Autumn leaves in the Irati Forest

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This blog is very short on words. The photos say it all really! You'll notice they haven't been labelled. That's just plain laziness!!!

On Saturday morning we met up with a group of friends and drove up to the beautiful little town of Ochagavia in the Pyrenees. We were very lucky with the weather as it wasn't so good in Pamplona. Fortunately the plan changed from Sunday to Saturday as the forecast predicted a terrible end to the weekend and it wasn't far wrong.

Walking in the mountains can be difficult but, much to our delight, this turned out to be an hour or so strolling along a country road with breathtaking colourful views everywhere. The road gradually climbed, twisted and turned and eventually we found ourselves at a church in the middle of nowhere. It was a great place to stop for our picnics. We felt a bit guilty as we tucked into our sandwiches and fruit, because our Spanish friends had brought a feast to share complete with home made tortillas, pasta with elvers (baby eels known here as angulas) steeped in garlic and some fabulous non-Spanish chocolate. Maybe we won't be so boring next time!

After a while of wandering around the church ground and admiring the interior and the views, we began our descent back to Ochagavia. It was a bit tricky under foot as the path was covered in fallen leaves but what a carpet of colour we were treading! Back in the town we meandered through the cobbled maze-like streets then ambled back along the river to our waiting cars.

The rest of the group were going to carry on and do a more strenuous walk somewhere else before the rain closed in. We were thankful that we had plans and needed to get back to Pamplona as it was just about right for us!!

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