Spain
Taste the Spanish culture
Today is all about tasting. Your taste buds will be stimulated with different flavors. The first stop is at Valle Salado de Añana, where you get to know everything about how the salt in this cultural landscape is extracted. After that, it's time for wine. Discover the unique tastes of the Rioja wine during a guided visit in a winehouse, situated in Laguardia. Buen provecho!
Salt valley in Añana
The "Valle Salado de Añana", also known as the "Salt Valley", is a hidden gem in the Basque Country. This historic site, with over 2,000 years of history, is one of the most impressive cultural landscapes in Europe. In 1984, it was declared a National Historic Monument and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ancient salt pans have been in use since Roman times, with the salt, formed millions of years ago by the separation of continents, being extracted in the traditional way using water from the Muera River. After a break in the 1970s, salt production resumed in 2010. The Fundación Valle Salado, founded in 2009, aims to fully restore the original salt terraces by 2030. For a limited fee, we visited the area with an English-speaking guide. We were given very interesting explanations from start to finish about the region, the salt valley and how the salt is extracted. In addition, every euro of revenue is invested in the preservation of the salt flats. The valley attracts around 80,000 visitors each year, who have the chance to taste and buy the salt, which is considered one of the best in the world. A visit to this unique place is therefore highly recommended!
Winetasting in the tunnels of Laguardia
As a wine lover, you cannot leave the Rioja region in Burgos (Spain) without visiting one of the many winehouses (called Bodegas in Spanish). We visited an authentic bodegas in Laguardia, a small village where we also stayed for the night. Bodegas El Fabulista is situated in the centre near the Church, and covers a big network of underground tunnels. The tunnels under the winehouse are now used for saving the wine and guided tours. You’ll be discovering the history of those tunnels, the wine and also walk through the tunnels. At the end, there is a little winetasting in the tunnels. There are a lot of bodegas in Burgos to discover, but the one we did is to our opinion very unique and authentic. Afther this tasting, we strolled around in the village of Laguardia and stayed there for the night.
