I don’t do relaxing very well, but this last week body and brain had a private conversation, and it was decided that a weekend off was very much in order. Marina and I booked tickets to Malaga on the new super-fast AVE route, and found a great deal in a 4 star hotel. Then we realised that going from one big city to another for the weekend wasn’t a good start, cancelled everything, and went back to the drawing board.
What we needed was countryside, but where do you find that these days? If you stop getting out of the city enough, ‘countryside proper’ starts seeming like this weird semi-forbidden construct, something from the past that you can go and look at to see how things use to be, but mustn’t touch, just as it becomes in scary future-fiction, like 1984 or Brave New World.
Still, after a weekend very much in contact with nature, I can report that it’s still there, in all it’s glory, not two and a half hours from Madrid.
The mighty Sierra de Gredos, in the Province of Avila, is as magnificent as the Alps. The air is achingly pure, the streams oxygen-clear, and even in April, the sawtooth peaks are covered in a thick white topping of snow. We stayed in the Parador de Gredos (for just 80 Euros a night, a special offer for being ‘friends of the Parador’ – free to sign up), a low, granite edifice set in the middle of a quiet pine forest.
The walking starts at the door, with a short circular route that quickly cleans lungs, heart and mind, but reception will give you a print out with other even nicer walks a short distance away. We headed up to the still-snow-bound Plataforma de Gredos, a base for hikes much higher into the mountains (there is a refuge after two and a half hours, you can spend a night there, then head for the top peaks), and to a lighter trail along a burbling mountain stream that started in the next village along from the Parador.
The result? We managed to relax. Enormously. We were pampered by the comforts of the Parador. We discovered that the wilds are very much ‘still there’ and we reveled in them. We want to spend more time in them. Soon.
Are you a city-dweller who occasionally wonders if the countryside is still really there? (Or a country-dweller who won’t go near the city?!)
Update: When we finished our half an hour jaunt upstream from the Plataforma de Gredos, we arrived back at the car and, to all of our amazement, bumped into Katie, fellow blogger and editor of NotesfromMadrid.com. She was just about to embark on an overnight stay at the refuge 2 hours uphill, before attempting the summit with friends the next day. See her awe-inspiring photos on Flickr, which really show that the Sierra de Gredos is indeed a mountain range to be reckoned with.
Anna
14 Apr 08 at 9:45 am
Wow, it was so nice to read this first thing Monday morning. Never been to this area in Spain and seems like i have to do it soon! Was there any good food and drinks as well?
bill
14 Apr 08 at 10:32 am
I like your point about planning a weekend away and automatically thinking of going to another city, rather than staying in the middle of nowhere. I think it’s a trap people tend to fall into more when they’re in a foreign country, perhaps because the guide books tend to talk about the cities more than the bits in between, and people tend to follow the guide books. Maybe there’s a gap in the market for you!
BrianA
14 Apr 08 at 12:21 pm
That could have been in Scotland. Beautiful countryside.
Andrew
14 Apr 08 at 12:26 pm
Muy bonito! The other side of Spain, away from the tourist-ridden sea side resorts and large cities – I love it.
The only mountains I’ve been to so far are near Navacerrada – certainly got me thirsty for more. That national park near Granada looks good, so does “Picos de Europa” near Gijon. I will return to Spain to see more (maybe when I get my drivers license and have more time!)
moscow
14 Apr 08 at 1:01 pm
On Friday I drove out with my family to a friend’s Datcha in the outskirts, only 30 kms from the ring-road which surrounds Moscow. It took us 3 hours to get there, such is the traffic jam to get out of Moscow every Friday evening. And what we got at the end of our ‘voyage’, cannot be compared with Gredos, by any means….envy…..
sandy
14 Apr 08 at 2:23 pm
We went there one winter many many years ago. Stayed at the same Parador. We did a hike in the snow covered trail a short car ride away from the Parador. It was both scary and fun. Such an adventure. Remember to bring your waterproof boots if you go in the winter.
Tom
14 Apr 08 at 2:24 pm
It’s funny but most people never really think of Spain’s mountains; they think of the beaches. Spain is actually an incredibly mountainous country and this means that there are true wildernesses within easy access from pretty much any location.
Our three trips to the mountains this winter for skiing were just wonderful.
sandy
14 Apr 08 at 2:42 pm
@Tom, I agree with you. Spain is the second most mountainous country in Europe, after Switzerland.
Stuart
14 Apr 08 at 3:36 pm
I live two hours from a vast barren desert, four hours from dry-forests and waterfalls in the mountainous Andes, five hours from the snowy peaks and lagoons of the cordillera, six hours from cloud forests and seven hours from the Amazon basin.
luke
14 Apr 08 at 4:10 pm
Is the first photo HDR? All looks wonderful. As a born and bred urbanite, I understand what you’re saying about the country. But the Spanish campo seems so much more welcoming than the fenced off countryside in the UK.
Btw, is there going to be a NFS Gredoscast? Venga Ben, it’s been ages…
Ben
14 Apr 08 at 6:10 pm
@Luke, yes it’s HDR. … and no podcast, I’m sorry! We will be getting back into that soon!
Ben
14 Apr 08 at 8:41 pm
Update added above: When we finished our half an hour jaunt upstream from the Plataforma de Gredos, we arrived back at the car and, to all of our amazement, bumped into Katie, fellow blogger and editor of NotesfromMadrid.com. She was just about to embark on an overnight stay at the refuge 2 hours uphill, before attempting the summit with friends the next day. See her awe-inspiring photos on Flickr, which really show that the Sierra de Gredos is indeed a mountain range to be reckoned with.
Elizabeth
14 Apr 08 at 9:16 pm
Hey I really enjoy your blog! It’s been a big help for me this semester abroad in Madrid.
http://americanainmadrid.blogspot.com/
richardksa
14 Apr 08 at 10:16 pm
One of the Vaughan Towns, for those who might be interested in volunteering to speak English for five days, is at a 5* hotel just outside the town of Barca de Avilla in the Gredos mountains. Been there twice and agree with all Ben says.
Katie
15 Apr 08 at 11:52 pm
thanks for the shout-out, ben! lovely shots yourself!
Cyril
16 Apr 08 at 4:54 pm
It sounds really really nice!! Does anyone knows countrysides not far outside Barcelona? Or does anyone knows blogs about this topic?
Thanx for the nice fotos and article!!
RA
16 Apr 08 at 5:23 pm
Great post! I was in Gredos, and stayed at the parador, just a few weeks ago during my 2nd trip to Spain.
I think about it daily and can’t wait to go back. In an ideal world, I would live in Salamanca and spend every weekend among the ibex of the Sierra de Gredos.
Jessica Sztaimberg
22 Apr 08 at 10:29 pm
I love how you found such a beautiful spot filled with nature, so close to the bustling city of Madrid! When I was studying in Spain I spent time only in its major cities. I do like the city very much, but would have appreciated a peaceful trip like this one! It is nice to know that you can get away from the lively lifestyle of the city quite easily when you want to!
jim Walker
27 Sep 09 at 5:46 pm
Was your hiking adventure in April? Looks a little snowy. We are planning a Madrid/??? in April. The ??? is hiking but can’t seem to get an idea whether this hiking is in the snow and how cold it could be. Help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks
Ben
28 Sep 09 at 11:10 am
Yes, it was april – we met a friend on the way who hiked to the top, where it was VERY snowy and they needed crampons, search for her story here:
http://katieprofunda.wordpress.com/