I arrived in Torla about 1pm on Wednesday 25th July. I had to catch 2 buses from Zaragoza, but this time around my trip was a lot less eventful.
The landscape changed from flat plains, to a wall of low mountains which we drove through. Around every turn, the mountains started to get bigger until we turned a final bend and there in front of the bus loomed the Pyrenees. We wound our way upwards towards Torla.
I´d read about Torla in my Lonely Planet and it seemed like a good point to base myself from. I´d found over the Internet a tour company Aragon Aventura, which does organised tours and self guided tours. I´d been on the phone and in contact via e-mail for the past week to sort it all out.
I stepped off the bus into the heat. Torla is a small village nestled at the foot of the Pyrenees, and right next to the entrance to the Ordesa National Park.
I found my hotel and checked in. It wasn´t hard, Torla is only one street really. I was greeting by a hulking mass of a woman that grumbled at me in what I think was Spanish. I explaind in Spanish about my reservation through Aragon Aventura. She mumbled somthing indecipherable and limped in the opposite direction (I never did see if she had a wooden leg!). A blading man with a dead pan expression came to the counter. I put on my most friendly smile and asked to check in. He scowled at me, and pushed a key across the counter. (I was having visions of "Hostel" by now. The old bird with the limp was probly greasing the the chainsaw in the basement).
I didn´t have to meet Dani from Aragon Aventura for my briefing until 6pm, so I spent the afternoon exploring this wonderful village. It´s so quaint and cute.
I don´t know if it was the fresh mountain air, or if I was inspired by Britney but I felt I needed a change to symbolise the next stage of my holiday. After asking a few directions, I found myself down a lane way and in front of the hairdressers (yes, they even have one here!!). I walked in and asked the lady behind the counter to cut all my hair off. She looked at me like I was from another planet (my Spanish sounds like a foreigner, and I´m from Australia, I know it´s far away but it´s not another planet)
I wasn´t sure that she understood me, so I asked again. She replied, ´"Are you sure?"
"Si!"
So I took to the chair and asked for a 2 blade all over. There was an assistant and another person in the salon and they stared on in disbelief. It must have made for quite a scene. They even laughed when I asked if I could take photo´s.
After my close shave I went back to the hotel and smirked at the hotel owners expression as I walked in the door. I don´t think he knew what to make of me.
I had a meeting at 6pm with Dani from Aragon Aventura to brief me and give me my maps and trek notes. When he opened the map in front of me, with all the treks highlighted and numbered in different colours, my heart lept into my throat.
"What have I got myself into?" was the first thought in my head.
Acting calm I listened to Dani and asked questions when I didn´t quite understand. I left the briefing feeling a bit anxious but eager to begin the following morning.
I now felt and looked lke a monk about to embark on a pilgrimage (though better dressed!)
The first day I head off out of Torla and followed the Ara River towards the Odesa Canyon. The walk was well marked and easy to follow. I passed many waterfalls along the way. It is one of the more popular walks in the National Park and after lunchtime I began to come across more and more people.
I was glad it was an easy trek to start with. The highlight was the Cascada del Estrecho.
All the treks are really well designed with most of the uphill in the morning, and you are trekking to a peak, or a valley, where you can relax and have lunch. The afternoons are usually faster, as they are down hill. But they are trickier as you are tired, and you slide a lot when going down hill. You have to really watch where you are going or you´ll trip, or twist an ankle.
Most treks are between 7 and 9 hours in length. I know it sounds like a long time, but it´s not really. The time passes by, nothing to do but admire the spectacular peaks that soar out of the valleys and loom above you.
I was surprised by how much the terrain can change in one trek. From craggy rocks, across meadows filled with flowers, through a Green forest and into a valley. It´s truly spectacular!!
Time - 6 hours
This day I walked along a valley cut by the River Ara to the slopes of the Vignemale massif.
I start most of my treks about 9 am in the morning, so that I´ve usually made it to the half way point by the heat of the day.
I packed more inot my day pack today as I would be staying in a refuge over night in Bujaruelo.
The initial hike up the gorge was quite steep and rocky, it was a beautiful hot day and I was feeling the heat by 10. I took off my cap and let the wind blow along my scalp. The hike wasn´t as well trodden as the first day, and at one point I had to cross a shher rockface with only the assistance of a steel cable bolted into the rock. It was a bit scarey.
I was in Bujaruelo by 1pm, as it was so early I deecided to do a second walk to Valle Otal. It was about 2 and a half hours there, and 2 back. That would have me back in Bujaruelo around 5-6pm easily.
I was blown away by how different this Valle was from Valle Ordessa. It was much greener and lush. It looked like a picture you see in a magazine or on TV, but never actually something you get to see with your own eyes. It was magical!
Valle Otal was wide. I climbed up onto a rock, had lunch, took my shirt off and sunbaked. I spent nearly 2 hours there, fascinated watching the clouds as they moved across the sky and their shadows slid down the valley walls.
The refuge was a simple affair and we had dinner in a hall. I slept in a room of about 20 bunks. I was so tired from walking and the few necessary beers afterwards that I collpased inot a deep sleep.
Height Gain - 330m
Time - 3.5 hours to Bujaruelo, 5 hours to Valle Otal and back from Bujaruelo
Day 4 - Bujaruelo to Torla via Cebollar
Breakfast was at 7.30am. Like all beakfasts I have come to discover in Hosatals and Hotels in Spain, it consists of a cup of coffee and toasted bread (how bread alone can constsitue breakfast is beyond me!). Thank god I pack Protein bars, been living on them here.
I retraced my walk back along the Ara River to the point where you ascend to Cebollar or descend to Torla. The ascent was really tough, it wasn´t well marked and was rocky. Each walk over the week was getting progressively more challenging I was to discover.
This was the first walk that I actually lost my way on for a bit. The path seemed to be getting narrower, and I was actually climbing over boulders. Shortly I was confronted by a huge rockface..dead end. I looked around for the path, there was none. everything lookked the same. Trying not to panic (it was only 2pm, heaps of sunlight left) I searched for the familiar red and white paint marks. Further back alomg the path I saw one on the other side of a stream. I jumped across and was back on track!!
I trudged on up the mountain, higher and higher until I could start to feel fresh air blowing on my face. The trees broke and I was confronted by the most amazing view down the Valley. I was the only one up here, and I didn´t see another person on this mountain fo the entire ascent, and descent (nearly 5 hours). It was incredible.
That afternoon I found an icy cold mountain stream to have a swim in after all the days trekking. Lovely.
Height Gain - Bujaruelo to Cebollar 900m ascent, Cebollar to Torla 1100m descent
Time - 8 hours
Day 5 - The Faja de Racun
I woke to the smell of of smoke. The air was thick with it. I thought there was a bushfire. I ran out into the alley to see the sky filled with smoke. After talking to a few locals, I discovered that the Ordessa Hotel had burned to the ground. It was only a few minutes up the road.
When I caught the bus from Torla to the Ordessa National Park entrance, we drove past the burnt out ruins. People stood around dazed in between fire trucks. There was nothing left of the 3 storey Hotel.
Today's walk was to climb the Circo de Carriatta, traversing the Faja De Racun and descending the Cirque de Catatuero. It's a dramatic and little frequented route.
The inital climb was tough, all uphill and steep. But the view from the base of the cliffs along the Vallet Ordessa was amazing. It was the toughest walk that I had done.
I actually got a bit of vertigo up there. It was an incredibly narrow path that had a cliff face on one side and a sheer drop into woodland below. There was a point where I thought "It's too far along now, can't turn back, gotta press on forward". Scaling around a curved cliff face really scared the hell outta me.
The walk then descended down into an amazing waterfall.
This walk would have had to have been my favourite, for the challenge it presented me and for the rewarding views.
I have really enjoyed my time alone up there. Enjoy the views, the fresh air, the excercise and time to think. I am totally relaxed with not a care in the world.
I think I could do this forever..if my feet didn't hurt so much!!
Height Gain - 500m uphill, 800 m downhill
Time - 5 hours
Day 6 - The Faja de Pelay- The Circuit of the Ordesa Canyon
This is the classic route around the Ordesa Canyon.
The guide notes said to take it nice and easy for the first two hours as it would be a steep climb up through the trees, so I set a slow, steady pace and stuck to it. It's signed as a Dangerous walk and I can easily see why. The path is rocky, steep and it's easy to dislodge stones.
I decided at least to overtake the few people in front of me, as if there were going to be any dislodged stones, they were gonna be mine.
The view from the top was magnificent. It was another beautiful day, the morning air still had a chill to it, and I could see all the way along the canyon. I looked across at the Faja de Racun and could even make out yesterday's trail. I was so high up!!
I then walked along the Canyon for the next 2 hours, descending to La Cola del Caballo (horses tail). The canyon ends in a waterfall, the only way out is to double back on your route.
Spent lunch on a rock, in the sun under the spray of the waterfall. Unreal!
The return leg was much easier, it was all flat and along the base of the Canyon instead of the walls. Even though, I was tired and it took me nearly 3 hours to get back to Ordessa.
Height Gain - 650m uphill, 650 m downhill
Time - 7 hours
My legs ached, all I could think of was a cold beer, and a shower.
The walks have been amazing. I would spend hours marveling at the views, hearing nothing but birds, or waterfalls. The weather was amazing and I didn't have one bad day.
I've discovered a newfound calm inside me while out there. To be alone with your thoughts for days on end is very refreshing. I enjoyed my time immensley and can honestly say that I am now truly relaxed, and for the first time in aong time...extrememely happy.
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