Ezcaray is a small, splendidly conserved mediaeval-to-renaissance town on the lower slopes of the Sierra de la Demanda, which straddles the provinces of Burgos and La Rioja. In the past, Ezcaray was an important textile centre, though this is not evident now. Its present popularity and prosperity derive from the ski resort of Valdezcaray, higher up in the Sierra, and weekend tourism. The latter is is very much a local affair, families from the Basque Country out for a day in the country, hunters from Burgos after partridge and quail and anglers from I do not know where. Ezcaray is far off the normal tourist trail. 

Ezcaray has a number of sights - the church of Santa Marí­a la Mayor, a number of eighteenth-century palaces, a couple of lovely hermitages - but the real pleasure of the place is meandering through its streets and plazas and under its arcades, stopping for a glass of wine, strolling to another place, another glass of wine... It was in one of these taverns that we were told the secret of zurracapote (which literally means head-banger), a local drink made especially for consumption during Easter (they said, though we suspect it would be suitable for any festivity). Zurracopote is a kind of rosé wine (clarete, interestingly considered a hard-man's drink in the north of Spain), in which slices of orange and lemon are placed and to which cinnamon is added. It is left to macerate for up to a fortnight, then strained and served at room temperature.

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The River Oja probably swells greatly with the spring thaw, but when we saw it at the beginning of May, it was far from prepossessing, trickling in rather ill-defined manner on its way down to meet the River Tirón, which then empties immediately into the mighty Ebro. From Ezcaray, we followed the Oja down the road as far as Santo Domingo de la Calzada. 

All photographs and images ©2005 John Ross. All rights reserved.

Coming Soon > Santo Domingo de la Calzada >