We have arrived in the capitol of Rioja where we are planning to wrap up our visit to Rioja. Rioja is the smallest Autonomous Area (kind of like a state) in Spain in size and population. The population is under one million for the region, and half of that is in Logrono. This region along with Extremadura, and La Mancha are know as the empty region.
The population is low and has been falling since the 20th century as the younger population is moving to the cities, or immigrating. For the last two days as we have driven through multiple small villages we did not see one child, and the vast majority of people we did see were our age or older.
The villages have an all most ghost town feeling with many of the apartments and homes looking well maintained but closed up. I understand that a lot of Spaniards maintain a home in their ancestral village even have they have moved to one of the cities, but they may only use it for a few weeks per year. Most of the villages have no services outside a bakery and maybe a butcher shop/grocery store.
On our way to Logrono we made a short stop in Ezcaray which was described to us as a resort town with a ski resort. It was larger than most of the towns and villages we passed through and still had banks, grocery stores, and even a few touristy shops. But it was also very quiet and again walking through the streets we saw no children at all, and very few young adults.
But Ton and I love Rioja because of the remoteness. The land is beautiful with wide valleys and mountains. The Ebro River and it’s tributaries cut through it and pop up in unexpected places. The land also seems very fertile and as we were driving around today the potato crop was being harvested so there was work in the fields. The people we have met have been open and welcoming and we have really enjoyed them.
We arrived in the only campground in Logrono about noon, it has a great location about 10 minutes from the heart of the city, but the layout is pretty tight and weird. At first I wasn’t sure we were going to get in as they were pretty full. First François was given an inspection by two of the workers, then they had an intense discussion in blistering Spanish about whether he would fit. I was becoming concerned we were going to get turned away when they guy gestured for me to follow him and walked me to a site and said we could park here. It was one of the bigger sites so in the end we did well.
Right after we got François parked another van was trying to squeeze out of a tight spot, and he maneuvered around a tree with about 1/2 inch to spare. It was impressive driving. I gave him a thumbs up and he said I knew I had it in an American accent. Every trip we usually have one encounter with an American in a campground. We had a short conversation as they were departing, they seemed to be enjoying themselves.
By the time we were settled it was 2pm and well into siesta time. So we had a lunch and I took a nap. We headed into town about 4pm which was still too early as the streets were empty. We found a couple of churches to pop into and visited the Rioja Museum which was excellent.
When we came out of the museum the shops were opening up and the empty streets were beginning to fill. But it was time for us to head back to François for dinner. The Spanish have such an unique internal clock. Most of the restaurants showed that their bar was open at 4pm but the kitchens were not open until 8 pm. We eventually get used to eating lunch at two pm, but we never have mastered the 8 pm dinner.