Stage from Arres to Ruesta

Information about stage 3 through Somport: Stage from Arres to Ruesta

Itinerary

• Km 0. Arrés(Hostel. Bar)

With the first light of day we say goodbye to Arrés along a stony path surrounded by boxwood that descends to a track.It surrounds the cereal plantations and ends up turning ninety degrees to the left to recover the west course.About twenty minutes later we find ourselves at the foot of the track with an agricultural and rural tourism complex known for thePardina del Solano (Km 3.7).We continue straight ahead and, a kilometer and a half later, we leave a detour on the left that leads to the town ofMartes.We continue along the track, fixing our eyes on the curious geological structures, known asbadlands, which emerge on the side of the road.We leave the concentration track when crossing the road that goes to Tuesday(Km 7). We turn left to gain a small hill and take a detour to the right that brings us back to another concentration track.After crossing the border between the provinces of Huesca and the incoming Zaragoza, we access theSobresechos ravine.Its bed is no longer a problem thanks to the footbridge built in 2010(Km 10.3).After the ravine we soon find another water course that goes down theCalcones ravine.Once passed by another similar footbridge, we face a short ascent and now through favorable terrain we link up with a paved track.This leads toMianos,the first town you see.Further on we end up leaving the pitch and, without continuing towards Mianos, we take a path on the right towards Artieda(Km 13.4). An uncomfortable stretch of ups and downs reaches the road that leads to the foot ofArtieda.Those who decide to finish the stage here must go up to the center of town, where the hostel is located.To continue towards Ruesta it is not necessary to go up to Artieda, although it is worth the effort to take a breather and regain strength.We will no longer find more locations in the remaining eleven kilometers of the stage.

• km 17.6.Artieda(Hostel. Bar)

Having gone up or not, next to the Artieda turnoff we take a track on the right.After three hundred meters it turns left and takes us to the A-1601(Km 20.4), a road that we follow to the left and that will accompany us for four kilometres.A few hundred meters after kilometer point number 6 we leave the road to the left to take a path that goes up to a cereal field(Km 24.4). We skirt the terrain and cross the road to enter an oak grove that finally gives us a bit of shade.At some points, among the green scrub, you can distinguish the incredible color ofthe Yesa reservoir.Without references, the end seems to never come.Coming out into a clearing, we leave theRomanesque hermitage of San Juanon the right , in ruins and covered by a metallic structure.One more effort and we go up to the road to enterRuestaafter km 10.

• km 28.7.Ruesta(Hostel. Bar)

Difficulties

• Absence of shadows: Of the almost 29 kilometers that the third stage has, only the final four allow shelter from the sun.In the summer months it is better to get up early, fill the canteen well and hydrate yourself, apply sunscreen and cover your head with a hat or scarf.

Observations

• You can do an affordable stage of 18 kilometers toArtieda, where there is a hostel for pilgrims.They allowcard payment.
• The only restaurant service throughout the stage is in Artieda, so it is necessary to leave Arres with water and some food if possible.

What to see, what to do

• ARTIEDA: Already in the province of Zaragoza, Artieda is located at an altitude of 650 meters on a dominant hill.A glance of the town with a satellite map shows aplanned Artieda in the shape of a snail shell, endowed with a clear defensive character.This location was sought in the 12th or 13th century to rebuild the new Artieda, since the original nucleus, settled further down on the banks of the Aragon, was destroyed by an invasion.With it was also lost the old church of Santa María, whose properties had been donated to the monastery of San Salvador de Leyre and, later, to the hospital of Santa Cristina de Somport.
  • Church of San Martín: The body and the semicircular apse are Romanesque.The portico, the portal and the tower correspond to other construction stages of the 16th and 17th centuries.The chapel of Nuestra Señora del Rosario is from the 16th century, as is the image of Christ that it guards.In addition to the church, two civil buildings stand out in the urban area: thePalacio de los Pagosand theCasa del Hospital.
• RUESTA: The waters of the Aragón river, Esca river and Regal river were definitively dammed in 1959 when the Yesa reservoir was inaugurated.This hydraulic work flooded 2,400 hectares, much of it agricultural.The inhabitants of three towns in Zaragoza, among them those of Ruesta,had to leave their town due to the loss of their landsand ultimately to the only possible way of life that their homeland offered them.Visiting Ruesta is comparable to a history class.The landscape of houses abandoned and conquered by ivy evoke past times of a Ruesta integrated into the Kingdom of Aragon, of aBorder Ruesta populated by Jews and Christians and dedicated to trade and collection of taxes for the traffic of merchandise that entered and left the Kingdom. In 1988 Ruesta began to reappear.The Ebro Hydrographic Confederation ceded the use of the town to the General Labor Confederation of Aragon in order to take charge of the recovery of this nucleus, another milestone in the history of pilgrimages.