Iter Facere

Monday July 16 - Pont de Seurt to Alquezar

Leaving Pont de Suert wasn’t too hard. There isn’t much to see, other than the ugliest church in the world. It looks like a Quonset hut with a pale green egg next to it. We thought about going in to look at it, but realized that we only wanted to see it to laugh at it, which didn’t seem very polite to the people who need to use it.
Our first stop was in Graus, which has a Plaza Mayor which we wanted to see. The walls of the buildings surrounding it are painted with murals. After we finally found a place to put the car, we walked up the main street towards the Plaza. What a lively town! It was about 11:00 AM when we got there, but every table at the numerous cafes lining the street was occupied, people we out walking around. I don’t know if it was just because it was Monday, or if it was an everyday event, but it is the most bustling town we’ve seen in Spain.
In a classic tourist moment, the entire Plaza Mayor was covered in scaffolding for repair and restoration. So much for that. Up to the monastery for a look, nice but just OK, they’re beginning to look all alike now.
In the tourist office we heard about a unique and unusual castle set on top a hill. This trip has short-changed Sean on castles, so we thought we’d go see it. We drove to the town, La Puebla de Fantova, and found the road to the castle blocked by construction equipment. We asked two gentlemen sitting outside on the plaza for directions. We couldn’t understand him, so he drew us a little map and off we went. Finally, we found the castle, way up a tiny road on the top of a promontory. I think it was local pride that described it as unique and unusual, but it was fun to visit. We had to walk (again) up a bad path to get to it. Once there it was open for wandering around. I went up the recently installed ladder to the roof and found an observatory! I’d seen one on the top of a house in Graus earlier in the day, and I’d seen two on houses near Pont de Seurt. What a great country. I bet the skies are good for astronomy since the skies are so clear. Something to keep in mind. The castle was really just a single tower on the top of a steep hill with a little chapel next to it, along with two stone cut tombs. After exhausting the castle we headed back down the road and suddenly a huge six foot wingspread vulture flew down the road, no more than twenty feet in front of us. It roosted in a pine tree. I hopped out to get a photo, and noticed five or six circling above. It is uncomfortable having vultures circle above you. I heard chattering in the field in front of me, and walking forward saw another five or six hopping around on the ground. The vultures are big, the body is about two feet long, naked head, brown wings with some white feathers (I think). They’re more attractive in the air than up close.
The next stop was Barbastro, again another lively town. We wanted to see the archaeological park, which was being torn down and rebuilt. A theme for the day emerges. But the cathedral was great. We got to it just as a man was reopening it after siesta. He gave us a tour of each chapel, explaining in Spanglish the art and artists. The first chapel had a baroque plaster ceiling that was unbelievably complex. It was terrific.
Finally to Alquezar. The town is spectacular, tumbling down a cliff with the fortress and Colegiata above it. Our hotel overlooks the fortress from the other side of town across the ravine. The hotel is nice, but the staff is a little odd being composed of the guides from the adventure sports outfitter next door. They make sport of my bad Spanish when I ask about the internet, the first time that has happened, although my Spanish deserves disdain. The other surprise in Alquezar is that it is jammed with tourists, primarily French. Most of the businesses (all five of them), have signs in French. All of the restaurant menus are in French and Spanish. Why are there so many French people here? There are also quite a few Germans, and we also hear a couple of Americans. Given the number of adventure sport outfitters, this must be a famous place for rock climbing and rafting in Europe. The town is beautiful, but it also doesn’t really exist. Most of the buildings are apartments for rent. It looks like people come here for a week or so with their families, sort of like Maine except a lot hotter.

posted by Jim @ 8:12 AM