Seven is magical. Including the uninhabited Oteruelo, along with La Villa, Santa Lucía, Los Molinos, Pipaona, Aldealobos and Las Ruedas , there are seven municipalities in the unknown Valle de Ocón. There are seven Starlight reserves on the peninsula, one of them in this area. In the Casa de La Condesa, in El Redal, room seven has been my base of operations. And to help those who are not able to create their own adventure, there are seven proposals to discover the Ocón Valley, which is part of the Biosphere Reserve.
1.I dedicate few hours for sport
The signposted routes for hikers among oak, almond, poplar and beech trees are optimal for, on clear days, peeking into the Pyrenees in the background, seeing roe deer in their natural environment, locating mushrooms that should only be picked if they are known and guessing from the remains, what occurred centuries ago in the area. The same routes can be done by mountain bike, mountain bike, since the route is signposted. The shorter horseback routes are another option to consider. We propose a circular route departing from Pipaona.
2. Stories from history
Parpalinas is one of the two temples that housed the Roman villa that emerged at the end of the 1st century after Christ. The discoveries confirm that, to perform an exorcism on Senator Honorio, San Millán de la Cogolla went to Parpalinas, who gave his name to the town where he lived and which is considered the cradle of Castilian.
Parpalinas Temple.
3. Cooperative Trujal of the Ocón Valley
Inactive for decades, but with the machinery in perfect condition, the Los Molinos oil mill is kept today as a museum. The olive activity was very important in the middle of the last century, today the BIO oil from Galilea, where the new oil press has been installed, makes its way into the market with important prizes.
4. Top of the Mills
This is how the locals knew a small hill that hid a flour windmill in the undergrowth. Too damaged for its reconstruction, it was decided to build a replica in whose work a blacksmith from the area collaborated. Today it is one of the main tourist attractions in Ocón and at its feet the milling festival is held every August.
Windmill.
5. Ephemeral art
The beautiful remains intact in memory, but it does not necessarily last over time. “Art on Earth” is the name of the exhibition that is installed in the month of August near the church of Santa Lucía de Ocón. There, out in the open, are the works of the artists who assume that their work, conditioned by the climate and the terrain, has its days numbered.
6. Wine route
You are in La Rioja, there is wine and many wineries. Almost all admit visits and organize tours with tastings; the hard part is deciding on one. There are family ones such as Nestares Eguizabal, which sells 3 lines of wine: red, rosé and white; of international capital such as Casa La Rad, the one with the largest vineyard area which, although it sells two thirds of the grapes, allows it to experiment with its own wines by combining the different varieties with the rest, and finally, there are the cooperatives, such as De San Cosme and San Damián, from which wines like Hoya del Conde come out.
7. In pieces
In addition to the mushrooms from Autol, Padrejón or Ausejo, we suggest tasting the goose eggs and the free range hens produced in Huevocón; incredible in their basic fried recipe and important enough to be added to a salmorejo. Rioja-style potatoes are the star dish of the region; humble, forceful and memorable if they are made with ecological chorizo like the one made by Luis Gil at Las Ruedas, a firm endorsed by the work of 4 generations dedicated to raising cattle in freedom. A table with ham, cold meat, pate and cheese, accompanied by the typical sobado bread to spread Galilee oil, award for quality 2021, and a bottle of wine, liven up any lunch or snack.
- Accommodation: “ La Casa de la Condesa”, in El Redal, is not just a rural accommodation. It is a 16th century manor house with 9 rooms with their own names. In number seven, that of General Solano, I imagined his battles before he died from a friend’s lunge, preventing his Frenchification from going down in history for having been hanged. The bells of the church, which do not ring at night, accompany the song of the blackbirds that fly over the garden during the day from where, being in one of the seven Starlight reserves, it is inevitable to look up at the sky. In the living room, the fireplace invites you to place vine shoots to roast some chops, another of the typical dishes in La Rioja. Better in company, so the option of complete reservation of the house is frequent.
Room in the House of the Countess.
- Restaurant: It is unforgivable not to go to “La Alameda” in Pipaona where, cooked by Blanca and Blas, who are committed to local and Km 0 products, you can taste any of the products mentioned in the previous paragraphs. The specialty, however, is the suckling pig which, after hours of roasting, ends up practically defatted and with a crispy skin. They offer daily menus, specials and even gastronomic days dedicated to suckling pig, goose eggs or mushrooms. A show the cut of the suckling pig with a plate to be served at the table.
Suckling pig.
We are in a sparsely populated area in which the rich historical heritage coexists with the scenic beauty, the traditional way of life, the conservation of its gastronomy and the promotion of the local economy.
