Lleida to Isaba, Spain

Lleida. A surprisingly prosperous town in the middle of the desert. After a disastrous day yesterday we ended up somewhere quite good. We didn’t really expect it to be anything, just an Ibis Hotel on the main highway in the middle of nowhere but it was a very big town. Population about 250,000.

Had to do a little research as it was very unexpected. The city’s economy is based primarily on agriculture (food processing and preserving); Lleida is well known for its cattle, agricultural, and fruit shows. The city’s industries include breweries, flour mills, feed factories, and metallurgical manufactures. Local commerce and services also contribute to the economy. It just popped up basically in what seemed the middle of the desert. Lleida is one of the oldest towns in Catalonia, with recorded settlements dating back to the Bronze Age period. It has a lot of history and the town was damaged by several wars such as the Reapers’ War in the 17th century and the Spanish Civil War in the 20th century.

We headed out this morning to have a little look at the castle on the top of the hill that we saw on the way in to town last night. The Seu Vella is the defining monument of Lleida, the symbol of the city, being visible from its hilltop site anywhere in the city. It is comprised of different buildings: the Seu Vella or old cathedral, the Castle of the King, the military fortification that surrounds the site and various archaeological remains. It is an amazing structure of enormous proportions once again. After exploring this a little we continued on our way.

DB said today that Spain is the easiest country to drive so far. Just not the volume of traffic as the other countries.

The trip today went through more desert like countryside, farmlands, mountains and small towns. We arrived at our new home in Isaba, a gorgeous little town for our walk tomorrow in the Pyrenees. Struggled a little with language as there was no-one at the apartment and I had to phone for them to come and let us in. Did a google translate and tried to say the words, eventually she started speaking English. We have a lovely apartment for tonight.

Information: From the Cantabrian Sea to the Mediterranean, the Pyrenees mountain chain rises like an immense natural barrier between Spain and the rest of the continent. Its dominions extend along 450 kilometres of peaks reaching 3000 metres high, leafy valleys and picturesque centuries-old towns and villages. A meeting point for a variety of cultures and gateway to the Route to Santiago, the Pyrenees have countless treasures waiting to be discovered in each of the autonomous regions which share them: Navarre, Aragon and Catalonia. We will see some of it for ourselves tomorrow. A 5 hour hike is on the agenda.