A Weekend Sojourn in the Huescan Pyrenees

We leave Madrid in the late afternoon, drive through the night, stopping in Jaca for a couple of beers before arriving at our lodgings in the dark. On Saturday morning, we wake up to this pleasant view of Escarrilla:

After breakfast, we drive, weaving along the mountain roads with the top down and the wind in our hair. Ahh... the fresh air is sweet and my lips curl into a smile

We stop to here to hike a little and look at the slim waterfall and the lake.

We drive to Lanuza to swim and get our ankles nibbled by little fish.

We bask in the sun and soak up the picturesque landscape.

We visit Sallent de Gallego, a charming mountain village nestled in the Pyrenees.

Saturday night, we drive to the touristy town of Jaca, half an hour away, and drink hard in a rock bar with a foosball table, iconic rock posters, framed fuzzy handcuffs and 'an altar' to the gods of rock 'n' roll (think Elvis dolls and skulls) behind the bar. Our indulgence in Jaca leads to resaca (a hangover) and so we are slow moving and sore in the cabeza on our return to Madrid on Sunday.

On our way back, we visit the mountain village of Piedrafita and despite my resaca, I am charmed by the pretty doors, stone buildings and streets.

All photos taken by me.

By the time we arrive back in Madrid, I am exhausted and my head still hurts. Although the trip was absolutely worth it, I think it's a bit far for only a weekend sojourn. I wish I could have stayed a week! Oh well. It was still a wonderful trip with wonderful companions, a lot of laughs and more Spanish spoken than I could possibly understand. That's right, this trip consisted of 3 Spanish people and me and so it was an intensivo immersion for me and my terrible Spanish! Apparently, there are no language barriers in the pursuit of fun. Fortunately, they could all speak English so my head didn't explode from Spanish overload and my inability to express myself in Castellano.

On a side note: one of the girls on the trip asked me how tall the Rockies were in comparison to the Pyrenees and I was ashamed to tell her that I didn't know the answer. Some Canadian eh?! Rest assured I googled it when I got home. As I suspected, the Canadian Rockies are taller (highest elevation: 3,954 m) than the Pyrenees (highest elevation: 3,404 m). The highest point in the whole Rocky Mountain range however is Mount Elbert in Colorado at 4,401 m.