Barranco Oscuros de Balces and Fallas del Pireneo

- June 25, 2019

6-23-2019
DAY 5

We slept well (although not enough) and got up ready to do another canyon. As we packed up our stuff, my dad realized that two of our wetsuits were missing. We figured out that someone must have taken them when we were drying our gear out at while we were getting ice cream. This threw a wrench into our plans as we needed to figure out a place to rent wetsuits for my dad and James at places near each canyon for the rest of the trip. Maya commented that my mom and dad had said things would go wrong on this trip and it would be part of the adventure. So, breakfast of baguettes, jam, and cheese was on a stonewall outside of a guide shop in Adahuesca as we waited for them to open. Once they opened, we rented wetsuits and were on our way to Canyon Oscuros de Balces.

We also took our time waiting for the wetsuits to admire the poppies that are sprinkled about the fields of wheat and along the edges of the roads.

The approach was super hot and a bit challenging because of lots of loose rock, but there was a beautiful view of the canyon from above.

Once we dropped in to the canyon, we cooled off in the water as we ate some well-earned granola bars.

Then, we once again squeezed into the wetsuits and proceeded into the canyon.

This canyon turned out to be a labyrinth of huge boulders which led to lots of interesting route finding challenges. There were some rappels that were a little scary down waterfalls with tricky beginnings (and endings).

After we did them, they didn’t seem as scary. The narrows were so skinny that you could touch both sides of the canyon walls by just reaching out your arms. It was awesome! There were some fun jumps too, but the narrows and labyrinth are what really made this canyon stand out.

The hike out was not too difficult (and smelled like rosemary because it grows everywhere) and once we reach our car, we ate a baguette and changed.

The wetsuit return was easy and we headed to Saravillo which is a small village nestled in the Pyrenees. When we arrived, we couldn’t believe the beauty. There are 10,000 ft mountains surrounding the entire town. We were all hungry as it was almost 8:00 and we didn’t have lunch or much breakfast so we headed to the next town of Plan for dinner as we were told that there are two places to eat in the town. The road there was less than 10 minutes, but it was a crazy series of tunnels along cliffs that skirted a huge canyon between the mountains.

To our surprise, one of the restaurants was a Michelin rated restaurant. Uncle Chris had told us about this before we left. We had to wait for it to open at 8:30 – Spanish people eat late! The food was unbelievably good and the presentation made it even more delicious. I have never eaten at a place like it. Every new plate they took out wowed us – Uncle Chris would have loved this place.

One of the reasons we came to this region on this day (June 23) was to see the Fallas del Pireneo or “Fire in the Pyrenees” festival. We were talking with some Spanish canyoneers today and they told us that it used to be a pagan holiday to celebrate the first day of summer (summer solstice) that the Christians turned into a holiday called the Festival of San Joan. The residents of San Juan de Plan are the only ones who maintain the tradition with the so-called 'La Corrida de la Falleta'. On June 23, at dusk (around 10:00), they light torches and torches to begin the descent to the village. At the bridge for the river, they stop briefly before starting the race of the youngest to the village, who must get to the square with their torch still lit. There, everyone throws their torches to make a bonfire which serves as the center of the party of the night of San Juan and the beginning of a day, the 24th, dedicated to the 'Chistabina Culture Day'.
A bonfire flaming near the top of the mountain that is used to light all of the torches.