Sue & Graham in La Rioja
Tuesday, August 30th, 2011
Sue braces herself for the arduous trek up La Cabeza del Santo
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Have a look at the pictures – a thousand words and all that. Things didn’t quite work out as we had planned, although I had enlisted the help of a Spanish student to make the three-week booking at the Albergue in Neiva de Cameros (central La Rioja). Albergues are meant for walkers, passing through and spending one night. Meals are provided by the host or hostess. We – of course – wanted to cook our own food and had brought about a ton of grub with us. God knows what problems this caused. Since the booking had been on a “misunderstanding”, we were given a refund and with the help of the Oficina de Turismo in Logrono and moved to an “apartamiento” in El Rasillo which is absolutely marvellous at £50 per night, i.e. £25 each.
Jubera
View of Jubera del rio Leza from road
First cycle trip. Car assisted. Started in Ribafrecha > Ventas Blancas > Jubera > Robres del Castillo. Started ascent to Santa Marina (11 kms uphill) with through of crossing hills and picking up road at Terroba back to Ribafrecha. Changed our minds though. Just as well. Made a hasty retreat after just a few hundred yards back to Ribafrecha.
Ortigosa en Cameros
View of Ortigosa de los Cameros
Walk. Only 12 Kms – but in scorching heat. Nieva de Caneros > El Rasillo > Ortigosa and back.
Pinillos
Pinillos
Two days later (after change of accommodation) off-road cycle route. Very pleasant. Cooler weather, too. Descent from El Rasillo > Villanueva de Cameros > Gallinero de Cameros (steep ascent, then lunch) > Pinillos, along easily rodeable tracks > N 111 (steep descents) and back to Rasillo passing turn-off to Nieva en Cameros.
Anguiano
View from top towards Anguiano
Set off from El Rasillo. Picked up path on L past turn-off for Nieva. Were advised to take path on R – longer but more accessible for cyclists. It was a heck of a climb to the top, but the views were magnificent. Bit of guess-work, since the path petered out in places. Made our way down to the valley below through dense woods with some difficulty and picked up path to Anguiano. Sue didn’t like the rough stones on the path which was difficult to navigate on her Tri-Cross. Stopped for refreshments in Anguiano about 3.30pm. Made
La Cabeza del Santoour way back to El Rasillo via Brieva de Cameros. After a steep ascent from the main road the road evened out, but it switch-backed for miles, making it very tiring at the end of the day. When we got to Brieva de Cameros we thought we were home and dry, but there was another 1000 ft of steep climbing to do. Quite knackeing. Sue was ‘not amused’. Descent from the top went on for miles. Once in Ortigosa we took about 20 minutes to get back to El Rasillo. Going up the winding road from Brieva, I suddenly realised that I had been up this road in November 2000. What struck me then was a high peek (La Cabeza del Santo, 1856 metres) covered in ice. “One for later,” I thought.
View from top of Cabeza del Santo
Sue turned out to be more amenable than I thought. We took the car as far as Puerto de Pena Hincada and then set off, leaving the path R over Collado Mohino to the path on the other side. We had lunch a further kilometre along the path and then started the steep ascent to 1865 metres. Although it looked intimidating from below, actually the ascent was relatively easy apart from the steepness. At the top we met two other walkers from Zarragoza. We traced our way back down and thence to the car. The strain on my knees was hardly bearable.
Jubero del Castillo
Mediaeval castle (12th C.) overlooking Jubera
Unlike the previous day, the heat was almost unbearable. Sue and I wanted to explore the 12th C. castle behind Jubera de Cameros. After battling through bushes, we managed to get into the ramparts. Marvellous views. Once down, we set off on the path in slow motion for a short walk. In all we did 5 miles, but because of the heat it felt more like ten.
Santa Marina
View over Santa Marina having ascended from Terroba
This was really the completion of the first route to Jubera on our bikes. However, having reckied the terrain, I decided to park the car at Terroba and return via Robres del Castillo, Jubera, Ventas Blancas, Ribafrecha, Soto en Cameros. The ascent from Terroba to the highest point on the peeks was about 7 miles and since the maps I had were 10 years old, there had been some changes which made navigation difficult. A feature along the route was a half-deserted village called Tregujantes. Some people still lived there or at least had a Holiday home there, but the church and other buildings were in ruins. Sue and I spent almost an hour exploring the ruins, puzzling over why the village had been abandoned. (There were some signs of renovation, perhaps with EU money). The navigation problems started in earnest after we left Treguajantes. The path marked on the map no longer existed, so Sue and I battled our way up the hillside through thick balsam plants until we hit a wide path at the top. The sore throat I had started out with combined with the steep climbs exhausted me more that I imagined. To cap it all, as we approached Ribafrecha a thunderstorm broke. In spite of the rain we followed to road out of Ribafrecha towards Soto de Cameros. It was an hour’s climb. Sue performed well on her Tri-Cross and sailed up the steady slope while I struggled quite some distance behind on my Roadhopper. We got back to the studio flat very late – about 9.40pm. Today with a raging sore throat and totally washed out, I am doing my best to enjoy a day of rest. Revenge is sweet.
Castanares de las Cuevas
Start of walk thro’ ravine from Castanares
Circular walk, following map. Navigation difficult. Spent some time on “short-cuts” battling through brambles and wild rose bushes, beleaguered by flies and horse flies. ‘Interesting but stupid’ springs to mind. Very hot. When we got back to the car we made our way to Juquera to take shots of the fantastic rock formations from the other side of the valley.
La Santa
Deserted village of La Santa from road
La Santa is one of the most magical places in La Rioja – one of several deserted villages, full of ghosts and memories. We parked just after Robres del Castillo and then made our way by bike to the beginning of the path. The ascent was steady but not demanding. Even so, it tgook us about 2 hours. After lunch we headed for Ribalmaguillo along the path designated on the map but came unexpectedly to a dead-end. We retraced to La Santa and decided that it would be more sensible to return to the car by the way we had come rather than to attempt to find Ribalmaguillio by another route and descend to the car via Santa Maribna. As a point of interest, I had bought my Specialised Roadhopper with the specific intention of this tour in La Rioja. Sue was riding her Tri-Cross (a replacement for the Thorn she used on Normandy tour with Larry last year). To date, with my Hemisphere 26 x 1.96″ 60 tpi casing / wire bend, high durablity, compund 70 SA tyres (can it get any better?), I have clocked up 5 punctures and Sue nill with her 25mm Schwalbe.
Ribalmaguillo
View of Altar of deserted church in Ribalmiguillo
Last day. Not one to be defeated, I suggested that we re-try the route to Ribalmaguillo from Santa Marina. Excellent day out. The navigation was not too difficult, especially with the help of the SatNav which had been reset from the British Grid system to degrees, minutes, seconds and decimals thereof. So we were able to check our position and through scorching heat and flies navigate, blinded by perspiration and the searing white track, to Ribalmaguillo. Such a peaceful and derelict place. We had lunch, sitting in the shadow of the church, surrounded by deep, still silence and the parched hills of La Rioja.
