Return from Spain 09/09/25

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. 7-8-9th Sept

It took me a day longer than it could have to get from Bujaruelo to Barcelona due to the impenetrability of the Spanish public transport system. Or was it just me being thick?

Looking down from the path to the track to Bujaruelo 

When I left Bujaruelo I was told the bus from Torla was at 11.00, I had found the only bus on the internet was at 18.00, however when I walked to Torla I was told that the bus was definitely at 15.10. Perhaps it's not just me.

Torla

I used the waiting time to take the tourist bus up to the Ordessa car park. A walk up to the waterfalls, that had rather less water than last year, a pleasant way to spend a few hours.

One of the waterfalls 

The buses run up and down from Torla to Ordessa every half hour but there were only four people on the bus to Sabinanigo, obviously everyone drives to Torla.

Back to Torla

At Sabinanigo I looked at the timetable in the ticket office window and realised that it should have been possible to get a bus to Barcelona that evening but I had already booked a bed in Huesca. I went in to buy a ticket for the advertised 17.30 bus to Huesca and was told that it was actually at 16.20!

Hostel in Huesca

On Arrival in the Intermodal station at Huesca I tried to buy a bus ticket to Barcelona for the following day but they were all booked until 14.00 so I decided to go by train, quicker but consideribly more expensive.

Huesca Casino

I wasn't very impressed with Huesca it seemed rather run down but, like most of Spain, there were a lot of people in the bars and restaurants in the late evening.

Snow Whites house in a park in Huesca?

This region of Spain is a major pig production area and the proliferation of mega farms by a small number of major companies must have helped the local population but is now causing big pollution problems as the infertile soils cannot handle the high amounts of nitrogen, leading to contamination of the already limited ground water.

200 mph on the train. The Spanish understand public transport.

I took a regional train to Zaragoza in the morning then the high speed one (300 kph) to Barcelona.

Approach to the Catalan Museum of Art

It was a pity that the Catalan art museum was closed on Mondays but the building itself and the roadway and fountains leading up from the Plaça d'Espanya to it were most impressive.

Basilica de la Sagrada Familia 

An hour's walk then through the busy streets to the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia. I was lucky to get a ticket for this last night as it appeared to be sold out for the rest of the week.

Interior 

The Basilica is still under construction but I think it will mainly affect the exterior appearance.

Light effects 

The interior is incredible, the whole design being based on the supporting pillars with their upper spreading branches giving the impression of a forest.

Massive pillars

The stained glass is for colour effect and overall, as the architect Gaudi intended, it feels like walking through a huge stone forest.

Passion sculpture on the outside 

Unlike other Christian buildings most of the icons are on the outside making the interior a clean open space between the columns.

East windows

I found the exterior rather over decorated but then I'm not Catholic!

The cloisters 

Well worth the extra time spent in Spain.

An organic building

The trip home wasn't without drama on Tuesday as the flight from Barcelona was delayed by an hour and a half due to thunderstorms and I only just caught the connecting flight to Inverness.