I had only been once to Spain in my adult life, a short visit to San Sebastián in the Basque Country eight years ago as I was making a somewhat ill-prepared cycling holiday in France and the French Pyrenees.

I was many times in Spain with my family during my childhood, vacations I barely remember and which have been rather dull and uneventful, so it never struck me as appealing an idea to go there again.

Despite being interested in languages in general, I’ve never felt much affinity to Southern European languages either, and I’ve never learned one single phrase in Spanish until quite recently.

Certainly a miss, because the part of Northern Spain I just had the opportunity to visit (Aragon and the Pyrenees) is really an intriguing and unique one.

Pico Salvaguardia, October 23

Pico Salvaguardia (“Guard Peak”) is a lesser known peak in the central parts of the Pyrenees mountain range, straddling the border between Spain and France.

The mountain boasts a height of 2736 meters AMSL, so it is of moderate height compared to other peaks in the Pyrenees (the highest mountain Aneto is 3404 meters tall, followed by Posets with 3375 meters, both lying in Spain).

Overall, climbing the mountain is easy though it does not appear super easy when you peek from below, and some sections can indeed be a little technical when there is a layer of snow on the trail (I noticed a few hikers turning back at those).

In fact, at the end of October it is not so very unlikely that you have snow and ice, so carrying some extra equipment may be advisable (e.g. spikes, hiking poles), as well as warm clothes.

Crossing the border to France at a close-by mountain pass is also possible, but there is only the one single tourist trail to the peak from the Spanish side that I’ve just described, and that can be seen on the pictures below.

At any rate, the barren looking landscape and mountain scenery in this part of Spain has a particular beauty and charm to it. No doubt this place will be visited again next year.

Photo gallery