Ebro Zaragoza to Logroño

[henrythedog]

Just got a pass-out for eight days; Mrs HtD still being a little unwell - but improving - so by hook or by crook I’m going to do this stretch of the C Del Ebro.

A automobile, ‘plane, train, train, automobile kind of day will see me in Zaragoza later this evening and we’ll go from there.

I’ll probably just write a summary at the end, but it’s likely to involve a few long days and - in extremis - a short train trip as the route, conveniently is accompanied most of the way by a train track; although trains are infrequent and true to RENFEs tradition, too early or too late.

 

[J Willhaus]

Really loved Zaragoza! Buen Camino and I hope Mrs. HtD continues to improve.

 

[SabsP]

All the best!
Alagon and Gallur are sleepy towns but I like the vibe of these small places.

Leaving Zaragoza is also quite straightforward.

 

[henrythedog]

After a very long day via Barcelona I’m trying to get the Zaragozan licenced trade back on its feet and solve the Torreznos surplus for them. It’s worth the effort of getting here. I just managed to get to the Basilica before they knocked off to get a sello so I can set off promptly in the morning. Meanwhile I’m going to see if anyone in Barrio El Tubo remembers me from earlier in the year

 

[peregrina2000]

@SabsP gave me a great recommendation for Gallur. The restaurant in the Hotel Colono is one of those places with an inexpensive but superb menú del día that comes with a decent wine.

Meanwhile I’m going to see if anyone in Barrio El Tubo remembers me from earlier in the year

Hope you make it out of El Tubo in one piece, @henrythedog.

 

[henrythedog]

Older and wiser (ahem!) I’m out of El Tubo whilst the locals are still arriving. I was recognised by a few - apparently I look like there’s no way I could possibly speak Spanish, and the memorable part is that I can.

I take very few posters recommendations without reservation but a joint recommendation by @peregrina2000 and @SabsP is as close to three peregrina michelin stars as a recommendation can be and so, having spotted it in previous posts, I’m (unusually) booked in to the Hotel Colono in Gallur on Saturday night so that I can comment on breakfast and dinner and - if I get on with it - lunch. I booked over the phone,with nothing in writing, but I didn’t get the impression it would be packed-out.

 

[Kirkie]

I stumbled on your thread just now, and have the prospect of some witty posts to look forward to. What a relief...

 

[henrythedog]

Well that all passed off peacefully.

I do recommend Barrio El Tubo. Very busy from 20:00 onwards with a good mix of traditional and more inventive bars and restaurants.

29k to Alagón today. Inevitably flat, the route follows a river and train line, with mountains in the distance to the west and a high escarpment to the east.

The weather’s excellent, cool in the morning, although I’ve been walking into a steady wind all day which does slow me down and is very dehydrating.

Saw two German peregrinos in Alagón, but that’s it. Lovely really.

The villages en-route are typical small-town Spain, quiet but with sufficient infrastructure. I managed three sellos en-route, although other enquiries drew a blank. The route marking is sparse but sufficient if you’re happy to follow your nose and have the ‘Camino sense’ to recognise a likely path when you see it.

Alagón is splendid. Large by local standards, but with a sense of calm and order. I’m in the ‘Los Angeles’, which is clean and simple. The restaurant is well regarded, so I’ll put that to the test. In the meantime I’m having a few scoops at the Bar Riga, in shorts and a t-shirt whilst the locals are dressed for the arctic.

A slight mishap en-route as I thought it was time for a ‘nice sit down’; which together with infinite tea was my paternal grandmother’s idea of a day well-spent, but I digress.

What appeared to be a nice soft friendly plant amongst the twigs and rocks, wasn’t. It’s highly evolved method of seed distribution involved detaching hundreds of the damn things with adhesive and micro-hairs. It had obviously been waiting years patiently for some idiot to sit on it, and wasn’t going to miss the chance.

So, my arrival in Alagón required an emergency visit to the Pharmacist for a pair of eyebrow-tweezers and a solid hour extracting spiky seeds from my shorts and my ‘person’, for want of a better euphemism. It’s a good job I’m still reasonably flexible and I packed my reading-glasses.

All well at home, which is as it should be, Henry the Actual Dog in the dog hotel - slightly more expensive than my accomodation; and Mrs HtD continues towards full recovery; no doubt with the heating full-on. A small price to pay for being let off the lead on a regular basis.

Gallur tomorrow where the El Colono awaits; then the distance steps up.

 

[Kirkie]

Well that all passed off peacefully.

I do recommend Barrio El Tubo. Very busy from 20:00 onwards with a good mix of traditional and more inventive bars and restaurants.

29k to Alagón today. Inevitably flat, the route follows a river and train line, with mountains in the distance to the west and a high escarpment to the east.

The weather’s excellent, cool in the morning, although I’ve been walking into a steady wind all day which does slow me down and is very dehydrating.

Saw two German peregrinos in Alagón, but that’s it. Lovely really.

The villages en-route are typical small-town Spain, quiet but with sufficient infrastructure. I managed three sellos en-route, although other enquiries drew a blank. The route marking is sparse but sufficient if you’re happy to follow your nose and have the ‘Camino sense’ to recognise a likely path when you see it.

Alagón is splendid. Large by local standards, but with a sense of calm and order. I’m in the ‘Los Angeles’, which is clean and simple. The restaurant is well regarded, so I’ll put that to the test. In the meantime I’m having a few scoops at the Bar Riga, in shorts and a t-shirt whilst the locals are dressed for the arctic.

A slight mishap en-route as I thought it was time for a ‘nice sit down’; which together with infinite tea was my paternal grandmother’s idea of a day well-spent, but I digress.

What appeared to be a nice soft friendly plant amongst the twigs and rocks, wasn’t. It’s highly evolved method of seed distribution involved detaching hundreds of the damn things with adhesive and micro-hairs. It had obviously been waiting years patiently for some idiot to sit on it, and wasn’t going to miss the chance.

So, my arrival in Alagón required an emergency visit to the Pharmacist for a pair of eyebrow-tweezers and a solid hour extracting spiky seeds from my shorts and my ‘person’, for want of a better euphemism. It’s a good job I’m still reasonably flexible and I packed my reading-glasses.

All well at home, which is as it should be, Henry the Actual Dog in the dog hotel - slightly more expensive than my accomodation; and Mrs HtD continues towards full recovery; no doubt with the heating full-on. A small price to pay for being let off the lead on a regular basis.

Gallur tomorrow where the El Colono awaits; then the distance steps up.

If only! If only... if only I could record my guffaws! You are such a howl!
Ps or edit: and rightly so, that Mrs HtD would have the heating full on.

 

[peregrina2000]

A slight mishap en-route

I’d trade your mishap for mine any day. I left Zaragoza with what I later figured out were tracks that had been recorded before the (at that time) new train station had been built. I wound up trapped in an endless mess of blocked-off dead ends, concrete barriers, barbed wire — it was awful. I later realized that the new exit from Zaragoza was simple and straightforward, but I had not experienced it that way.

I didn’t stay in Alagón (being a peregrina at that time who tried to stay in albergues, so I stayed in Torres de Berrelén), but I remember several beautiful mudéjar churches in Alagón. And the real benefit is that by cutting off 6 km from tomorrow’s walk to Gallur, you can probably arrive at the Colono in plenty of time to have a good menú del día.

Hoping you are finished with the tweezing operation.

 

[henrythedog]

Yes, the new exit from Zaragoza is splendid, a well-constructed riverside-path

The train station could be seen from orbit, it’s huge though largely uncontaminated by trains.

I’ve finished the tweezing; but the proof of my success, or otherwise, will come in the morning when I risk reinserting a tender portion of my anatomy into the danger area.

Dinner at the Los Angeles is fine - a menu del tarde, which is satisfactory at €15; although it reminds me that when the UK gave so much to the world (or took so much, depending on your perspective) the making of tea and decent butchery skills didn’t make the shortlist. My thin beef chop, whilst tasty enough, obviously came from an animal which wasn’t giving up easily.

There must be two menus; whilst I was trying to figure out how one could slice so thinly from a huge, and obviously old, animal the chap next to me had just taken delivery of a steak that should have been a two-man lift. I probably need to start dressing better.

There are three or more Mudéjar churches here, one of the largest - San Antonio - with a possible early Goya. They’re brick-built on a first course of stone. One which I can just see, but cannot name, has a tower of Islamic design, although I was told it was built by Muslim builders (I’d insert a Duke of Edinburgh quote here, but best not) but wasn’t part of a mosque.

 

[Tincatinker]

I guess much depends on what you ask for. I thought I’d requested a beef chop: inch thick maybe, L shaped bone, a cut near the T bone perhaps…

The resulting near 1kg of Galician ex-cow lasted two days and the bone would’ve made a serious beef-tea if I’d had a pot and some inclination

Edit: I’d been giving my best at that for some time before I decided it needed a permanent record

 

[henrythedog]

I guess much depends on what you ask for. I thought I’d requested a beef chop: inch thick maybe, L shaped bone, a cut near the T bone perhaps…View attachment 178569

The resulting near 1kg of Galician ex-cow lasted two days and the bone would’ve made a serious beef-tea if I’d had a pot and some inclination

Edit: I’d been giving my best at that for some time before I decided it needed a permanent record

T’was a chop; but at €15 for three courses including wine my expectations were modest; just not quite modest enough.

I’ve no complaint, everything is going very well - it’s simply that the staff missed out on a premium sale, which is most likely my fault for travelling prepared to lose everything I’m stood up in.

 

[Tincatinker]

At Mesón Oroso they checked twice that we did really want the chuleton de vaca and then chuckled when I asked them to wrap the half of it para llevar

 

[henrythedog]

Brief update: I am seated in the comedor of El Colono and - following last nights debacle - have established my solvency up-front before anyone assumed I was homeless; so the ‘Menu Especial’ is on its way.

The vino de casa comes in an un-opened bottle; that’s a good sign.

 

[henrythedog]

OK, let’s rewind a few hours.

I was delayed in leaving Alogòn as the entire population was asleep through to 0815; including - critically - the chap assigned to breakfast duty. I suspected that catering en-route may fall short of Google maps extravagant claims, and I was right. Nothing doing until the Bar Totti in Luceni at Km13.

Before that an early underpass under the autovía was flooded by 15cm. Not a problem for a boot-wearer, but trail-runners would have to scale and cross the road if not equipped with plastic bags

The views of the river were good, but few even though it’s close at hand.

The walking was tough. Only 21k and flat, but 70% tarmac. Hard on the feet and knees.

As a slight change from everywhere in Spain claiming a Don Quixote association, round here it’s Sancho Panza. In the novel he was given the governorship of the area hereabouts, if I’ve read the signs correctly. I bought a copy years ago, but could barely lift it let alone read it.

Finally Gallur came into view. It’s flat as a pancake so - slightly at variance with another thread - it was vaguely visible from 6km away, and didn’t seem to get any closer for quite a while. On the last stretch, dead straight tarmac, I did what I hardly ever do and put a podcast on (This is Politics US edition. I’ve no skin in that game, but if that was the UK we wouldn’t be worrying about who bought the prime minister’s trousers).

Per previous posts my destination was the lauded cuisine of El Colono, a modest place with a well-occupied comedor. In a reversal of last night’s fortunes, huevos rotos con ibérico; solomillo (very rare) con salsa Roquefort y padrones and a casero tarta de queso were accompanied by a decent vino de casa, agua y café. €28 plus decent tip.

The accommodation on the other hand falls short of expectations. It’s only €36, but the cleaning brush could use a few more bristles. The extractor in the baño will wake the dead which, given that it’s only going to be on whilst I’m awake is not an issue. I have explained that whoever’s in 201 is going to be mightily unhappy, but that’s how it is. (Edit: I left it on through lunch, using a supermarket loyalty card to bypass the electricity supply and it’s given up the ghost, which is an improvement, providing it doesn’t catch fire).

Right, I’m off to digest that little lot before I dar un paseo later and see what Gallur has to offer. Oh, I forgot; my hour’s worth of seed extraction was successful.

Tomorrow is (as usual) another day - but this one is advertised as just short of 40k to Tudela, which focuses the mind somewhat. I’ve certainly got the calories on-board and barring a call to the bomberos overnight, I’ll get the sleep. How my second-best knee will feel about it is another matter, but there’s no point dying with a perfect body. In my case that ship sailed long ago, but still.

Hasta mañana.

 

[henrythedog]

Late update: having toured Gallur extensively I can confirm that the good folk of Toledo, Ohio have lost their Saturday night record for nothing whatsoever going on. Saturday at 1830 and there’s not a bar or cafe operating. I don’t need any food, though - and may not for quite some time

However; I’ve now gone so far as the municipal albergue - which is well out of town next to the lovely new train station (again not overly troubled by actual trains) - to find that the albergue is splendid, and has a bar. It is, however, devoid of peregrinos - to the extent that when I solicited a sello the camarera had to explain the concept of Camino to the small crowd of locals. I think the beer’s cheap.

I do know that my threads are long on food and drink and light on actual walking - but don’t judge me.

 

[SabsP]

Aha you visited the albergue /bar ! Excellent.

 

[MaxHelado]

OK, let’s rewind a few hours.

I was delayed in leaving Alogòn as the entire population was asleep through to 0815; including - critically - the chap assigned to breakfast duty. I suspected that catering en-route may fall short of Google maps extravagant claims, and I was right. Nothing doing until the Bar Totti in Luceni at Km13.

Before that an early underpass under the autovía was flooded by 15cm. Not a problem for a boot-wearer, but trail-runners would have to scale and cross the road if not equipped with plastic bags

The views of the river were good, but few even though it’s close at hand.

The walking was tough. Only 21k and flat, but 70% tarmac. Hard on the feet and knees.

As a slight change from everywhere in Spain claiming a Don Quixote association, round here it’s Sancho Panza. In the novel he was given the governorship of the area hereabouts, if I’ve read the signs correctly. I bought a copy years ago, but could barely lift it let alone read it.

Finally Gallur came into view. It’s flat as a pancake so - slightly at variance with another thread - it was vaguely visible from 6km away, and didn’t seem to get any closer for quite a while. On the last stretch, dead straight tarmac, I did what I hardly ever do and put a podcast on (This is Politics US edition. I’ve no skin in that game, but if that was the UK we wouldn’t be worrying about who bought the prime minister’s trousers).

Per previous posts my destination was the lauded cuisine of El Colono, a modest place with a well-occupied comedor. In a reversal of last night’s fortunes, huevos rotos con ibérico; solomillo (very rare) con salsa Roquefort y padrones and a casero tarta de queso were accompanied by a decent vino de casa, agua y café. €28 plus decent tip.

The accommodation on the other hand falls short of expectations. It’s only €36, but the cleaning brush could use a few more bristles. The extractor in the baño will wake the dead which, given that it’s only going to be on whilst I’m awake is not an issue. I have explained that whoever’s in 201 is going to be mightily unhappy, but that’s how it is. (Edit: I left it on through lunch, using a supermarket loyalty card to bypass the electricity supply and it’s given up the ghost, which is an improvement, providing it doesn’t catch fire).

Right, I’m off to digest that little lot before I dar un paseo later and see what Gallur has to offer. Oh, I forgot; my hour’s worth of seed extraction was successful.

Tomorrow is (as usual) another day - but this one is advertised as just short of 40k to Tudela, which focuses the mind somewhat. I’ve certainly got the calories on-board and barring a call to the bomberos overnight, I’ll get the sleep. How my second-best knee will feel about it is another matter, but there’s no point dying with a perfect body. In my case that ship sailed long ago, but still.

Hasta mañana.

HtD - just want to tell you that I am enjoying your posts enormously. Not only informative but warm too and you bring the towns and bars to life. Brilliant stuff!

 

[Peregrinopaul]

Hey! It looks like you'll walk by the river just before Fontellas. Do we get a picture?

 

[VNwalking]

Loving this. Keep on keeping on, @henrythedog.

What appeared to be a nice soft friendly plant amongst the twigs and rocks, wasn’t. It’s highly evolved method of seed distribution involved detaching hundreds of the damn things with adhesive and micro-hairs. It had obviously been waiting years patiently for some idiot to sit on it, and wasn’t going to miss the chance.

OK, so did you by any chance get a photo of the offending vegetation so the rest of us can steer clear? Glad your operation was successful!

 

[henrythedog]

Well that’s another day nobody can take away from me.

The good folk of Gallur were, unusually for Spain, early to bed, but equally early to rise. The bars were busy at 0700 and I managed a couple of coffees and a kilo, or thereabouts, of excellent fresh tortilla. In the finest traditions of Spanish trabajadores my companions, largely refuse collectors, were starting the day with a large glass of brandy before a shift of operating unguarded heavy machinery.

The food at El Colono was excellent - but only open at (Spanish) lunchtime yesterday. Best check before relying on it. In fact I saw nowhere in Gallur with food in the evening apart from an itinerant churros van.

This was always going to be a marathon day.

The route continues to largely avoid the river and instead follows the Canal Imperial - where the towpath is easier walking than tarmac.

Mallen is large enough to be open 7/7 and is another peaceful small town with a nice church either extended repeatedly or designed by an indecisive architect, but I didn’t have time to investigate.

At Cortes (Km 12’ish) I decided to stick with the canal through to Ribaforada. The official route looked to be another dead-straight tarmac road, although my choice probably added a couple of Km. The canal finishes near Fontellas where it joins the river. I forgot to take a photo, but I’ve got an earlier and later one to try to add. ( I’ve never got the hang of ‘thumbnails’ so hopefully one of the mods will sort that out).

Ribaforada was also open for business. I just stopped for a couple of scoops then ploughed on.

It’s been warming up all day and at 27c it was getting a bit oppressive. A short shower of rain cleared the air and wasn’t enough to put a jacket on for. Too hot anyway.

The last stretch into Tudela follows the railway line, which must be the safest bit of Spanish infrastructure ever as I’ve barely seen it in use.

Tudela seems huge and busy. As it’s Sunday the cathedral was closed (!) as was the turismo. The joy was rapidly disappearing from the day at this point. There are many intermediate stops on this route, there’s really no need for long days, I’m just making the most of a short opportunity.

After nearly 44Km, damp, dusty and smelling like a polecat I staggered into tonight’s lodgings, the Hotel Remegio. The smart young recepcionistas finger was hovering over the Guarda Civil speed-dial until I produced a functioning credit card. I really need to give some thought to my appearance whilst walking (I do change into something passably decent for the evening)

I seem to have picked up a fair crop of mosquito bites yesterday near the river. If the flora doesn’t get you the fauna will. A particularly tenacious insect seems to have bypassed my Lycra shorts (there’s also a loose outer-short so as to not get me arrested) and had its fill. That’s not a part of my anatomy many would volunteer to get close to after todays walk, I assure you.

I haven’t done that distance with a rucksack since I was in the pay of her late Majesty many years ago and single-handedly staring-down the might of the Warsaw pact across the East German plains; and I’m not in a hurry to repeat it. A long shower and some precautionary ibuprofen has me feeling more human and I’ll see what delights Tudela has to offer.

The photos (assuming I succeed) in no particular order include the confluence of the Rios Ebro and Arba in Gallur, a previous river view somewhere near Cabanas de Ebro and the door of the Cathedral in Tudela with an extensive ‘Day of Judgement’. I’ve just focussed on the interesting side with the usual devils attending to the sinners. They could have dispensed with all that rectally-inserted ironmongery and just made the sinners have a nice sit-down on the local plants, the effect’s similar.

The Remigio is a bit smart, but not unreasonably expensive, and does promise breakfast from 0700. The room’s small but spotless. I can barely move for notices setting out their environmental credencials - but have they got a plug in the tiny designer sink? Of course not.

For those who complain of heat, crowds, bed races and menu peregrinos my view is you’re walking the wrong route at the wrong time of year. This one (like many of the less frequented routes) is superb. Speaking a bit of Spanish is close to a necessity though - even though I look like a cartoon Brit on holiday, nobody has ventured English to me; not a word.

An update on catering follows in due course, but I’m not planning to go far.

If I do see the earlier offending plant again I’ll get a photo from a safe distance.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

@henrythedog, you have well and truly missed your calling ! Thoroughly enjoying your posts, very humorous. It's the little details that I love: the train station "largely uncontaminated by trains.", the church with its "indecisive architect" .
A little work and you could rival Terry Pratchett....

It's good that your micro hair removal operation was successful; should you ever be so unfortunate to come across something similar again you might find sellotape helps. (We have a couple of plants in New Zealand that appear similarly innocuous but are far from it).
And whilst you may choose to carry your recently acquired tweezers henceforth should you want something smaller and lighter for your first aid kit the tweezers from Swiss Army knives are readily available as a spare part, they're small, light, cheap and exceptionally good.

Looking forward to your next post!

 

[J Willhaus]

My father once fell backwards onto a cactus while hunting and a hunting buddy had to help him remove the spines, although all they had was a pair of needle nosed pliers...

They both got so tickled at the absurdity of my father with his bare rump exposed out in the wide open spaces of rural Wyoming and with his occasional yelps of pain when his friend accidently took a bit of hide with the extracted spines that they dissolved into laughter and the job took twice as long as needed.

Be glad @henrythedog, that you sourced a tweezer and were able to conduct your operation in the privacy of your room alone instead of in the treeless prairie with a friend armed with pliers.

 

[henrythedog]

Well, thanks to my ever-reliable advisor @SabsP I find myself on Calle Carnecerias , where - being Sunday - it’s a bit sparse. It’s also pouring-down.

After a couple of false-starts elsewhere (open beats not-open, regardless of the reviews) I’m in the cheese-specialist Bar 17 Cortes which is excellent. I’ve worked my way from ‘what do you recommend’ to ‘unchain cheese number six’ and I’ll have to move on shortly.

Shortly …

I gave up.

It’s Sunday and the highly-regarded local competition have taken the night off and after today, so should I.

24k or thereabouts to Castejón tomorrow, which should be splendid.

 

[henrythedog]

My father once fell backwards onto a cactus while hunting and a hunting buddy had to help him remove the spines, although all they had was a pair of needle nosed pliers...

They both got so tickled at the absurdity of my father with his bare rump exposed out in the wide open spaces of rural Wyoming and with his occasional yelps of pain when his friend accidently took a bit of hide with the extracted spines that they dissolved into laughter and the job took twice as long as needed.

Be glad @henrythedog, that you sourced a tweezer and were able to conduct your operation in the privacy of your room alone instead of in the treeless prairie with a friend armed with pliers.

Sadly I have no friends so close as your father’s and Henry the (actual) dog, whilst willing, lacks opposable thumbs. On balance, that’s OK, as it’s already often questionable which end of the lead is in charge.

Good night all.

 

[SabsP]

Sleep well! At least your hotel is close by.

 

[henrythedog]

@henrythedog, you have well and truly missed your calling ! Thoroughly enjoying your posts, very humorous. It's the little details that I love: the train station "largely uncontaminated by trains.", the church with its "indecisive architect" .
A little work and you could rival Terry Pratchett....

It's good that your micro hair removal operation was successful; should you ever be so unfortunate to come across something similar again you might find sellotape helps. (We have a couple of plants in New Zealand that appear similarly innocuous but are far from it).
And whilst you may choose to carry your recently acquired tweezers henceforth should you want something smaller and lighter for your first aid kit the tweezers from Swiss Army knives are readily available as a spare part, they're small, light, cheap and exceptionally good.

Looking forward to your next post!

Always a pleasure to meet another fan of the master.