2024 September: France and Spain – Elciego to Oil Museum
Previous day || Back to trip summary page || Next day
Our 3rd morning at Elciego is wet and cloudy, we service Hymer, emptying and filling, the water here is free (as is the Area Autocaravanas) so we fill the tank.
We leave Elciego on A-3214/N-222 through Briones and onto AP-1, a fast road all the way to Burgos heading for the Area Autocaravanas in the centre of the city opposite Alcampo. There is considerably more housing and building since our last visit in September 2018 with the associated road congestion that goes with it. Interestingly Google Maps takes us around the city centre to a new parking area on the outskirts of the city, passing our original parking area on the way which is now home to a huge outdoor market. No parking here then.
The new parking area is huge with 25 spaces for motorhomes set apart, all 25 are already full. There is nothing nearby except new apartment blocks, Alcampo is a 20 minute walk, too far to walk back with shopping and we can’t drive there as there is only underground parking. We stop for lunch and revisit our plan for the day. We decide not to stay in Burgos but instead make our way towards Aguillar de Campoo (where we know there is a parking area for motorhomes or stop in the mountains on the way.
We leave Burgos on BU-30/ N-623 through Tubilla and Covenera where we start to climb some seriously steep hills in to the mountains. The road is good but the bends are relentless becoming steeper and closer together. The highest point on this section is Paramo de Mass, at an elevation of 1050 metres 3,450 feet. It is a wild and desolate place up here, high rocky peaks and platforms with black kites and buzzards (no griffin vultures seen). Soon we descend again but not very far and we are climbing again up and up, still on N-623 to an elevation of 975 metres, 3200 feet and the village of San Felices del Rudrón.
The rock formations here are spectacular, apart from their sheer size there are natural bridges hundreds of feet high and across with overhangs and undercuts, the natural home of griffin vultures and eagles. But there is more, a narrower mountain road with series of steep hairpin bends up and up to an elevation of 1106 meters 3,630 feet. Here we stop looking down far below on the village and across to the spectacular rocky formations. Driving across a relatively flat plateau we drop into the village of Sargentes de la Lora (still high in the mountains at 1000m/3280ft) this will be our stop for the night.
We see the Municipal Area Autocaravanas on the edge of the Puebla as there are already 3 motorhomes parked there. We drive on and park up in one of eight serviced pitches with free electricity; there are 16 spaces if we all parked car park style but 8 clearly marked pitches each with a sitting area, all free! We park up, plug in and explore our wild mountain retreat. It is next to an Oil Museum which Mr C. had noted on the map.
Background information – Spanish Oil production
In 1963, a petroleum reservoir was discovered in Ayoluengo de la Lora, a town of the municipality. The museum is in sight of the old oil fields and traces the journey to find and extract the oil. Since 1964, 17 million oil barrels had been extracted. The reservoir had been exploited by first Chevron Corporation (1990), Repsol (2002) and more recently Northern Petroleumignette.
The next tour at the museum was starting in 15 minutes so we hang around and wait. It is €3 each, the tour conducted by a very intense (and well informed lady) who only speaks Spanish. After some discussion she locates a paper copy of notes in English, making it very clear she wants it back! The tour lasts an hour, all the information boards are in Spanish, she gabbles away in Spanish for the whole of the hour giving a lot of technical information.
The paper copy helps but I am so glad of Mr C’s knowledge of BP North Sea oil rigs as he was able to provide his own informed commentary in English! The tour was not good… too much information for us ordinary mortals and the two engineers among us already knew this and more.
The highlight was when the two girls (about 9 and 11) clearly bored wandered off on their own only to be followed a few minutes later by an almighty crash!! The only thing that stopped our Spanish guide from talking…!!
Later we eat tea of turkey steaks with large mushrooms, tomatoes and fresh green beans. We decide not to go out in the evening, the sun now setting at 8.00pm and heavy clouds are moving in. Later there is a tremendous thunderstorm, we lie in bed and listen to the rain thundering on the roof again. Mountain storms are always spectacular and over the period of about an hour it passes over rumbling away into the distance.
Photos from – Elciego to Museum of Petroleum
click any thumbnail image to enlarge
