May 9, 2024
Olite to Sos del Rey Católico
The breakfast at Hotel Ducay wasn’t as good as the lunch or giant dinner salads we’d had there, but it was adequate. The coffee was excellent, produced on a real espresso machine rather than one of those automatic things.
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The first three-quarters of the ride was wonderful, a quiet smooth road through pleasant scenery. We crossed the Aragon River into Sangüesa, a bustling town, and stopped for a coffee and a snack. Back en route, the road was now straight and the scenery not as nice—and then we lost the lovely smooth pavement of Navarre as we crossed into Aragon.
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Finally, we were on the final climb into Sos del Rey Católico, which I’ll call Sos. Actually, Al was probably waiting at the top by the time I started the climb.
After the usual check-in, showers, and washing our kit, we walked into the old city. We had already decided that today we would just get beers and a snack and dinner later. The hotel receptionist had given us a map and marked four restaurants that would be open tonight as, despite the signage, our hotel only offered breakfast.
We were surprised to see only a handful of other tourists wandering the narrow streets. It was after 4, so we thought the town would be waking up. Maybe we were too early?
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We sat on the terrace of the Parador and absorbed its ambiance for the price of a couple of draft beers. At first, we were the only people there, but the tables slowly started filling. Then, walking back, it seemed the town was waking up. A few (very few) shops were open; I saw some hotel doors open, and there were even some children in the playground, supervised by parents.
It still seemed to me that there weren’t many dining options, considering the number of hotels in the town. I expect some of the hotels also had restaurants, but those restaurants might not be open. After all, the one at our hotel wasn’t and the receptionist had only noted 4 (of the 10 on the tourist map) that would be open this evening. One of those was Michelin-recommended and looked nice, but much more expensive than we usually go for. So I made a reservation at one that was considered “second-best”.
When we returned at the designated time, we were treated really well by the couple that ran the place (presumably—they had no English and our Spanish is very limited). The food was hearty peasant fare, traditional Aragonese dishes. We ate everything presented and that didn’t go unnoticed. Everyone was happy.
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3 months ago
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https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/209478-Linum-narbonense/browse_photos
3 months ago
Today's ride: 53 km (33 miles)
Total: 242 km (150 miles)
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