October 2022 – DJmotortouring

Laredo (Cantabria), Spain September 2022 (Tour 6)

It is a 45 minute walk from Camping Playa del Regaton to Laredo town centre, taking in the town’s immense beach on the way. The lengthy curved Playa de la Salve is perhaps the longest and most popular beach on the north coast of Spain but in September almost all of the (predominantly) Spanish tourists are gone.

Playa de la Salve. That’s Laredo at the far end of the beach.

There’s a fair sized and very historical port in Laredo but I was more interested in the appealing old town behind the marina. It’s narrow streets, dotted with a number of famous 16th and 18th century houses, lead up to the Church of Santa Maria de la Ascuncion and on beyond that to the fortress of Fuerte del Rastrillar where there are quite exceptional views over Laredo and Santona Bay.

Looking down on Playa de la Salve from the Fortress

The Gothic style church above the puebla vieja was built in stages between the 13th and 18th centuries and is renowned for it’s large 15th century painted flemish altarpiece of the ‘Virgin of Belen’ (Virgin of Bethlehem) but it also has a very attractive and unusual stained glass window.

Looking down on Santa Maria de la Ascuncion and a view inside the church of the altarpiece

I liked the contemporary stained window… such a contrast to the beautiful entrance porch

The old town is beautiful and very lived in (although as always I did my best to keep people out of these photos)

Another interesting feature of the old town is it’s unusual street art, much of which celebrates the Camino del Norte (which route passes along this coast to Santiago de Compostela) and the old town’s fishing heritage.

I timed my arrival into Laredo perfectly. The locals were eagerly erecting all manner of booths and market stalls and adorning the old town with flags, bunting and posters. A local fiesta was scheduled to begin from 6pm that day.

Needless to say, Vanya and I were in Laredo long before 6pm that day… and we were there the following day. The fiesta wouldn’t begin in earnest until the weekend but we were there for the opening and, most especially for when all the booths and stalls opened up. Moreover we were there to follow the local pipe and flute band around the town and market and, when we’d had enough walking, to sit and enjoy a nice glass of wine and indulge in one of our favourite pastimes – people watching…

…and then it was a pleasant evening stroll along the beach to… where I’d parked the Van. There was no way Vanya was up for the long walk to and from Laredo.

Colindres (Cantabria), Spain September 2022 (Tour 6)

With just a few days to go before we were to board our ferry for the trip home (Bilbao to Portsmouth) we headed north to the Bay of Biscay and the small town of Colindres. Vanya had found a nice campsite on the outskirts of Colindres (Camping Playa del Regaton) which is situated on the edge of a National Park and would serve us well for a couple of days. We had things to do. Firstly and most importantly we needed to get the dogs seen by a vet (UK rules require that the dogs must have tapeworm tablets administered by a Vet shortly before their return to the UK) and a vet in Colindres had agreed to do the necessary for just 20 euros. Secondly, there was a fiesta on in nearby Laredo for much of the week and we were not going to miss out on that although it would have to be special to top the one we experienced in Puebla de Sanabria. Thirdly, there’s a hike in nearby Santona (just a short bus ride from Colindres) that I was keen to do.

The drive back to the coast through La Rioja was beautiful….

The drive back to the coast took a little over two hours because I kept stopping to take photos…

… and the views from our campsite on the beach were great.

Colindres is not a pretty town and there is little of interest there but the walk from the campsite along the Rio Tetro estuary was enjoyable enough and the town is well placed from which to visit a fair few beautiful and/or interesting places. Several UNESCO World Heritage Sites are to be found in this part of Cantabria. There’s also a wetlands bird sanctuary (now a National Park); a number of stunning beaches, including Laredo’s La Salve and Santona’s Berria Beach (sometimes referred to as Playa de San Martin) and; the nearby towns of Laredo, Santona and Liendo are all worth visiting.

There is little to see in the town of Colindres…

… but the views along the estuary as I took the dogs to their appointment with the Vet in Colindres were fine enough

During this tour, I was able to visit Laredo (a couple of times) and Santona. To get to Santona I took a bus from Colindres but next time I would be inclined to try the Laredo – Santona ferry.

Sajazarra (La Rioja), Spain September 2022 (Tour 6)

While staying over in Cuzcarrita we took the Van out to explore the nearby village of Sajazarra (a Pueblo Mas Bonitos de Espana). We also revisited Haro for another wine tasting session organised and paid for by our hotel but that is another story.

Sajazzara is small but pretty fortified village just 4 miles north of Cuzcarrita. It has a 13th century church and and a 15th century castle (which is not unlike the castle in Cuzcarrita but it too has been converted into a private residence and is no longer accessible to the public). The village has less than 150 inhabitants and that number is declining. The reality is that these small villages no longer provide sufficient employment opportunities for the young and so they move to the cities for work and rarely return. If they do return, it is often to sell the home left to them by their parents. A surprisingly high number of properties were up for sale in the village during our visit.

We parked the Van in the car park at the entrance to the village and walked around the outside. Our walk took us past the castle to an open portal by the church…

… the Church of Santa Maria of Assumption was locked and so we strolled the narrow cobbled streets of the village until we found our restaurant, the Asador Ochavo, which I think translates to the “Eighth Grill”. I cannot help but think that translation is wrong.

A primary reason for our visiting Sajazarra was because it has a restaurant, the Asador Ochavo, which was recommended by the owner of our hotel as a place to get a reasonable meal. It isn’t as highly regarded as the restaurant in Cuzcarrita but at least it remains open out of season.

This is a stock photo taken from the restaurant’s website. The place was very busy as we arrived and we had a bit of wait before getting a table…

Vanya didn’t eat but I knew we wouldn’t be getting much in the line of hot food back in Cuzcarrita and so I tucked into Grilled Morcilla (blood sausage not unlike black pudding) and Chorizo with a Spicy Salsa as a starter (jolly good it was too) followed by the biggest slab of Roast Lamb I have ever had. Not bad at all.

Vanya dithered over the menu while I tucked into the Grilled Morcilla and Chorizo with Spicy Salsa

There’s no doubt we will return to this region of Spain. We have seen quite a bit of La Rioja this trip and small towns and villages like Cuzcarrita and Sajazarra have whet our appetites for more… and, of course, the wine doesn’t get much better.

Cuzcurrita de Rio Tiron (La Rioja), Spain September 2022 (Tour 6)

This quiet little town deserves listing in Los Pueblos Mas Bonitas En Espana (i.e. the prettiest little towns in Spain) but the locals voted against it because they don’t want it invaded by tourists. I can relate with that although it is perhaps a short sighted view given the way most small villages seem to be going in this part of Spain.

A 15 minute drive from Haro, Cuzcurrita de Rio Tiron is a small town of less than 500 people. The older part of the town down by the River Tiron has a simple beauty about it. There’s the Plaza Mayor, the 18th century baroque church of St Miguel, a 15th century castle which is now a private residence, a couple of cafe bars (the holiday season is over and there were just these two open), a number of small bodegas (all busy harvesting their grapes), a couple of small hotels and I saw two small shops but, otherwise, the old town is made up of predominantly 16th century stone houses of various shapes and sizes. One of the larger stone houses, on a corner of the Plaza Mayor, was remodelled in 2015 and is now a wonderful boutique hotel – the Teatrisso Hotel Hospederia. We were booked into the Teatrisso for two nights and would have stayed longer but we were scheduled to take the ferry from Bilbao back to the UK in just a week’s time.

The Teatrisso Hotel was originally a palatial private residence and it stayed in private hands for almost 300 years until, early in the 1920’s, it was converted into a small cinema and then, in the early 1930’s, into a tiny dance hall. 1936 saw it used to house Italian soldiers assigned by Mussolini to aid Franco’s Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War. Thereafter it fell into disuse until purchased in 2015 by the current owners, Laura and Jose Angel, who have worked hard to transform into the quintessential boutique hotel it is now.

The Teatrisso Hotel Hospederia, a 3* hotel with 5* standards…

The Reception area and staircase up to our room.

The Teatrisso has just 12 rooms all with a cinematic theme. We chose to stay in the Africa room which was clean, comfortable, tastefully furnished and… well, just perfect. Next time we stay (and there will most certainly be a next time) we will endeavour to stay over a weekend (when Laura and Jose Angel sometimes provide food and wine tasting). Descriptions and photos of all the hotel rooms are to be found on their website ‘Teatrisso.com’.

… and the Courtyard Garden, perfect for a late night White Rioja wine and light supper paid for through the hotel’s ‘honesty bar’

And the town? There’s a cafe bar on Plaza Mayor, next to the church of San Miguel (Saint Michael). The square was popular throughout our stay and, while meals were not easily available (the town’s only restaurant was closed) the cafe bar provided pinchos with their 1 euro glasses of White Rioja and there was an honesty bar back at the Teatrisso which, in addition to providing a good range of wines, offered olives, cheese, dried meats and bread. Invariably, we were among the last to leave the cafe bar. By the way, there’s a second bar down near the bridge across the River Tiron and that wasn’t bad either.

Across the river from the old town are a handful of small bodegas and beyond these is a track leading up to a viewing point above the village with wonderful views north to the mountains and south across a number of La Rioja vineyards.

North to the mountains and south across the vineyards

Our stay in Cuzcurrita de Rio Tiron was without a doubt one of the highlights of this particular tour but, since she found the place, I will leave the final word on the town with Vanya who wrote the following trip advisor review:

“My favourite hotel ever!!! The African room was spectacular, beautifully and thoughtfully decorated, very unique. The enclosed garden, with gentle background music, was perfect to sit and drink a great bottle of Rioja from the (honesty) bar in the evening. The breakfast was fresh with plenty of choice. I didn’t want to leave but we will be back in the Spring! Thank you!

Date of stay: September 2022

Miranda de Ebro (Castile y Leon), Spain September 2022 (Tour 6)

Vanya found a very interesting boutique hotel in the small village of Cuzcurrita de Rio Tiron in La Rioja Region. We decided to treat ourselves there but, on the way, stopped off for lunch in Miranda de Ebro. Miranda de Ebro is the place with which Haro started the wine fight all those years ago (see earlier Haro blog).

It is a now large industrial city (chemicals) on the banks of the River Ebro with a population of 40,000+. In the limited time available to us (we were both keen to get to Cuzcurrita) we were never going to get to see much of the place and so settled for a short walk around the old town and lunch on the main square.

It was a pleasant enough walk along the banks of the River Ebro to what I think was the Carlos III Bridge and that bridge would lead us to the old town

The other side of the bridge, to the left, is the old town square with it’s bandstand in front of the town hall.

A rock band were playing a mix of their own music and some Rock & Roll classics as we arrived.

There was a small food market selling snacks on the square

We stayed long enough for a light lunch, a brief stroll around the (small) old town and then it was back across the Carlos III Bridge to the Van. Cuzcurrita de Rio Tiron beckoned.

St Pee sur Nivelle (Nouvelle Aquitaine), France September 2022 (Tour 6)

On our way back into Spain we stopped overnight in Saint Pee sur Nivelle in the French basque country (Pays de Labourd); just 8 kms from Ascain which place we very much enjoyed last year notwithstanding the restrictions then imposed on us by covid. This area is famous for it’s ossau-iraty cheese, an ivory coloured semi hard cheese made from unpasteurised ewe’s milk and I love it. We’ll be taking some of that back to the UK with us.

Saint Pee is an unusual place in that it is not concentrated around a single town centre. It has a centre of sorts (stretched out along the D918 for the most part) but the town appears to comprise several different communes spread over quite an area. This made for fair a bit of walking when I set out to explore the place; not least because there are a lot of hiking trails in the area and I couldn’t resist checking out one or two of them. There’s a nice walk along by the River Nivelle; another around the Lake of St Pee and; at least two more up and around the Hills of Ibarron. I didn’t do them all.

It’s a pretty area with numerous walking trails

The ‘centre’ (if it can be called a centre) comprised a few shops, two or three restaurants or cafe bars (one particular cafe bar was selling a selection of locally produced artisan beers – I tried just one and it was good) and some pretty half timbered houses all coloured in the basque style.

The most interesting building however is the Eglise St Pierre. This unusual and imposing church has a pleasing interior – a stone floor made from old tombstones, an impressive church organ, a large intricately carved wooden altarpiece and a wonderful three story wooden gallery so typical of the area. Certainly, the gallery reminded me of the church in Ascain.

The exterior of the Eglise Saint Pierre…

… with it’s exquisitly carved altarpiece.

This is another of those areas which suffered horribly from witch-hunts in the early 17th century. Certainly, the basque country both in France and Spain was the focus of the witch-hunts between 1609 and 1614 which saw an estimated 3,000 people put to death. Salazar de Frias, operating out of Logrono, was one of the leading inquisitors in Spain at this time while Pierre de Lancre led the hunts in this part of France.

Currently well behind with this blog. we were in Saint Pee in September. It is now 23 October – apologies

Cassaigne (Occitaine), France September 2022 (Tour 6)

With just 200 inhabitants, Cassaigne is the smallest of the three villages we visited during our stay in Eauze. In reality it is now little more than a hamlet.

Built by the Bishops of Condom the original 13th century Chateau de Cassaigne was remodelled over a period of time and by the turn of the 16th century a pretty little village, complete with church, had formed around it.

… surrounding buildings on one of it’s two streets and a view inside the small church

During the French Revolution the State confiscated the property from the church and it was auctioned off. For many years thereafter it remained in private hands until in 2003 the wine cooperative Plaimont purchased the 30 acre Cassaigne estate. Nowadays, 20% of the estates vines are used to produce Armagnac and the other 80% goes towards the production of red, white and rose Cotes de Gascogne wines.

Plaimont operate wine tasting sessions from the chateau but we didn’t have time for that. We simply sampled some of the cooperative’s produce and then purchased a few bottles of their white wine for drinking back in the UK. I also bought a three bottle sampler selection of the chateau’s Armagnac. I’ll try those on my own one cold winter evening in Brighton.

After a short walk around the outside of the chateau primarily to get a closer look at the Fallow Deer enclosure, we made our way back to Eauze for dinner at the Michelin rated restaurant La Vie en Rose.

Ordinarily I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit Cassaigne but it could perhaps be taken in on the back of a visit to nearby Condom, a quiet rural medieval market town with a fairly impressive cathedral.

Larressingle (Occitaine), France September 2022 (Tour 6)

From our base in Eauze, we took the Van out to visit three local villages. The first to be visited was Montreal sur Gers (see previous post). We then drove a few kilometres further east to the medieval fortress village of Larressingle, also known as the Little Carcassonne of Gers.

Larressingle is also a ‘Plus Beau Village de France’ and fully deserving of the title. It is also something of a tourist attraction being the most visited destination in the Gers (and on the Chemin de Puy to Santiago) but it was almost empty as we arrived. It is a small village almost completely surrounded by 300 metres of heavy fortified walls (that are for the most part in excellent condition) and it is full of charm.

There is only one entrance into the village, across an old moat and through a double arched stone bridge. Inside the fortress walls is a church and a range of medieval houses, most of which are set with their backs to the castle walls and are now home to craft shops and cafes and the local tourist office. It is beautiful.

Having walked all around the inside and the outside of the village we paused for a light lunch – a local artisan beer and a local pizza with goat’s cheese. Very tasty.

Montreal du Gers (Occitaine), France September 2022 (Tour 6)

While staying in Eauze we took time to visit some of the surrounding villages, starting with Montreal du Gers, a “Plus Beau Village de France” just 10 miles or so to the north east of Eauze.

Sitting on the banks of the Auzoue River, Montreal du Gers is an old bastide town dating back to 1255. It is organised around a small central square of arcades and the gothic collegiate church of Notre Dame (sometimes referred to as the Church of Saint Philippe et Saint Jacques). Unfortunately, we didn’t see the central square in it’s best light. It is used as the town car park and during our visit was packed with cars. It was a pity because if ever a square needed to be pedestrianised it is this one.

The best features of the church are the colourful stained glass windows

We paused in Montreal du Gers long enough to enjoy the small market on the square and walk a slow circuit of the place before moving on to another much smaller but more impressive village to the east, Larressingle. Overall, I didn’t rate Montreal du Gers. It certainly doesn’t have the charm one would ordinarily expect of a “Plus Beau Village de France”.

… but there were a couple of very interesting craft stalls.

Notwithstanding the above, just outside Montreal du Gers is the small hamlet of Seviac and the remains of a 2nd century Roman villa, the ‘Villa Seviac’. This villa was a large and luxurious residence discovered by a local farmer in 1864 although it was neither explored nor excavated until the 1970’s. It is now a museum. Little is left of the villa’s original walls but many of it’s mosaics have been restored to their original splendour and they rank amongst the best of their kind in France.

NB We visited Montreal du Gers mid September 2022 but this blog was not completed and posted until 22 October – apologies.

Eauze (Occitaine), France September 2022 (Tour 6)

And so to Eauze and an altogether nicer part of France. Eauze is only a small town (4,000 people) but it is recognised as the capital of the Armagnac area. Moreover it is surrounded by a clutch of interesting villages, a number of which are included in the list of ‘Les Plus Beaux Villages de France’ and it has a reasonably priced Michelin Restaurant (La Vie en Rose). We knew immediately that Eauze was going to be good and so we booked into the municipal campsite for a few days with a view to using it as a base from which to explore both Eauze and various local villages (Montreal du Gers, Larressingle, Cassaigne). The campsite was quiet (it would close for winter the following week) but it has a pool, a pleasant and very popular restaurant (Restaurant au Moulin de Pouy) and is just a short walk from a large Leclerc supermarket and the town centre itself.

Initially named Elusa in Roman times, Eauze is a town of some considerable historical significance (especially during France’s Religious Wars). It was home to Henri III of Navarre (who was subsequently crowned Henri IV of France) and his wife Marguerite de Valois (who was sister to no less than three French Kings – Francis II, Charles IX and Henri III – and popularised by Alexandre Dumas in his historical novel ‘La Reine Margot’). I recall watching the 1994 film version of Dumas’ book which starred Isabelle Adjani in the title role.

Eauze may be small but around it’s main square (which, unusual in rural France, has a bar that stayed open until one o’clock in the morning) there is a decent sized medieval quarter of narrow streets simply teeming with character.

The main square and a couple of the town’s narrow medieval streets

The Camino Le Puy (also known as the Via Podiensis) takes you through Eauze

Also on the main square is a former cathedral, now a church, dedicated to Saint Luperc. Luperc (sometimes known as Luperculus) was a Bishop when the town was controlled by the Romans. He was martyred by the Romans during the reign of Emporer Trajan (3rd Century?). The original 15th/16th century church was destroyed by Cardinal Richelieu during the final days of France’s Religious Wars and the current building was built during the 18th century on the site of the older church. It is a tall but narrow Gothic building which, while not all that impressive from the outside, is quite distinctive on the inside. It is unusually light and airy and the apse contains a series of impressive paintings depicting the life of Jesus Christ and some beautiful long colourful stained glass windows.

Simple inside and unusually light, I really liked this church

One of the highlights of our visit to Eauze was a meal at La Vie en Rose, a Michelin listed restaurant which clearly deserves a star. It highlights local cuisine at very reasonable prices. A budget menu of the day was avalable but we went a la carte. I started with a really refreshing Salade de Saint Jacques a l’orange et aux avocats and followed it with the chef’s speciality, an earthy main of Papillotes de Saint Jacques au Foie Gras. The accompanying wine was a local Tariquet Amplitude recommended by the chef. I’m writing this blog some weeks after we left Eauze and, shame on me, I cannot remember Vanya’s main (she didn’t bother with a starter) but I recall her having a great looking dessert, a Marquise au Chocolat Creme Caramel, which she described as “simply divine”. I finished with a very good Armagnac but, in hindsight, I wish I too had taken a dessert. The ‘La Croustade’ looked fantastic.

We had our dogs with us when we visited La Vie En Rose and so ate outside.

Papillotes de Saint Jacques au Foie Gras. They were cooked and served in aluminium.

Vanya’s dessert, the Marquise Chocolat au Creme Caramel

One other feature of Eauze which I found particularly impressive was the local street art (most of which seemed to have been created by the one artist).