Two members of Overland’s Trip Planning team, Sarah Katz and Katherine DeFrancesco, recently returned to our office in Bozeman, Montana after a successful scouting trip in Spain. There, they tried out new hiking trails and considered new ways to improve Language and Hiking Spain!
Here’s a recap of their trip:
Language and Hiking Spain is truly a unique trip. Through both immersing themselves in the local language and tackling hikes in the area, students have the opportunity to improve their Spanish skills and explore one of the most beautiful places in the world. A typical day on Language and Hiking Spain is spent both inside the classroom and out; morning language learning may be followed by a day hike. Weekends are spent up at a mountain hut, where students are challenged by the hike there and are able to experience the local hiking culture firsthand.
This October, we traveled to Spain for a week to scout new day hikes and reconnect with our local outfitters. Not only did we find plenty of great options for our trip, but we also had a wonderful time getting to know the area and trying some amazing local cuisine.
Our journey began with a long travel day; we took three flights to get from Bozeman to Barcelona (who knew Bozeman has no direct flights to Barcelona!). From there, we rented a car and drove four hours to the town of Panticosa in the Pyrenees mountains, close to the French border. After the exhaustion of flying and driving our large rental car through the narrow streets of Spain, we were relieved to finally arrive in Panticosa. Seeing the mountains come into view for the first time was energizing, and after a quick stop at our hotel, we grabbed a baguette, some mysterious yet delicious cheese, and an assortment of jamón, and we watched the sunset turn the mountains pink from our porch.
The next day, fueled by a delicious spread of Spanish treats from our hotel’s breakfast buffet, we checked out three different hikes in the area. Each hike had its fair share of awesome viewpoints with waterfalls, rivers, lakes, and cows aplenty, but Punta del Paucino was a real highlight. With an epic summit and panoramic views, it was hard to beat. We celebrated our many miles of hiking with an impromptu drive to France, and finished the day with some newfound favorite dishes: patatas bravas and “fingers de pollo.” ¡Delicioso!
On our way out of Panticosa, we stopped in Gavín for a quick hike to the church of San Bartolomé (built in the 10th century), and then continued on to Torla. From Torla, we took a short bus ride to the world-famous Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park where we began our second hike of the day, Faja Racón. After some climbing through the forest, we were rewarded with spectacular views of the valley below. We took a detour and checked out Clavijas de Cotatuero, a point where the trail transitioned into giant cavern opening up into a waterfall. It was breathtaking! After a snack, we continued on. After all that hiking we craved something sweet, so we went into town for gelato and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon.
We spent the next few days hiking near Torla, in Bujaruelo. These hikes were more difficult than our previous day hikes and featured some of the best views of the entire trip! On our first hike here we went up to Ibón de Lazapoza, where we hiked to France on foot. From the top, we could see down into the town of Gavarnie-Gèdre, France. The following day, we traveled toward Cabaña de Otal. Originally, we were hoping to complete a loop that would head south, and take us back to our starting point in Bujaruelo. We quickly discovered, though, that there wasn’t a trail that would take us there! We retraced our steps and followed our instinct to abandon the original plan and head up beyond the Cascada de Otal. After many miles of climbing, we reached the Collado d’Ordiso where we celebrated with galletas (cookies) and a selfie before heading back down. The lesson we learned on this hike highlights why our scouting trips are so valuable! We always want to make sure our hikes are safe, well-marked, and the appropriate level of challenge for our Overland students.
On our final day, we spent the morning in Biescas. We woke up early to get a jump on the day, before anything was open. For breakfast, we enjoyed a Dobladillo de Huesca, a chocolate pastry, which we got at a bakery the night before. It was raining, but that didn’t stop us from hitting the trail! We went up one of the most popular hikes in town, Punta del Cuchero, and passed by the Caseta de las Brujas (Witches’ House).
After our hike, we made our way back to Barcelona. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the city, visiting the Sagrada Familia, Casa Batlló, and Casa Milá. We enjoyed a final dinner of tapas and had one last round of patatas bravas and Spanish tortillas.
After an awesome week of hiking, sampling new foods, listening to the hills alive with the sounds of cowbells, and working on our Spanish, we were the best kind of exhausted. We had a wonderful trip and we are so excited for the students on Language and Hiking Spain to get to experience the magic of the area this summer.
