Shepherds' Arcade (📷3). The hamlet of Le Truel, where terraces once held vineyards, orchards & vegetable gardens, while sheep & goats grazed sloping pastures (📷4). Gyps fulvus | griffon vultures soar from the cliffs above, seemingly untroubled by the loss of a traditional way of life.

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #nationalPark 🌍 #unesco

    #unesco #nationalpark #vanlife #roadtrip #nomad #campervan
  21. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    We drove to the Mont Aigoual summit at 1,565m elevation in Parc nationaldes Cévennes | Cevennes National Park; the park is recognized as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Our route up via Nant & Dourbies was long, winding & frankly tedious, so despite views towards the coast (📷1) & further inland (📷2) we felt less appreciative than we should have. We decided against our intended hike in 7°C & headed down via Gorges de la Jonte. En route the road verge was decorated with numerous native Dactylorhiza sambucina | the elder-flowered orchid, in shades of yellow, deep purple & pink (we first saw it in Theth, Albania). As is common practice, some of the formations in the gorge are named; this is Arcade des Bergers | Shepherds' Arcade (📷3). The hamlet of Le Truel, where terraces once held vineyards, orchards & vegetable gardens, while sheep & goats grazed sloping pastures (📷4). Gyps fulvus | griffon vultures soar from the cliffs above, seemingly untroubled by the loss of a traditional way of life.

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #nationalPark 🌍 #unesco

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  22. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Etang Des Mouettes is a a coastal lagoon in Frontignan, formerly a salt production pond with over 600 years of service, now gradually #rewilding (📷1). On our dawn walk we found a heron stalking in the shallows (📷2), but there wasn’t enough light to be sure of the species. As the sun rose it illuminated flocks of Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo traversing the pond, with their distinctive long necks, large kinked bills, trailing long pink legs & striking deep pink/ black underside wing plumage (📷3). A look at Frontignan Plage before departing the Mediterranean shore (📷4).

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #nature

    #rewilding #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan
  23. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Etang Des Mouettes is a a coastal lagoon in Frontignan, formerly a salt production pond with over 600 years of service, now gradually #rewilding (📷1). On our dawn walk we found a heron stalking in the shallows (📷2), but there wasn’t enough light to be sure of the species. As the sun rose it illuminated flocks of Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo traversing the pond, with their distinctive long necks, large kinked bills, trailing long pink legs & striking deep pink/ black underside wing plumage (📷3). A look at Frontignan Plage before departing the Mediterranean shore (📷4).

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #nature

    #rewilding #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan
  24. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Etang Des Mouettes is a a coastal lagoon in Frontignan, formerly a salt production pond with over 600 years of service, now gradually #rewilding (📷1). On our dawn walk we found a heron stalking in the shallows (📷2), but there wasn’t enough light to be sure of the species. As the sun rose it illuminated flocks of Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo traversing the pond, with their distinctive long necks, large kinked bills, trailing long pink legs & striking deep pink/ black underside wing plumage (📷3). A look at Frontignan Plage before departing the Mediterranean shore (📷4).

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #nature

    #rewilding #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan
  25. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Etang Des Mouettes is a a coastal lagoon in Frontignan, formerly a salt production pond with over 600 years of service, now gradually #rewilding (📷1). On our dawn walk we found a heron stalking in the shallows (📷2), but there wasn’t enough light to be sure of the species. As the sun rose it illuminated flocks of Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo traversing the pond, with their distinctive long necks, large kinked bills, trailing long pink legs & striking deep pink/ black underside wing plumage (📷3). A look at Frontignan Plage before departing the Mediterranean shore (📷4).

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #nature

    #nature #vanlife #roadtrip #nomad #campervan #travel
  26. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Etang Des Mouettes is a a coastal lagoon in Frontignan, formerly a salt production pond with over 600 years of service, now gradually #rewilding (📷1). On our dawn walk we found a heron stalking in the shallows (📷2), but there wasn’t enough light to be sure of the species. As the sun rose it illuminated flocks of Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo traversing the pond, with their distinctive long necks, large kinked bills, trailing long pink legs & striking deep pink/ black underside wing plumage (📷3). A look at Frontignan Plage before departing the Mediterranean shore (📷4).

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #nature

    #rewilding #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan
  27. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Our “small of the day” was captured when S went to empty the toilet cassette—not when you expect to hear “Quick, bring the camera!” This is a native moth, Arctia villica | the cream-spot tiger (📷1). We made our way to Salins de Saint-Martin outside of Gruissan on the Gulf of Lion, although being too early for florid algal blooms, colour differences between salt ponds were subtle (📷2). We followed the marked path 2.1km out to Plage de la Vieille Nouvelle (📷3). En route we did identify a number of birds, mostly at a distance: Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo; Anarhynchus alexandrinus | Kentish plover; Chlidonias hybrida | whiskered tern; Motacilla flava | western yellow wagtail; & Milvus migrans | black kite. Later we stopped in Béziers, where we watched as boats navigated “Les 9 écluses de Fonseranes”, one of the most impressive engineering features of the Canal du Midi (📷4). Originally a sequence of nine locks (a “staircase”) completed in 1697, seven are typically in use, raising or lowering vessels ~21.5 meters over a short distance.

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍 #unesco

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  28. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Our “small of the day” was captured when S went to empty the toilet cassette—not when you expect to hear “Quick, bring the camera!” This is a native moth, Arctia villica | the cream-spot tiger (📷1). We made our way to Salins de Saint-Martin outside of Gruissan on the Gulf of Lion, although being too early for florid algal blooms, colour differences between salt ponds were subtle (📷2). We followed the marked path 2.1km out to Plage de la Vieille Nouvelle (📷3). En route we did identify a number of birds, mostly at a distance: Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo; Anarhynchus alexandrinus | Kentish plover; Chlidonias hybrida | whiskered tern; Motacilla flava | western yellow wagtail; & Milvus migrans | black kite. Later we stopped in Béziers, where we watched as boats navigated “Les 9 écluses de Fonseranes”, one of the most impressive engineering features of the Canal du Midi (📷4). Originally a sequence of nine locks (a “staircase”) completed in 1697, seven are typically in use, raising or lowering vessels ~21.5 meters over a short distance.

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍 #unesco

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  29. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Our “small of the day” was captured when S went to empty the toilet cassette—not when you expect to hear “Quick, bring the camera!” This is a native moth, Arctia villica | the cream-spot tiger (📷1). We made our way to Salins de Saint-Martin outside of Gruissan on the Gulf of Lion, although being too early for florid algal blooms, colour differences between salt ponds were subtle (📷2). We followed the marked path 2.1km out to Plage de la Vieille Nouvelle (📷3). En route we did identify a number of birds, mostly at a distance: Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo; Anarhynchus alexandrinus | Kentish plover; Chlidonias hybrida | whiskered tern; Motacilla flava | western yellow wagtail; & Milvus migrans | black kite. Later we stopped in Béziers, where we watched as boats navigated “Les 9 écluses de Fonseranes”, one of the most impressive engineering features of the Canal du Midi (📷4). Originally a sequence of nine locks (a “staircase”) completed in 1697, seven are typically in use, raising or lowering vessels ~21.5 meters over a short distance.

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍 #unesco

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  30. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Our “small of the day” was captured when S went to empty the toilet cassette—not when you expect to hear “Quick, bring the camera!” This is a native moth, Arctia villica | the cream-spot tiger (📷1). We made our way to Salins de Saint-Martin outside of Gruissan on the Gulf of Lion, although being too early for florid algal blooms, colour differences between salt ponds were subtle (📷2). We followed the marked path 2.1km out to Plage de la Vieille Nouvelle (📷3). En route we did identify a number of birds, mostly at a distance: Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo; Anarhynchus alexandrinus | Kentish plover; Chlidonias hybrida | whiskered tern; Motacilla flava | western yellow wagtail; & Milvus migrans | black kite. Later we stopped in Béziers, where we watched as boats navigated “Les 9 écluses de Fonseranes”, one of the most impressive engineering features of the Canal du Midi (📷4). Originally a sequence of nine locks (a “staircase”) completed in 1697, seven are typically in use, raising or lowering vessels ~21.5 meters over a short distance.

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍 #unesco

    #unesco #vanlife #roadtrip #nomad #campervan #travel
  31. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Our “small of the day” was captured when S went to empty the toilet cassette—not when you expect to hear “Quick, bring the camera!” This is a native moth, Arctia villica | the cream-spot tiger (📷1). We made our way to Salins de Saint-Martin outside of Gruissan on the Gulf of Lion, although being too early for florid algal blooms, colour differences between salt ponds were subtle (📷2). We followed the marked path 2.1km out to Plage de la Vieille Nouvelle (📷3). En route we did identify a number of birds, mostly at a distance: Phoenicopterus roseus | greater flamingo; Anarhynchus alexandrinus | Kentish plover; Chlidonias hybrida | whiskered tern; Motacilla flava | western yellow wagtail; & Milvus migrans | black kite. Later we stopped in Béziers, where we watched as boats navigated “Les 9 écluses de Fonseranes”, one of the most impressive engineering features of the Canal du Midi (📷4). Originally a sequence of nine locks (a “staircase”) completed in 1697, seven are typically in use, raising or lowering vessels ~21.5 meters over a short distance.

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍 #unesco

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  32. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Bonus pictures of pretty Lagrasse. A monk in the courtyard of Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse; it’s still an active religious site (📷1). A grey heron fishing in the Orbieu River (📷2). The 40m high fortified bell tower (clocher fortifié) of the abbey church, featuring buttresses with curved flyers; it was heavily modified in the late Middle Ages when the monastery was adapted for defense during periods like the Hundred Years’ War (📷3). Entrance on Rue de la Porte d'Eau, through which typical stone buildings can be seen (📷4).

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  33. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Bonus pictures of pretty Lagrasse. A monk in the courtyard of Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse; it’s still an active religious site (📷1). A grey heron fishing in the Orbieu River (📷2). The 40m high fortified bell tower (clocher fortifié) of the abbey church, featuring buttresses with curved flyers; it was heavily modified in the late Middle Ages when the monastery was adapted for defense during periods like the Hundred Years’ War (📷3). Entrance on Rue de la Porte d'Eau, through which typical stone buildings can be seen (📷4).

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  34. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Bonus pictures of pretty Lagrasse. A monk in the courtyard of Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse; it’s still an active religious site (📷1). A grey heron fishing in the Orbieu River (📷2). The 40m high fortified bell tower (clocher fortifié) of the abbey church, featuring buttresses with curved flyers; it was heavily modified in the late Middle Ages when the monastery was adapted for defense during periods like the Hundred Years’ War (📷3). Entrance on Rue de la Porte d'Eau, through which typical stone buildings can be seen (📷4).

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  35. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Bonus pictures of pretty Lagrasse. A monk in the courtyard of Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse; it’s still an active religious site (📷1). A grey heron fishing in the Orbieu River (📷2). The 40m high fortified bell tower (clocher fortifié) of the abbey church, featuring buttresses with curved flyers; it was heavily modified in the late Middle Ages when the monastery was adapted for defense during periods like the Hundred Years’ War (📷3). Entrance on Rue de la Porte d'Eau, through which typical stone buildings can be seen (📷4).

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

    #vanlife #roadtrip #nomad #campervan #travel #europe
  36. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Bonus pictures of pretty Lagrasse. A monk in the courtyard of Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse; it’s still an active religious site (📷1). A grey heron fishing in the Orbieu River (📷2). The 40m high fortified bell tower (clocher fortifié) of the abbey church, featuring buttresses with curved flyers; it was heavily modified in the late Middle Ages when the monastery was adapted for defense during periods like the Hundred Years’ War (📷3). Entrance on Rue de la Porte d'Eau, through which typical stone buildings can be seen (📷4).

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  37. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Lagrasse is listed among Les Plus Beaux Villages de France | the Most Beautiful Villages of France; S had enjoyed her visit ~20 years ago & wanted to return to this relatively quiet locale surrounded by hills on the Orbieu River (📷1). It developed around Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse, a Benedictine abbey founded during the 8th C. (📷2), becoming an important religious & economic hub. The village is compact, with stone houses/ artisan shops (in Jul/ Aug it is filled with tourists) & a medieval open-air market hall (📷3). On the path between camp & village we also discovered a new-to-us native orchid, Serapias vomeracea | the long-lipped serapias (📷4).

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  38. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Lagrasse is listed among Les Plus Beaux Villages de France | the Most Beautiful Villages of France; S had enjoyed her visit ~20 years ago & wanted to return to this relatively quiet locale surrounded by hills on the Orbieu River (📷1). It developed around Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse, a Benedictine abbey founded during the 8th C. (📷2), becoming an important religious & economic hub. The village is compact, with stone houses/ artisan shops (in Jul/ Aug it is filled with tourists) & a medieval open-air market hall (📷3). On the path between camp & village we also discovered a new-to-us native orchid, Serapias vomeracea | the long-lipped serapias (📷4).

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  39. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Lagrasse is listed among Les Plus Beaux Villages de France | the Most Beautiful Villages of France; S had enjoyed her visit ~20 years ago & wanted to return to this relatively quiet locale surrounded by hills on the Orbieu River (📷1). It developed around Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse, a Benedictine abbey founded during the 8th C. (📷2), becoming an important religious & economic hub. The village is compact, with stone houses/ artisan shops (in Jul/ Aug it is filled with tourists) & a medieval open-air market hall (📷3). On the path between camp & village we also discovered a new-to-us native orchid, Serapias vomeracea | the long-lipped serapias (📷4).

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  40. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Lagrasse is listed among Les Plus Beaux Villages de France | the Most Beautiful Villages of France; S had enjoyed her visit ~20 years ago & wanted to return to this relatively quiet locale surrounded by hills on the Orbieu River (📷1). It developed around Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse, a Benedictine abbey founded during the 8th C. (📷2), becoming an important religious & economic hub. The village is compact, with stone houses/ artisan shops (in Jul/ Aug it is filled with tourists) & a medieval open-air market hall (📷3). On the path between camp & village we also discovered a new-to-us native orchid, Serapias vomeracea | the long-lipped serapias (📷4).

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

    #vanlife #roadtrip #nomad #campervan #travel #europe
  41. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Lagrasse is listed among Les Plus Beaux Villages de France | the Most Beautiful Villages of France; S had enjoyed her visit ~20 years ago & wanted to return to this relatively quiet locale surrounded by hills on the Orbieu River (📷1). It developed around Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse, a Benedictine abbey founded during the 8th C. (📷2), becoming an important religious & economic hub. The village is compact, with stone houses/ artisan shops (in Jul/ Aug it is filled with tourists) & a medieval open-air market hall (📷3). On the path between camp & village we also discovered a new-to-us native orchid, Serapias vomeracea | the long-lipped serapias (📷4).

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  42. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Cité de Carcassonne is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as an outstanding example of a medieval fortified town (📷1). First fortified in the Gallo-Roman period ~3rd–4th C. CE, it underwent extensive restorations in the 19th C. Set upon a hill overlooking the modern urban sprawl, the compact site is protected by ~3km of double walls & 52 defensive towers (📷2); it’s 19 € pp to walk the ramparts/ visit the restored château, but free to walk between the rows (without climbing on the outer battlements). The enclosed town is very touristy, filled with trinket shops & eateries, but also offers some architectural curiosities (📷3). Later, at nearby Trèbes, we walked alongside Canal du Midi, a ~360km network of navigable waterways linking the Atlantic (via Garonne) to the Mediterranean using locks, aqueducts, bridges & reservoirs. The canal is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, created through the vision of Pierre-Paul Riquet during 1667–94. The Trèbes Orbiel aqueduct (📷4) was designed by Vauban in 1688 & the town’s staircase lock dates from ~1674.

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍 #unesco

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  43. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Cité de Carcassonne is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as an outstanding example of a medieval fortified town (📷1). First fortified in the Gallo-Roman period ~3rd–4th C. CE, it underwent extensive restorations in the 19th C. Set upon a hill overlooking the modern urban sprawl, the compact site is protected by ~3km of double walls & 52 defensive towers (📷2); it’s 19 € pp to walk the ramparts/ visit the restored château, but free to walk between the rows (without climbing on the outer battlements). The enclosed town is very touristy, filled with trinket shops & eateries, but also offers some architectural curiosities (📷3). Later, at nearby Trèbes, we walked alongside Canal du Midi, a ~360km network of navigable waterways linking the Atlantic (via Garonne) to the Mediterranean using locks, aqueducts, bridges & reservoirs. The canal is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, created through the vision of Pierre-Paul Riquet during 1667–94. The Trèbes Orbiel aqueduct (📷4) was designed by Vauban in 1688 & the town’s staircase lock dates from ~1674.

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍 #unesco

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  44. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Upon leaving Château de Peyrepertuse bound for Carcassonne we took the D14, a narrow winding backroad between hills cloaked in forest & meadows, intermittently punctuated with small villages. One such village is Bugarach, on the outskirts of which is a 700m path to Pont Romain, a single-arch stone bridge across a limestone basin on the Roman road linking the village to Rennes-les-Bains (📷1). Although the original was probably Gallo-Roman, it was destroyed in 1992 by flooding but faithfully restored the following year. What caught our eye was the trailside orchids, 3 of which were new to us. All native, first up is Neotinea ustulata | the 🔥 burnt-tip orchid, which can be found up to 2,400m elevation in the mountains of central & southern Europe (📷2). The aptly-named Serapias lingua | 👅 tongue orchid is found throughout the Mediterranean (📷3). Ophrys scolopax | the woodcock orchid is recognisably a 🐝 bee orchid given its morphology (📷4); it can be found in both the Mediterranean & Middle East. We also re-identified Orchis mascula | the early-purple orchid.

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🏛️ #roman 🌸 #bloomScrolling

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  45. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Château de Quéribus at Cucugnan (📷1) & nearby Château de Peyrepertuse at Duilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse (📷2) are 2 of 8 “Royal Fortresses of Languedoc” aspiring to UNESCO World Heritage status. Languedoc was shaped by Roman rule, became a centre of medieval Occitan culture, was devastated by the Albigensian Crusade before being integrated into the French kingdom. Château de Peyrepertuse sits on a limestone ridge at 800m elevation & is first mentioned in records from 1020 CE (📷3); this view is from 🅿️ close to the ticket gate (we decided not to go inside). It came into royal possession in 1240 CE, its former owner William of Peyrepertuse having been excommunicated for supporting the Cathars (a medieval Christian sect in southern Europe who believed in strict division between a good spiritual realm & an evil material world, leading the Pope to label them heretics). After the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees the castle lost its strategic importance; it was finally abandoned during the French Revolution. There’s free access to a lookout platform from which you can see the ruin of Château de Quéribus & beyond it, the Mediterranean Sea (📷4).

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  46. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    We parked for our first night in Occitanie in Mont-Louis, beneath the walls of the town (📷1); at ~1,600m elevation it’s France’s highest fortified town & with the c. 1679 citadel—an active commando training facility—is part of the “Fortifications of Vauban” UNESCO listing. Villefranche-de-Conflent is another of 12 UNESCO-listed fortified sites designed by military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, together representing a coherent defensive system across France. It’s considerably more tourist-oriented; we took the opportunity to walk the restored late 17th C. ramparts (📷2) & stroll through the town’s medieval streets (📷3). Next up was Musée de Préhistoire de Tautavel | Tautavel Prehistory Museum, featuring rather dated & underwhelming exhibits (cf. Altamira) around findings from La Caune de l'Arago | the Arago Cave. People seasonally camped here from ~690,000 years ago, as imagined in this unconvincing “facsimile” cave set 500,000 years ago (📷4). All displayed human bones (including the signature “Tautavel Man”, possibly a Homo erectus subspecies, compiled from fragments of ~20 individuals) are moulds. We also drove to the actual limestone cave in nearby Gouleyrous gorge, situated in the middle of a cliff, but you can’t access it.

    🇫🇷 #france #occitanie 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍 #unesco

    #france #occitanie #europe #travel #campervan #nomad
  47. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    A little more Andorran scenery en route to France. As we drove back down from Engolasters we stopped to snap the top end of Escaldes-Engordany, which illustrates its rather dramatic valley confinement (📷1). A switchback sequence took us to Mirador Roc del Quer near Canillo, where we appreciated the views in several directions, such as this (📷2), without paying 6€ pp to stand on a suspended platform. Just beyond Canillo we stopped again at Sant Joan de Caselles, said to be a fine example of old Andorran architecture (📷3) & inside, one of the best preserved Romanesque interiors; the door was however bolted. We exited Andorra by heading for Col de Puymorens at 1,915m in the French Pyrénées (📷4); you can avoid the pass via a tolled tunnel. After reaching 🇫🇷 Occitanie we transited the Spanish/ Catalonian enclave of 🇪🇸 Llívia, a town of some 13km2 that was excluded from transfer to France in the Treaty of the Pyrénées (1659) because the said border agreement only specified the transfer of “villages”!

    🇦🇩 #andorra 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

    #andorra #europe #travel #campervan #nomad #roadtrip
  48. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Andorra is more than a country of one city: ~94% of the land & 73% of the population are outside Andorra la Vella. Vall del Madriu-Perafita-Claror | Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley is Andorra’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed as a cultural landscape. We accessed it via the official “Volta a Ràmio” trail. From 🅿️ above the village of Engolasters it was a steep 35min climb through pine forest to Coll de Jovell at 1,780m, from where we began descending into the glacier-formed valley. At the 2km mark we reached Ràmio in the valley’s bottom end (📷1). The valley makes up ~9% of Andorra & is regarded as a time capsule for traditional mountain usage with limited modern development. Ràmio gave us a first glimpse into how people shaped the high Pyrenees over centuries through pastoralism, farming & communal land management (📷2). The trail continued up the valley, mostly alongside the Riu Madriu to the constant roar of white water, with ever-present granite underfoot/ in dry-stone walls & the scent of damp moss & pine needles in the air. At just over 4km/ 2h 10min in we came to Refugi de Fontverd, not unlike a NZ-style DOC hut, at 1,875m elevation (📷3). We returned to the Coll via a higher path, which gave us superior views back up the valley (📷4). The 9km loop hike took us 4h 15min.

    🇦🇩 #andorra 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #hiking #nature 🌍 #unesco

    #andorra #europe #travel #campervan #nomad #roadtrip
  49. Curiosity Drive 🚐 @[email protected] ·

    Andorra isn’t an EU country (so there was a border crossing from Spain & no EU roaming—46€ per SMS—robbery!), but it uses the Euro by agreement. It has a similar GDP per capita to NZ, with a population of ~80,000 who speak Catalan as a first language (most of whom also speak Spanish &/or French). Andorra is a co-principality (with largely ceremonial co-princes being the President of France & Spain’s Bishop of Urgel), governed as a parliamentary democracy.

    Andorra la Vella, the capital, put on a damp & cold welcome after weeks of sunshine in Spain & Portugal (📷1). It does have geothermal waters (Caldea in contiguous Escaldes-Engordany is one of Europe’s largest thermal spa complexes) but isn’t regarded as a traditional spa town. We found it:

    * Like Spain, but less dry & warm—possibly unfair given our limited transit.

    * Like France, but without old stones—much of Barri Antic appears comparatively modern (📷2) & there are no Roman ruins (although Casa de la Vall, a former parliament building, dates from 1580).

    * Like Monaco, but without yachts—although a fast-flowing river runs through this valley-confined city (📷3).

    * Like Dubai, but without sand—although money passes through fingers here similarly in this shopping mecca, due to low taxes (📷4).

    P.S. Anyone know why most electronic stores also sell “personal weapons” (knives, guns,…)? Weird & scary.

    🇦🇩 #andorra 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

    #andorra #europe #travel #campervan #nomad #roadtrip
  50. Camperend | Stof en Steen @[email protected] ·

    youtu.be/LVskLw_lh-U
    Croissant Loaf Two Ways (Omnia Recipe) – Easy Sweet & Savory Camper Bread
    #camping #croissant #omnia #vanlife #campinglife #cooking #loaf #bread #hamcheese #cookingm2 #vanlifecooking #camper #campervan #rv #vanbuild

    #vanbuild #rv #campervan #camper #vanlifecooking #cookingm2