Vulture spotting in the mountains

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From our apartment we can watch the sun set over the nearby mountains to the West of Pamplona. Wondering what lay beyond, we borrowed the car from work and set out to explore. What a day we had!

Within minutes the road begins to meander up and through the mountains. We were soon in awe of our surroundings. The views were truly amazing and, if we needed any further proof that our move to Pamplona was the right one, here it was.

Along the way we passed through several tiny villages. Each of them had houses with terracotta roofs and an ornate church. Some seemed to consist of just a handful of dwellings but sure enough, a church was never far away.

Somewhere around the settlement of Salinas de Oro (Salty Gold!) we found a viewpoint where we parked up to further study the landscape. within seconds we were greeted by the sight of about 15 vultures sweeping by. They were a sight to behold and we stood watching them for quite some time. Somehow we managed to pick up a little "friend" too. We're not sure where he came from but he seemed to have some kind of radio transmitter attached to his collar. Hopefully his true owners have found him now and he has not been abandoned. When the time came to leave he caused havoc on the road!

Dropping down from the mountains we came across a reservoir with water a strange glacial blue. it was a glorious day and we sat out eating our picnic lunch. The nearby campsite sounded very lively but we shared the touristy car park with just a German mobile home. Some people were taking the opportunity to sunbathe but we just chilled out and enjoyed our surroundings.

It was only a 30 minute drive back into Pamplona and we are pretty certain that we will be venturing back out that way before long.

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