Over Artesiaga and Into the Baztan Valley

Day : Pamplona to Elizondo (49 miles / 3050 ft.)

Pamplona is a bustling city, and it seems like the farther north we travel in Spain, the earlier people become active in the morning. Maybe it is just our imagination.

After a late breakfast in our hotel room, we finally rolled out around 9:30. Before leaving Pamplona, we took a relaxed cruise through the city, riding past the Citadel and following one interesting street after another until we eventually circled back into the old town and Plaza del Castillo. There we stopped for coffee and a slice of the famous tortilla de patatas (one of Lisa’s favorites).

We continued wandering past old bridges, parks, and some of the city’s grand government buildings. Pamplona felt remarkably quiet, safe, and easy to explore by bicycle while people headed to work and students made their way to school.

Leaving the city, we picked up the Arga River and followed its green corridor through the Esteribar Valley. The buildings gradually disappeared, the hills closed in around us, and the ride became quieter with every mile. The route passed through the same beautiful river valley as the Camino de Santiago before continuing toward the mountains.

At the Embalse de Eugi, we stopped beside the water for a picnic of bread, hummus, and cheese. From there, the real climbing began as we entered the thick forests of Kintoa, also known as Quinto Real. The name reaches back to the days when the kings of Navarre collected a levy for livestock grazing in these mountain forests.

Our climb to Puerto de Artesiaga was a little over five miles and carried us to nearly 3,250 feet. The narrow road twisted through beech forest and open mountain country with very little traffic. There was, however, plenty of evidence that cattle, horses, sheep, and goats roam freely up there. We were amazed by how much manure could fit on one little road!

The reward was one of the most spectacular descents of our lives. The landscape reminded us of Switzerland, with animals grazing across steep green mountainsides, deep valleys falling away below us, and an enormous blue sky overhead. The narrow road curled down the mountain in one switchback after another, almost completely free of cars. We reached speeds over 40 miles per hour as we dropped nearly 2,500 feet toward the Baztan Valley.

After reaching the valley floor, we rolled through Irurita and followed the river into Elizondo. The town sits on both sides of the Baztan River and serves as the administrative and commercial heart of the valley’s fifteen villages. Its stone houses, wooden balconies, small bridges, schools, shops, and stately old buildings make it feel much larger in importance than in size.

Naturally, our first stop was a café for pintxos and cold drinks. We sat in the town square until a little after 4:00, when our Warmshowers host, Joseba, arrived with his two-year-old daughter, Goiztiri. After playing in the square for a while, we walked back to their flat nearby, had a few snacks, cleaned up, and relaxed while waiting for Joseba’s partner, Amaiur, to return from Pamplona.

That evening we shared tortilla de patatas, cold tomato soup, freshly cooked vegetables, tomatoes, bread, cheese, and dry cider from the cooperative Joseba belongs to. Somehow, in only six hours, we learned an incredible amount about Basque culture, cheese, cider making, music, language, bicycles, and everyday life in the valley.

Joseba told us about the txalaparta, the traditional Basque wooden percussion instrument played by striking long boards. We also learned about the kirikoketa, an older tradition connected to making cider. People rhythmically pounded apples with long wooden mallets, turning the work into music. It was one more example of how history, food, work, and community remain connected here.

After dinner, Joseba interviewed us for Xorroxin Irratia, the local Basque-language radio station serving the surrounding valleys. He is working on a project about bicycle culture, especially using bicycles for everyday transportation, and wanted to hear what daily cycling is like in Iowa City.

We also took an evening walk through Elizondo. People greeted one another on the streets, families were out walking, and the entire place had the comfortable feeling of a small Iowa town, only with mountains rising above the rooftops and far more people enjoying an evening stroll.

We finished the night sitting together, talking and playing with Amaiur before heading to bed around 10:00. Once again, Warmshowers gave us much more than a place to sleep. It gave us a doorway into a family, a culture, and a community we never could have experienced on our own.Read more