¡La Ruta de los Dinosaurios!

Hands up if you like dinosaurs...

Hands up if you know why I'm talking about dinosaurs on a blog about Spain?

I imagine you've guessed straight away. Millions of years ago, dinosaurs roamed over large parts of northern Spain. This summer, I went to Enciso in La Rioja to investigate.

Enciso is especially famous for its icnitas, or fossilised dinosaur footprints. You'll find many dinosaur footprints here (over 1,000), a lot of them on the 'Ruta de los Dinosaurios' (Route of the Dinosaurs), a 6km senda (footpath) through the hills. As well as the real icnitas, preserved in the rock, there are some pretty cool life-sized models of the dinosaurios which left them. It's great fun doing the walk as you never know what (or who!) you'll bump into around the next corner! Here's some of what I saw...

There's lots more to Enciso than the 'ruta'. There's a museo which has some fantastic fossils.

There's also el Barranco Perdido (the Lost Canyon) an adventure park next to the start of the 'ruta' which has rope-bridges, zip-wires, swimming pools, 3D films and more. Check out their video El Barranco Perdido video. 

and their website http://www.barrancoperdido.com/ where there's a dinosaurio videojuego (video game) you can download.

And remember, if you need any help convincing your parents that a trip to the La Rioja region of España is worth it, then remind them that it's where the famous Rioja wine is produced, and that the capital, Logroño, has some of the best tapas bars in Spain.

Now don't tell me learning Spanish isn't fun!

 ¡Salud! (That's 'cheers', or literally, 'health'.) 

Extras: If you're ever unsure how to pronounce a Spanish word, check out the Collins online dictionary which has sound-files so you can hear the words spoken by a Spaniard. Here's a link to the word dinosaurio. Click on the little speaker next to the word to hear it.

Extras 2: Enciso is only one small town with dinosaurio attractions. Check out this article for many more sites of dinosaurio things to see and do in northern España. 

Dinosaurios in northern Spain. 

¡Buen viaje! (Have a good trip!)