By meaggymurphy
I'm learning that hidden gems are the best part of living in this region of Spain. I often get the feeling that people overlook northern Spain... It's not bustling Madrid, international Barcelona, or sunny Seville. However, I've been pleasantly surprised by how much Navarra has to offer. One small example of a hidden gem I recently uncovered is called the Necedero del río Urederra in the Parque Natural Urbasa Andía.
One of my friends recent ly acquired a car, which opens up a whole range of possibilities as far as traveling around the region goes. Along with another friend, we decided to take the 40 minute drive to this national park that allegedly had a beautiful, crystal-clear river called Urederra. It felt nice to drive into the mountains (but not so nice once we started climbing the winding roads and I realized I had the misfortune of being in the backseat, a.k.a. the whiplash seat). Once we arrived, it was a short walk through a little, mountainside town of about 20 adobe houses to arrive at the park entrance. At this point, we were joking nervously about how the weather looked like it was about to change for the worst and we were stuck without an umbrella. We decided to chance it, and I'm glad we did.
The walk consisted of a dirt pathway winding through the trees, with sweeping views of mountains and valleys before the forest became more dense. Soon the trees broke and we were looking down upon the most breathtaking river I've ever seen. It was a shade of blue, luminescent and clear, that I didn't know existed outside of the Caribbean. As if the color wasn't enough, there was also a waterfall cascading over the rocks. At first, myself and the two other girls were speechless; as soon as we could talk, we couldn't stop gushing over how beautiful it was!
Continuing on, every view of the river Urederra was more picturesque than the last. Trees growing on the riverbanks extended their roots into the turquoise water, and we could see clearly the rock formations arranged under the crystal cover of water. We stopped and had a picnic (my friends had packed me an extra sandwich, which I thought was really sweet!) and took it all in. Places like the Nacedero del Urederro, which are so unexpectedly and naturally beautiful, kind of temporarily stun you by how perfect they are.
I joked that I would build myself a little cabin right next to the river, and I was only half kidding because I can't think of a better view to wake up to every morning! After a couple hours of continuing down this path (and encountering surprisingly few other visitors), we reluctantly decided to head back to the car. In almost no time, I was back at my apartment, still in shock over the beauty of everything we'd seen.
This day trip was definitely my favorite that I've taken so far here in Spain; I got to see a place that exceeded all of my expectations with great company, and in the end it didn't even rain! I left Urederra feeling extremely lucky. I felt lucky to have found this hidden gem, lucky to have found good friends to share these experiences with, and, most of all, lucky to live here in Navarra!