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Published: July 31st 2010
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We had a pretty ambitious drive planned for the day, so we decided to take a little more of the A & N roads which would save some time when we need it in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Pamplona is a large city so we used the by-pass. Mike & I would have run with the bulls if it had been the right time of the year; but it was not. Lynn had mentioned Sos del Rey Catolico early in the trip planning, but we debated if time would permit, as it was off the main road and require a back-track. This trip was for research of her next book and Sos was the 1452 birthplace of Fernando II of Aragon, surely a place worthy of a visit.
If you travel in this area, make sure you make time for this fascinating medieval town! As you approach you see the Castillo and Iglesia atop the hill with a panoramic view of the country side. We wished we had more time to stroll the cobblestone streets, but we did enjoy our time there. The stone carvings I'm sure are of some significance, and the climb down into the church crypt
was a little spooky. We grabbed a quick lunch in a little cafe and headed on. On our way out of town Lynn couldn't resist stopping and taping the movement and sound of the aspens(they weren't cottonwoods, which we saw a lot of, but with bark like aspens of Colorado). We also stopped to get some fresh cold water from a spring fountain, surely where Fernando and Isabel had stopped centuries ago to listen to the trees. We can't believe how we seem to have hit the perfect time of year for the wildflowers. But we needed to move on...
Lynn's in the back seat thumbing thru all the resource books she gathered and saw that we should be passing a monastery just before we reach Jaca. The drive ended up being most scenic as the road follows the Embalse de Yesa, a beautiful turquoise lake. The Monasterio de San Juan de la Pena consists of two parts. M. Nuevo burned in 1675, abandoned and then restored in 2006 to parador quality. M. Viejo was pehaps used by Christian hermits as early as the 8th century. This monastery is built under and into a rock mountainside and serves as
the resting place for the first three kings of Aragon. It also housed the "Holy Grail" until 1399 when the chalice was moved to Valencia.
As we descended the mountain the views were impressive and noticed that centuries of erosion had left a stone formation that look just like a wall., but we don't need to dally around or we won't make Ainsa by dusk.
Ainsa is another of the medieval villages, with another delightful hotel deep into the old part of town. Lynn is doing her usual great job of tracking down these places that are reasonable and right in the heart of things. Ainsa proved to be a little more difficult, as the restricted access, with which we had become experienced, was through the Plaza Mayor filled with a wedding celebration. As the guide book stated, Ainsa draws a disconcerting number of tourists. Things settled down toward evening, so we sat down at a street cafe, next to the Iglesia de Santa Maria and its ringing bells, for dinner... joined by one of the local canines that had developed a taste for fine dining.
Flung the windows open to the quaint stone alleyway, with sounds
of cats, and called it a day.
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