Laguardia, Pais Vasco

I went to nearby Laguardia with Maria Jesus (one of the English teachers from my high school). Her boyfriend Jose Pedro is from there, and he gave me a wonderful tour of the medieval village. Laguardia is located in the autonomous community of Pais Vasco (Basque Country) in the southern province of Alava, which borders La Rioja, and is only about 18 kilometers or so from Logrono.

Laguardia is special because it's surrounded by medieval walls, inside which are narrow twisting streets packed with restaurants, bars, ancient buildings, churches, and nice plazas.
There are five ancient entrances to the old center of the city, one of which is pictured above.

Here's an example of some of the architecture featured on the side of the Church of San Juan (I believe).

Laguardia is an elevated village, and beneath it are hundreds of ancient medieval tunnels and hideouts that were possibly made during times of war. These caverns are also wineries or storage areas for wine. The exact origin of the tunnels is unknown, but they were once connected with one another underground, creating an elaborate system through which you could go arrive anywhere within the village walls. It's thought that these cellars were perhaps built at the same time as the houses. Today, these tunnels have been blocked off, separating them and the property of the respective owners. We visited a big winery in the center of town called El Fabulista. We climbed down into the caverns to taste the wines (a really nice experience).

Another church in Laguardia perhaps houses its most famous monument, a Gothic portico or arcade leading into the Santa Maria de los Reyes church/monastery. Constructed of stone in the 14th century and then painted for the last time in the 17th, this portico is unique because it has retained its color, and it's in really good shape. This is because there was a facade built around it that protected it and sealed it from the effects of the weather and erosion over the centuries.


Here is the altar inside the church. The shell design at the top is also quite unique, as I don't think I've seen it anywhere else.


Here I am standing with Jose Pedro, who's from Laguardia.


And here I am with my Maria Jesus. They were both incredibly nice to take me around and show me Laguardia. I would have never learned so much without them. We also had lunch together and they introduced me to several of the bars and restaurants. Thanks very much!


There are nice views from Laguardia of the surrounding countryside. Production of wine is very important to this region, and you can see many vineyards and wineries. The province of Alava, though in Pais Vasco, is close enough to La Rioja (and it's wine is close enough) that the wine produced there is tagged with the official La Rioja mark. The region is actually known as La Rioja Alavesa.
The mountains around Laguardia are beautiful. Most of the buildings in the valley between Laguardia and the mountains are wineries. One of them in the middle is a modern structure which attempts to mimic the shape of the mountains in the background. It might be hard to see the resemblance from here... This winery was designed by world famous Spanish architect Calatrava.