Onwards and upwards. After another traditional breakfast and a last goodbye to my new furry friend (today’s photo) we set off for the next stage of our trip - travelling to La Rioja district and three nights in the little town of Valgañón.
Colin is loathe to repeat roads and as my route took us the same road towards Burgos, we found a different cross country route only about an hour longer. Oh dear. We were doing quite well when we came to a very narrow windy road and a warning that there was some road damage. A slight understatement as we had driven for 45 minutes around hairpin bends when we came across a large pile of gravel blocking our path which was to indicate that a few meters further on, the bridge had totally collapsed. I walked to check and yes, there was a hole which I could see down to a stream flowing quite a distance below with just a little bit of tarmac hanging in the air totally unsupported.
A ‘road closed’ sign would have been a little more helpful at the junction. We did wonder briefly - very briefly - if we could make it by driving over the gravel and keeping tight to the other wall of the bridge but a general wish to live and the thought we were in a hire car put us off. We managed to do a three point turn on the narrow road and then set off on a new route (so glad we invested in maps as well as using the SatNav) which unfortunately added over 100kms to our trip in heavy rain. Five hours later we finally arrived. However, this is a superb hotel (I spotted in the Sunday Times travel back in January). They only have 8 rooms and we are the only people here at present.
Ascen and Javier are a lovely couple - Ascen’s English is the same amount as my Spanish so we are exchanging words to increase our vocabulary. The entire hotel is a beautiful renovation of a 17th century property in more of a hamlet than a village. It’s exactly what I like, traditional character with lovely modern styling.
After that long in the car we could not face another trip out so we asked about places to eat - basically on Thursdays there is just one little place so that was decided. Ascen phoned ahead and we duly walked in at 8.00pm. It was rather a case of ‘there’s strangers around these parts’ but the bar mans wife made us welcome and took us to a table out the back with a French stick and two plates. Then all in Spanish she asked if mixed meats and cheese would be good for a starter - yes - and it was excellent. Then ‘parilla’ grilled lamb chops with roast peppers and finally lemon yoghurt and two coffees. All very simple, all very good. The locals (all men) were watching a match on television all wished us ‘Adios’ ad we returned to our lovely room to prepare for our wine tasting tomorrow morning.
