A canal, we all know them. A waterway, mostly man made, built for the purpose water supply, powering mills or power stations, or for carrying goods. In Spanish "Le canal".
For the last section of my walk I traversed "La canal". This is the land on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees. Think of it as a grand east-west canal not filled with water, about 100 kms long, a few kms wide, with the northern wall being the Pyrenees rising 1,000 m and the southern wall another mountain range parallel to the Pyrenees rising 500 m.
My entry at Col du Somport. The climb to here in France was excellent, the descent into this valley was rocky and slow.
Along the floor of La canal flows the Rio Aragon, a decent river at times with snow melt, but in relative terms an incidental trickle.
La canal is a de-populated region with picturesque villages often nearly deserted. The more attractive ones on hilltops ( on the floor of la canal or its flanks) have some renovation and are weekend retreats. Often the most signs of life are the walkers looking for a bar. Any of the few remaining residents tend to stay hidden inside, particularly at this time of year when the cutting icy breeze does not encourage an afternoon walk. The common sight for these recent days has been the prominent snow capped Pyrenees providing a wonderful ambience for a walk, the source of water in the still briskly flowing Rio Aragon, and that icy breeze that flowed regularly down from the mountain tops across the walking route, the GR653, now named the Via Aragon since it entered Spain at the Col du Somport.
From Jaca, the next day ended in Santa Cilia (the pits really), after a detour to visit the Monesterio San Juan de la Peña (another post). Then to Artieda, classy village with panoramic view to the Pyrenees, then then the ruin of Ruesca for coffee followed by a sustained 5 km 10% climb on the way Undués de Lerda, a 5 star shiny new Albergue, and finally to Sangüesa where I have finished walking. Sangüesa is a pleasant town and has a bus service direct to Pamplona, which makes it a convenient place for me to travel to the next stage of this holiday.
From Artieda
They look at these views whilst BBQing on this promenade that rings this hilltop village.