Strolling on a Sunny Saturday

Today my housemate Eric and I used our wide-open Saturday to hike up a mountain north of the River Ebro and take some photos. My previous hikes had taken me south of town, so I was glad for the change of direction. In fact, this very mountain had caught my eye on an earlier stroll along the river, as I photographed a few weeks ago.

For the hiking aficionados among you, this hike goes backwards along the Camino de Santiago, while my previous hikes have followed the same trail on the other side of town (in the right direction). It took us through more sedate parts of town before going up into a very small Gypsy village. I'm not actually sure if the people inhabiting the village were Gypsies, but it definitely had some characteristics of shantytowns. More striking than the worn-down houses were the dogs, which every house seemed to have in abundance. And not the cute, friendly kind, but the angry kind that lead children to fear dogs for life. Fortunately, the existence of the Camino seems to have encouraged the neighbors to keep their dogs tied up. I guess they're still working on teaching them not to bark angrily every time somebody walks by.

After running the gauntlet of well-defended houses, the path entered a series of vineyards and climbed fairly steeply to a large, flat summit. The views were enjoyable, particularly in the sun, and I could see the peak that I had reached on other hikes to the south. More impressive were the mountains of Álava to the north, the first tangible border of Basque country. Enjoy the photos below.