Spanish Desert

Spanish Desert

My first roadtrip in Spain!

I packed miss Lola up into the rental and hit the road, heading east towards Zaragoza.

About two hours later the terrain became mountainous and we veered north towards the quaint town of Tudela. As it was a holiday, the city was entirely deserted save for a few revelers, dressed in the traditional all white with a smart red bandana around their neck, scrambling towards the town's main square. I didn't stay long enough to watch the celebrations, but suffice it to say that no one left that square still donning a crisp white outfit.

From the stragglers back at the hotel later that evening one can only surmise a lot of festive toasting with red wine took place all afternoon and into the evening in honor of the festival. (Someone still needs to explain the buckets, however??).




















I instead elected to head into the Bardenas Reales, the real reason I traversed one of the most desolate and boring bits of Spanish highway (though I can not deny being continually charmed by the black bull signs and windmills dotting the landscape as far as the eye can see!). Lured by its unique and quasi-desert landscape, I was intrigued to see the famed rock formations hidden in the barren and somewhat unwelcoming landscape.

Best experienced by bicycle or on foot, there are only a select number of roads a car can take to cut through the lunar landscape. Winding down into valleys, I was quite taken by the beautiful plateaus and breathtaking and massive naturally formed limestone sculptures that have been slowly carved by erosion over time.












The Hotel Aire de Bardenas, a relatively new addition to the landscape, serves as a fantastic and contemporary frame for its expansive surroundings. Featuring 20 some odd rooms, each boasts a beautiful and minimally designed feature - whether an outdoor tub, private garden, patio with seemingly unending vistas across the expanse, or bathrooms with open showers - from which to better appreciate and connect with the stark and impressive surroundings.

When meandering the peaceful stone paths between buildings, one has the opportunity to emjoy glimpses of masterfully framed views of the landscape, not to mention meet your neighbors, most of whom spend time lounging with doors open taking in as much of the surroundings as possible.

The restaurant frames views of a private allotment teeming with local vegetables, and during breakfast you can sip your coffee while watching the gardener contemplate what you will be able to delight in for your dinner.

While I sadly left my camera behind, my holga managed to capture a nice sense of the combination of arid silence and blinding sun that left me driving back to Madrid contemplating my brief trip through this singular and humbling slice of Spain's countryside.