Vilamos and vultures

We decided to stop and have a look around Vilamos, whilst we were up here. This is said to be one of the oldest villages in the Val d’Aran, with origins in the 4th or 5th centuries.

We were about to have a look inside the church, when we spotted some birds of prey soaring high over the mountain top above the village. We grabbed binoculars, and extended the zoom on my camera, to confirm that they were Griffon vultures, the slightly more frequently spotted of the 2 potential vulture species likely to be seen in the Pyrenees. Whilst we watched for some time, we saw at least 6 or 7 individual birds, and a couple more swooped much lower, just above the treetops.

The Romanesque Inglesa Santa Maria was lovely, with parts of the building dating back to the 11th to 13th centuries.

We also found the medieval community lavadora (washing fountain) before visiting the Ço de Joanchiquet. This was the home of the well to do Aunós family from the 16th to mid-20th century, and now a museum about life in the mountain villages. An excellent audio guide (in English, and in part narrated by a family member born in the house) helped bring the many rooms to life.

The views from Vilamos were amazing, in particular looking south across the valley towards Tuc Aneto, Spain’s third highest mountain and the highest in the Pyrenees at 3,404m, and the big mountain beyond the Artiga de Lin, where we were the other day.

We stopped for a quick tapas snack and a refreshing drink before tackling the many hairpin bends on the descent from Vilamos, this time on a much larger, but just as windy, road than our ascent to Arres de Sus.Leggi altro