- Distance: 0 (204.2km total)
- Ascent/Descent: 0m up, 0m down
- Time: 0 hr 0 min
A few months back at home, I noticed that we were going to cross very close to Canfranc station, at one point the second biggest railway station in Europe after Leipzig--it's the place where the Spanish and French trains meet, and because the Spanish rails are somewhat wider than the French, you'd need to change trains. It's also been disused as a train transfer station since 1970, when a train went off the tracks on the French side and destroyed a bridge, and spent decades in disrepair. Sounds intriguing.
And a few days back, Chris noticed there was a bus that runs several times a day from Etsaut, where we're spending two nights, that runs over the border to Canfranc station, and it's about a 30 min bus ride, so let's go after breakfast.
The bus left right on time at 9:04am, and went over the old pass between France and Spain, the old Camino de Santiago that pilgims used until the 12th century to avoid the Basque country to the west. Walking over that back then must have been a real challenge: steep and rocky and high altitude, now home to a small ski resort on the French side (Somport) and a massive ski resort on the Spanish side (Candanchú), and a bit below the resort is the station.
It's not derelict any more either. It's a 5 star hotel, the tracks are all a park, there's a new Spanish train station with a few trains a day down to Jaca, and a lively village next to the train station. Pretty appealing, but not the decaying nostalgia I was kinda hoping for. We bought some Cokes and chips from the Achaun ministore after wandering around, then waiting for the 11am bus back. The bus ride was quick--through the 7km long tunnel, not over the pass again, and by 11:30 we were back in Etsaut. Not a bad daytrip for €2.50 each.
The rest of the day was simply a bit of repacking, editing this blog and choosing pictures, and perhaps napping, as per usual. Dinner was at Les Randonneur, the restaurant in front of the bus stop, which also had decent beer. :-)
