A surprisingly exotic looking family adventure holiday in Europe
This photo is too good to have been taken by me. This belongs to one of my colleagues Jaime Lahoz who happens to be a real photographer. This was taken last summer during one of our Pyrenees family adventure holidays which take place in the Pallars Sobira Valley.
The subject of the photo is the lower part of the Pallars River, Collegats, which is one of the most famous rafting spots in Spain. This is one of our families who have been kind enough/lucky enough to try out our family adventures in both the Picos mountains and the Pyrenees.
What I love about this photo is that it just looks so dramatic that I don’t think anyone would guess that this is relatively close to home (if you’re here in the UK). In fact it’s only 3 hours from the crush of humanity that is Barcelona.
I actually went to this particular valley for the first time this past spring. As ever, I was blown away. I’ve been going to Spain regularly for about 15 years now, for some of that time I spent more time there than in the UK. And yet, Spain still manages to suprise me pretty much every time I go.
In the case of the Pallars Valley, what amazed me was the variety. At the top of the valley is the Aigues Tortes National Park and some of the highest peaks in the Pyrenees. At the bottom of the valley is this river, great for not just rafting but also kayak, canyoning, hydrospeed and all sorts of other watersports.
One big advantage the Spanish have in terms of their landscape is that the country is pretty under-populated, outside of the main cities at least. With a population density around 1/3 or even 1/4 that of the UK, getting away from people is relatively easy. That much of Spain is mountainous and beautiful helps.
However, I personally would normally associate with remote, sparsely populated mountain areas with banjos and bad food. In Spain, nothing could be further from the truth. Here in the Pallars Valley there are some absolutely stunning places to eat, and sleep for that matter. Take Fogony – a father and daughter outfit in a small mountain town/village surrounded by beautiful mountains which is turning out exquisite cuisine.
I know I should want to explore new places but since Spain still manages to surprise and delight me, why wouldn’t I keep visiting? As long as my colleagues over in Spain (Xabi, Diego, Jaime, Alex, Peter, Tolo, Migel Angel) keep discovering and revealing new treats I think I’ll just keep going back.
In fact I’m off to the Picos in January, James is off to the Pyrenees in February…
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