Following the waters of the Ebro

For most of us, the Ebro is basically a great watercourse of enormous environmental value. “Water is life” is still the motto of the groups that continue to defend the importance of the river and its flow, especially for the counties of the Ebro.

Not many generations ago, the vision would have been a little different. At that time, the Ebro was, fundamentally, the great means of communication and transport of products and materials from these territories. In a country steeped in mountains, the Ebro was a kind of great highway that connected people and goods. This was so despite the difficulties of navigation. The Ebro is not easily domesticated. It does not have the placidity of the great European rivers.

At the end of the 19th century, with the arrival of the railway, river transport received a good boost. It would not be long before truck transport would stop the expansion of the train and what was left of the river traffic. The final blow came with the construction of the Riba-roja and Mequinensa reservoirs. The builders were more careful to buy the last navigation licenses for the remaining llaguts, than to build the floodgates that would have ensured the navigability of the river for the future.

The memory of Phoenician ships – and even Vikings – that sailed up the Ebro up to Zaragoza, for example, would have been erased had it not been for the fact that some enthusiasts have recovered boats to continue sailing the river. On the other hand, the railway allows sensational combinations to be able to enjoy the Ebro and follow its course. In fact, depending on where you come from, you can get to the area by train, pedal, and return home without having to take a car.

The proposed excursion starts at the Riba-roja d’Ebre train station and ends at Móra la Nova. The tour is sensational. You cross the river several times by bridges and also using one of the last boat steps, the Flix. They cross protected natural spaces, stork shelters and orchards that dress in delicacy in the spring. You cross one of the gorges of the final stretch of the Ebro, using a sensational old horseshoe path, the Pas de l’Ase (you have to get off the bike), and you reach Móra d’Ebre following a charming and pleasant path by the river.