07-18 Monastery in Yesa, Navarra (Spain)

[9 vs. 15]
All day in Spain
Start from  Hostal Parque Natural in Benasque
New reservation for today on booking.com for €77
Drive 200 km along the Spain-French border towards Bask country and Bilbao
Arrive to monastery Hospedería de Leyre
Confusing walk for a sacred water source – Fuente de San Virila
Dinner at the monastery

Friday, July 18, 2014

Overview

[9 vs. 15] 08:00 Wake up at Hostal Parque Natural.   Breakfast included kiwi
09:00 Time for a short walk – 100 meters
10:00 We realized that Bilbao and Guernica (unofficial capital of Basque Country) are too ambitions for one day drive. Found a new midpoint destination – Monastery of Leyre in Yesa (Navarra)

Every picture now has coordinates, and this one was taken here:  42°29’1.07″N  0°27’14.40″E near Benasque on the river Ésera in the High Aragon (Spain)	Camino de Santiago is an  ancient pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela.   I’ve heard about it, but we unexpectedly ran into it

11: 20 Start driving toward Pamplona and Yesa (200 km)
12:00 Pictures in a deep gorge on a very narrow road
16:40 Arrive to Yesa

19:14 Ruins that you find off-the-beaten-path are much more interesting  –  This is used to be something	19:36 We found Spain simply fantastic – Hotel Hospedería de Leyre – view from above	16:49 Restaurant at Hospedería de Leyre – for €16 you are getting a dinner, and water, and even house wine

16:45 Check  into a room 213 (I think) with a view to the inner yard
17:15 Horses near parking lot for riding pleasure of the guests
19:00 First attempt to find the water spring Fuente de San Virila, while Lira is relaxing in the bathtub. Somehow I made a wrong turn somewhere on a clear path, and started climbing higher and higher for over 40 min instead of reaching the water source in 15-17 minutes.
20:07 return empty handed and with a grass cut between fingers (I was trying not to fall on a steep cliff , grabbed some grass and cut my arm)
20:45 – 22:30 Dinner (I thing €16 per person at the monastery)
22:35 – call from a front desk – Lira forgot her purse at the restaurant

Spain is simply fantastic!

Navigate through the List

1. 07-04 First Steps in Paris (Friday, July 4, 2014) (2014/07/04)
2. 07-05 Paris - View from a sharp angle (July 5-6, 2014) (2014/07/05)
3. 07-07 Paris - Père Lachaise and Saint Denis (July 7-8, 2014) (2014/07/07)
4. 07-09 From Paris to Beaugency [bo:zhensi:] (Wednesday, July 09, 2014) (2014/07/09)
5. 07-10 Beaugency to Uzerche (Thursday, July 10, 2014) (2014/07/10)
6. 07-11 Uzerche to Montignac and to Sarlat (Friday, July 11, 2014) (2014/07/11)
7. 07-12 Sarlat, Rocamadour, Figeac and Bouziès (Saturday, July 12, 2014) (2014/07/12)
8. 07-13 From Bouziès to Albi (Sunday, July 13 2014) (2014/07/13)
9. 07-14 From Albi to Toulouse and to Auch (Monday, July 14 2014) (2014/07/14)
10. 07-15 From Auch to Lupiac (birthplace of D'Artagnan) to Tabres (2014/07/15)
11. 07-16 From Tabres into Spain and Pyrenees (2014/07/16)
12. 07-17 Reaching for the highest point in Pyrenees (2014/07/17)
13. 07-18 Monastery in Yesa, Navarra (Spain) (2014/07/18)
14. 07-19 Back to France - Busy Biarritz (2014/07/19)
15. 07-20 SUN - Bordeaux - city with large squares (2014/07/20)