I had only been once to Spain in my adult life, a short side trip to San Sebastián in the Basque Country as I was making cycling tours in the French Pyrenees a couple of years ago.

I was a few times in Spain with my family during childhood, summer holidays I barely remember and which had been rather dull and uneventful, so it has never struck me as appealing an idea to go there again.

Despite being interested in languages in general, I’ve hardly felt any 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 with a great chunk of the Pyrenees mountain range) is really an intriguing and unique one.

Pico Salvaguardia, October 21 and 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 above sea level, 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, scaling the mountain is not difficult though it does not appear that way when you peek from below, and some sections can be slightly technical when there is a layer of snow on the trail. I noticed some hikers indeed got discouraged, turned round and retraced their steps at those.

As a matter of fact, at the end of October it is not so very unlikely that you encounter snow and ice in the Pyrenees, so carrying extra equipment, such as microspikes, crampons and hiking poles may be advisable, as well as warm clothing.

Crossing the border to France at a close-by mountain pass (Port de Venasque, or Portillon de Benasque in Spanish) is also possible (see first pictures in the gallery), 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.

At any rate, the barren looking landscape and mountain scenery in this part of Spain has a peculiar beauty and charm to it. No doubt I am going to visit this place again in the future.

Photo gallery