We were on the road again – travelling from Sos to Pamplona this time. There is a dual carriageway from one to the other but we opted for quieter secondary road which looked attractive on Google maps. Where would we be without being able to check the state of roads and the scenery on Google maps?
Roman Villa of Liedena
We had time to spare so stopped to look again at the remains of the Roman Villa at Liedena, opposite the Lumbier Gorge. A reconstruction of the site is suggested below:
The site was discovered as late as 1921. Rather than a private villa it may have been a posting house, or staging point on the Roman road from Zaragoza to Pamplona, both Roman towns. This would certainly take account of the large number of regular, small divisions on one side of a courtyard.
There is plenty of signposting on the site, pointing out wine stores, fountains, rooms of various sorts and so on. It is too much to take in on one stop but it leads me to wonder if we could put together a talk on the Romans in Spain and bore our neighbours!
The site was destroyed in the 3rd century AD
Lumbier Gorge
The gorge carved out by the Irati River is a super walk, but we were not inclined to do it again this year and just looked into the gorge from the site of Liebena.
Views of the Fox de Lumbier
Lumbier to Pamplona
First, a little coffee stop in some welcome sunshine in Lumbier. Here was another small town filled with interesting historical sites which I only discover after I have left, sitting in front of a computer screen. While I have enjoyed my trip to Spain I find myself increasingly frustrated by my lack of knowledge and the small amount of time left to me.
But we had to get to Pamplona so after a decent interval we were back on the NA-2100 down the Irati River Valley to Pamplona. The valley is heavily farmed – wheat, barley, oats – and some of the rock formations are startling. But there is also to be a huge investment in recycling facilities, and windfarms in the area. Very different from the UK.
A little walk in Pamplona
We found our way into the town, and the hotel, without difficulty. And the hotel parked the car. It had been a long day and we went for a little walk.
Google maps suggested 1.25 hours from Sos to Pamplona – we left Sos at 11.00am and arrived at the hotel at 3.30pm! It was an interesting day although we felt somewhat daunted at the prospect of ‘conquering’ a new, big city.
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