Living in the Aragón valley, the journey to the French border in the neighbouring Tena valley is about an hour; you have to go down to Sabiñánigo and then back up towards the mountains. It always amazes me how different one valley is from the others. They each have quite different flowers.
Yesterday we did a long walk to the Anayet mountain lake in the area of the ski resort of Formigal. The online guides I looked at said it was 10.5 km to go there and back, but you have to add another 3km because the Anayet car park is 1.5 km off the main road and the gate is locked in the summer so you have to park in a little area just off the road, let yourself in by the pedestrian gate and walk along a long and winding road to the foot of the ski slopes.
The way to Anayet is well-marked with red and white signs; I was going to say path, but that would be an exaggeration-in some places it's quite a scramble up and down rocky gullies and over marshy places.
This is one of the way markers, here on the way down. There are others where the lines are crossed to tell you not to go that way.
Anyway, two hours up-at least-because I had to stop a lot and get my breath and strength in my legs. There were quite a lot of people going up and down-the young ones bounding up and down the track, some with big rucksacks-maybe intending to do some free camping.
On the way up we came across a herd of horses.
This is the beautiful stallion who was with his mares and their foals. I seem to remember that they are Breton breed-broad and sturdy.
It was warm and sunny on the way up, but as soon as we got over the last ridge and saw the ibón-tarn or mountain lake, it was cool and the mountains were invisible in the clouds. They did clear a bit, however, and we could see Anayet.
wild chives
lots of orchids.
We ate our sandwiches and had a rest befor scrambling back down. The flowers were amazing! Once back at the car we went for coffee at the border with France, by which time the clouds had come right down and it started raining. Goodness knows what it would have been like at the top then! Lots of the paths would have become running streams.
