Sunday afternoon, a pleasant walk up to a glacial cirque (that's what the online dictionary says). We drove to Canfranc, known as "Quemao" meaning burnt, because of a fire in the last century which burnt the entire village. It's being rebuilt now, but the main nucleus of population is still where it moved after the fire, in the part known as Canfranc Estación, where the "international" railway station is. They are restoring the great station building, which fell into ruin after the rail route into France was cut off in the 1970s.
Well, back to the walk. It's well signposted, just off the main road. Going is a steep uphill walk through trees and past what we think are the remains of an abandoned village. A stream which runs into the Aragón is running very powerfully at the moment with melting snow. Spring flowers everywhere. Not a great variety: violets, hepatica both blue and white and at the top a thing which looked like a little aquilegia, but I don't know. When we got up high enough there was a fantastic view of the cirque at one end of the plane, and beyond, the snow-capped mountains. There'll still be snow on them for a while yet. It was an hour up and one to come down, more or less.
Well, back to the walk. It's well signposted, just off the main road. Going is a steep uphill walk through trees and past what we think are the remains of an abandoned village. A stream which runs into the Aragón is running very powerfully at the moment with melting snow. Spring flowers everywhere. Not a great variety: violets, hepatica both blue and white and at the top a thing which looked like a little aquilegia, but I don't know. When we got up high enough there was a fantastic view of the cirque at one end of the plane, and beyond, the snow-capped mountains. There'll still be snow on them for a while yet. It was an hour up and one to come down, more or less.
