BLOG : Our daily adventures,
Week 45 - Parque Natural de Gorbeia (Basque Country) to
Ecala (Navarra)
May 14th to 20th 2023
- Day 309: May 14th: Somewhere lost on the steep slopes of Altipitatx mountain next to the invisible Sintxita Goikoko ur-Jauzia waterfall (Parque Natural de Gorbeia) to Etxaguen - 20 km
We spent the previous night on a tiny improbable plateau we've miraculously found while climbing a very steep slope on a poorly indicated /inexistant trail in the rain and fog: visibility at 5 metres top, slippery grass and rocks, spiky trees, mud, cow and horse shit...We actually followed the later (horse shit) hoping that the animals were following the trail we were supposed to be on. And here is the weather we've started with....it rained heavily on our tent the whole night...the rain actually also turned to hail around 10am...shortly after the rain briefly turned into a drizzle. That's when we've decided to pack up our tent...epic fail...the tent ended up wet in Casey's backpack.
Looking up all we could see was fog again...luckily Casey's phone was fully charged and we could orientate ourselves semi- precisely thanks to the direction given by the mapsme arrow pointing us toward where the path were supposed to lead us...still fighting our way up through the same slippery slope as the day before and not knowing how long it would take us to get out of this stretch. Least to say, we didn't feel so reassured.
Looking up all we could see was fog again...luckily Casey's phone was fully charged and we could orientate ourselves semi- precisely thanks to the direction given by the mapsme arrow pointing us toward where the path were supposed to lead us...still fighting our way up through the same slippery slope as the day before and not knowing how long it would take us to get out of this stretch. Least to say, we didn't feel so reassured.
At last we managed to reach the top of the dangerous steep part...the path turned into a rocky one, given us a new challenge to work with: intensely focusing on each step to find a stable ground for our feet...I'm fighting off the thoughts of my skull cracking open like a walnut while meeting the rocks.
We reached the summit! There we progressed in the myst on a carpet of spongy grass...wet cold feet...we took a short break carefully choosing a dry spot to put down our backpacks
I was still smiling at that point..relieved to have made it out of the previous hassle and grateful that the rain at least had ceased to shower us (the fog though insisted on keeping us company and prevented us to reap the reward of a panoramic view).
Just as we were feeling semi-comfortable with the weather improvement, we started battling our way through a trail which looked more like a river bed made of mud and cow shit...joyfully plunging our boots ankle-high into the mix, climbing over fallen trees, negotiating our way through with the fear of falling in this soup : fall that actually occured to now poor cow shit-impregnated Casey.
On our muddy path we stumbled upon two shelters...both with closed doors but one offered a real roof under which we had the leftovers of the food we've carried ...half a saucisson, 3 loafs of hard bread and one carrot...a real "festin"...to make up for the lack of sustenance and warm our cold hands, we broiled 2 rows of coffee. Ready to tackle the rest of our "parcours du combattant"!
At last, we reached this picnic area surrounded by impressive cliffs, which was our end goal...from there, civilization is not too far anymore and even the sun picked through...we jumped on this rare occurence to dry our tent in the wind...
5 km down a safe and mud-free paved road, we arrived to our destination post-survival expedition: the little church of Etxaguen which provided us for a dry pitching spot for the night.
As a reward boiled noddles with butter sauce...better than nothing!
As a reward boiled noddles with butter sauce...better than nothing!
Our tent and clothes drying station..we've checked, prior to established our camp in the night, and there won't be any service given in this church for the next 2 weeks (other than the one it is rendering us)...noone will stumble on us in the morning.
20 km done for a total of 3855 + 20 = 3875 km
- Day 310: May 15th: Etxaguen to Elosu - 5 km
Casey is smiling despite the rain...a few km down the road, I've booked us a room for 2 nights...we'll be able to wash our clothes/hiking gears and recover from the 2 days of battle in the national park.
Casey's smile also comes from the warm meal we've just managed to order at the "taberna Errekatxo": the only open restaurant in the whole area just 3km from our camping-friendly church...it was fully booked but the owner decided to make an exception and served us a copious plato del dia before the arrival of the herd.
In this village the church would not have been a good choice to establish our campsite despite its very long roof...a no camping sign (indicating that some others had followed up with the idea there) is nailed on its walls to dissuade the eventual campers.
In this village the church would not have been a good choice to establish our campsite despite its very long roof...a no camping sign (indicating that some others had followed up with the idea there) is nailed on its walls to dissuade the eventual campers.
This house has become an ivy territory...romantic.. but according to Casey a nightmare to deal with when it reaches the roof and creates some damages that jeopardize the house insulation.
We were lucky enough to find a place with a beautiful view of the lake.
The welcoming message of our little haven for 2 nights. The owners of this charming B&B in Elosu were not expecting us and found it quite amusing to get customers who book a room the very same day that they arrive. They took great care of us with a wide smile and some spanglish jokes, providing us with everything we needed to clean our clothes, fill our stomach and regain energy for a fresh re-start.
5 km done for a total of 3875 + 5 = 3880 km
- Day 311: May 16th: Resting time at Agroturismo Atxarmin (Elosu)
Since our place is a bed and breakfast, we needed to organize ourselves to get something to eat for lunch and dinner...the restaurants around were closed for the next few days but on google map we found a supermarket which was open 6 km away from us in Legutio...No problem for us, we covered the 12km, light as feathers, walking with an empty backpack, flip flops (our hiking shoes were still drying) and our hiking sticks just for the fun of feeling how easy it would be to hike when the weight is lifted off our shoulders.
- Day 312: May 17th: Elosu to Nanclares de Ganboa - 21 km
On our way, Casey spotted a very good and special seafood restaurant: you pick what you'd like to eat at the fisherman's counter and they bring it back to your table perfectly cooked and seasoned.
21 km done for a total of 3880 + 21 = 3901 km
- Day 313: May 18th: Nanclares de Ganboa to Dallo - 18 km
Uribarri Ganboako urtegia
18 km done for a total of 3901 + 18 = 3919 km
- Day 314: May 19th: Dallo to Alto de los Tiles - 19 km
Agurain..where we met 2 young guys from western sahara who have emigrated to France and were on a roadtrip to Spain for the long holliday weekend of the Ascension.
The villagers of Opakua seem to militate against the installation of the windmills that we could see on our way on the neighbouring mountains...
19 km done for a total of 3919 + 19 = 3938 km
- Day 315: May 20th: Alto de los Tiles to Ecala (Navarra) - 15 km
It was raining again this morning and the temperatures were flirting with the 5 C mark until 11...we couldn't wait anymore for our coffee so we prepared it under the outside tarp of our tent from the comfort of our sleeping bags.
It looks like someone had a very limited choice of vowels while playing scrabble...
15 km done for a total of 3938 + 15 = 3953 km