Another famous place for pilgrims in Navarra, Javier castle. They walk the 50-70km (depending where they start) over night to arrive in the morning for the religious services in the morning. You would think that this castle was in a town but it appears to be in the middle of nowhere.
Named after Saint Javier, who went to spread the word in Japan and the far east, it is a very well-kept castle and has a museum inside.
Due to the amount of interest in the castle at this time of year, Sonia took us to see the castle and then on a tour of the surrounding area.
After visiting Javier we went on to a reservoir which was formed by flooding a town, and when the water level is low you can see the ruins of the buildings. On the top of the hill are a few remaining houses but hardly a village now.
From here we went to Roncal, in the Roncal valley, where they make a very famous cheese (in Navarra and the Basque country) from sheep's milk. It is a nice little village and here we stopped for a lovely 'menu del dia' (recommended in any spanish town!) for value and (normally) for taste!
The last stop and for me the most memorable was a gorge called 'Foz de Arbayun' which can only be described as breathtaking, standing on a small platform overlooking the river and the rocky walls. Unfortunately the photos cannot do it justice.
