In June 2024 we were in the Sierra de Guara and the Spanish Pyrenees. We had been in the Sierra de Guara before. It is a mountain range in the north of Spain and known for its wildlife, especially the vultures. The last time we were there, we only spent a few days and now we wanted to spend more time there. This time we took the car with us, since we preferred a bit more flexibility and not depend too much on public transport (like in 2023). The second part of our holiday we went to the Spanish Pyrenees and this time we went a bit early in the season – the month of June – which has advantages (not too crowded) and disadvantages (snow in the high mountains).  

Camping

We stayed at a variety of campsites, from small and isolated ones to large scale family campsites. A particular nice small campsite is the one in Nocito (Sierra de Guara) run by an older couple who also run a small restaurant and shop in the village of Nocito; a quiet and beautiful place. Larger ones are campsites El Puente (close to Rodellar) and Valle de Anisclo; both in the Pyrenees. These are less quiet: in El Puente we struggled in the night with some drunk French people who were harassing your tent. The advantage of larger campsites is that they have a canteen where one can drink a beer and watch soccer games! 

Together with our friends Danny and Désirée we visited Iran in October 2018. Iran is a beautiful country and interesting from several perspectives. It has a very old history and modern-day Iran is reflecting that mingled with contemporary history.

Jameh Mosque in Isfahan

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In the summer of 2017, we traveled together with Margriet her sister and family (husband and three kids) to Costa Rica. Since we were with a big group, we made most arrangements (4WD and housing) before we left. You need to be a bit on time with this since Costa Rica is becoming popular. All-in-all we have stayed around four weeks in this beautiful country.

Most photographed animal of Costa Rica

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We have already spent some holidays in the Pyrenees but we keep coming back. We simply like the mountains and atmosphere: quiet and rugged spots, nice old villages and friendly people. Especially the Spanish part is our favorite. That is why we wanted to go back there and continue through Aragon; a very old part of Spain. It used to be a kingdom together with Catalonia and stretching out to parts in Italy. It was also the place where the old Christian and Muslim cultures met (and clashed). For this reason, there are many castles and fortresses in Aragon which together with the nice landscape makes it a nice hiking experience with lots of old history.

Castillo de Loarre

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In August/September 2013 we travelled during a month in Ladakh, the northwestern part of India in the Himalaya, together with our friends Danny and Désirée. The basis of our trip was Leh, the capital city of Ladakh. We made treks through parts of Ladakh and visited Buddhist temples, always returning to Leh. This has advantages and disadvantages: you can leave part of your luggage behind in a guesthouse (reducing the weight of your backpack), but it is less adventurous. Ladakh is situated at an altitude of 3500 meter, so some customizing is necessary (actually, we did not have a lot of problems perhaps due to the Diamox we took).

Leh

Leh is a small and touristic town. It has very many shops and outdoor/adventure companies. It has a nice selection of restaurants, but getting a beer is a problem at times (not to mention a good glass of wine!). For religious reasons, they do not always serve beer. Sometimes it is available and then they may sell it as ‘tea’. We stayed at the Shanti Guesthouse, in the quiet outskirts of Leh, which is operated by friendly and helpful people. We could leave part of our luggage there in-between the treks

Roofs in the old city of Leh, looking down from the castle

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