A SPECIAL SECRET

A 476 word Blog

By

Nick Snelling

A SPECIAL SECRET

Last week we went up to Aragon for a few days, having chosen our holiday location in a dangerously haphazard way.  In fact, as it was a spontaneous get-away (in the height of the season), our destination was defined by an internet booking to the only place that seemed immediately available to a family of four.  As you can imagine, we therefore travelled up to our rented apartment in some trepidation.  It is, of course, one thing for the accommodation to look good on an internet site – but quite another thing altogether for the area itself to be pleasant. 

In fact, the last time that we had booked a short break away it was to a marvellous looking hotel in Lorca that was shown as having beautiful, landscaped grounds with swimming pools, waterfalls and tremendous facilities.  It looked wonderful and a deliriously perfect place for a few days peaceful rest.  Unfortunately, when we arrived we found that the hotel was in the middle of an extremely busy industrial estate within an unattractive semi-industrial town!  To put it very mildly, this was a disappointment...

However, our trip to Aragon exceeded all our expectations as we stayed in an area of such breathtaking beauty that I am almost certain that it should be kept secret!  Around us were fabulous medieval villages, stunning mountains with extraordinary rock formations and valleys with slow moving rivers, waterfalls and pools of crystal water so clear that the reflection from the sky made them look like vast, liquid emeralds.

And then there was a particular gorge of such aching beauty that we could have imagined ourselves having been transported to heaven.  For several hours we ambled, with eagles wheeling overhead, along a magical path towards a majestic natural amphitheatre of dramatically sheer cliffs rising several hundred feet above us.  Along the way were 5,500 year old cave paintings and natural resting areas where we waded into the cooling waters of the river we were following.  To picnic in such surroundings is to be breaking bread with God himself.

We were ‘out of the way’, of course, of mass tourism and saw no fellow Britons.  And, as with all stunning places of natural beauty, we felt torn between wanting to share it with everyone - and keeping it just to ourselves.  You must know the feeling...

I wonder if you have also been to such places in Spain?  And, if you have, whether you would reveal their location?  For sure, within this magnificent country, there are so many extraordinary places and yet most of us never find them.  Perhaps we should have a free exchange of information, so that when we go away we are all guaranteed of finding somewhere truly gorgeous?

And where exactly did we go?  Well, I will tell you – but only if, in return, you tell me somewhere equally exceptional!

Copyright Nick Snelling (www.nicholassnelling.com) author of three books on Spain including ‘How to Move Safely to Spain’ (www.movesafelytospain.com)

ENDS