ERASMUS Excursion to the Highlands of Soria 2025

Four Erasmus students (Villar Montorio, Lucía García, Daniela Acosta, and Yander García) tell us everything that happened during these three days of socializing, exercising, and spending time in nature:

A small group of 19 Erasmus students and six adults (parents, teachers, and a cyclist) met up this morning at the Alhama Secondary School. We loaded our suitcases into three cars and two vans. We took a road with sooo many curves and it took us forever to reach the Oncala mountain pass. Along the way, we had exciting moments (the rapeseed fields are so beautiful!) and even shocking ones, like passing through a village called Los Villares a week before the Villar festival.
At the Oncala mountain pass, our guides Enrico and Maite from the Tierras Altas Tourist Hostel were waiting for us, tired of waiting because we arrived 45 minutes late.
The hike began in a holly forest. Suddenly, night fell among the trees, and there was yet another surprise: mud! There were a few slips and mud-soaked shoes—oh my!

We passed through three very pretty villages: Oncala, El Collado, and Navabellida, where we had lunch and rested. The heat was intense, and when we reached Matasejún, we started dousing each other with water. Take cover!
We realized it was Juan Rayo's birthday, and we sent him a congratulatory audio message. Suddenly, the heavens opened up, and it started to rain heavily and steadily. The last few of us arrived at the parish house, soaked, but we laughed anyway. Wet but happy!
In the afternoon, we visited the Fire Pass Museum and the area where they walk over the ashes. How brave or crazy, depending on how you look at it.
We had dinner at the Motores Restaurant. In the end, we started throwing things at each other, but I'd better not tell you about it because the grown-ups didn't notice. See you tomorrow!

Today we covered 19 kilometers with 700 meters of elevation gain. The first stop was in Sarnago. Like last year, we stopped by the laundry-library, which never ceases to amaze us. And we visited another of our favorite spots: the Sarnago Ethnographic Museum. So much life and so many memories in those four rooms…
The route was a continuous up-and-down along paths that, in some sections, had a brutal gradient. Arriving at the uninhabited village of El Vallejo, our drone got caught in a pine tree, and it took us half an hour to rescue it from the canopy.
Lunch was in Valdelavilla, where we found the surprise of the day: nearly 50 Fiat 1500s. They gather every year in a town in the country, and it just happened to land in Valdelavilla. What a coincidence! Afterwards, we climbed a very steep path over a firebreak that left us feeling exhausted.
We had lunch, almost dinner, at 6:00 PM at the Tierras Altas hostel. What a delicious stewed loin with tomato sauce they made. Afterwards, free time. Several girls, who had said they were exhausted during the day, walked to the neighboring town (Cerbón) to buy some candy.
Dinner, salads and hamburgers, were delicious. Long live Enrico and Maite!
And here we are watching a very good but interminable soccer game…

A group of 25 cyclists and hikers from Corella and Tudela wanted to join us on the last 23 km through Soria. Among them were nine tireless hikers from the "No Hay Quien Nos Pare" association.
After waking up and having breakfast at the Fuentes de Magaña hostel, we headed straight to Magaña along a narrow, beautiful, and at times very exposed trail (what a thrill!). When we arrived in Magaña, we went to the bar for lunch and a rest. Maribel and Fernando Marín, the mayor of Magaña, showed us the town's church and chapel. They're so cool!
On the way to Cigudosa, we had to wade through the Alhama River. We crossed without any major problems, although we were very cold because the water was freezing. Suddenly, Rafael and Kevin jumped into the river and took a ten-minute dip in the icy waters. They were like little kids! Miguel also gave three other people a piggyback ride, including his mother.

In Cigudosa, we went to eat some delicious snacks (they could have been chistorra, bacon, or both). And finally, after such a long and tiring day, the final stretch arrived, but at the same time the hardest and most exhausting, as the trail was extremely steep and, at times, narrow and exposed. Any slip or failure would have been a scare! But we didn't care, and we continued as if there was no tomorrow.
We reached the top... FINALLY! Erasmus students and seniors were exhausted. The views were unbeatable. The ice cream, beers, and coffees at the San Felices TeleClub were fantastic!
We want to thank Autobuses Elcarte and, especially, our driver for his professionalism and patience. It was a pleasure to have him.
And so ended three days of fellowship, heritage, exercise, and nature. Next year, more!