Yesterday was one of those days that stick in your paws. Beautiful, yes, spectacular too, but when night came I was walking as if I was wearing invisible mountain boots two sizes too big. So today, when I opened an eye and saw that the sky was the colour of an old blanket forgotten at the back of the wardrobe, I knew it was a quiet day ahead. The kind that you enjoy without rushing, with long yawns and breakfasts that last longer than they should.

The place was still silent in the morning, a good silence, the kind that doesn't frighten or bother you. I stretched at my own pace while papi Edu moved slowly, without rushing, as if the day had energy-saving mode activated. Nobody was in a hurry and that already seemed like a great idea to me.

We started calmly and a little before noon the car started rolling. I like it when the day starts like that, without surprises, as if saying "relax Chuly, there's no heroics today". After about fifty kilometres we passed through Mequinenza. We didn't go into the town because, seen from the outside, it didn't appeal to us too much. Sometimes it happens, there are places that don't wink at you. But just as we were leaving, we stopped at the viewpoint of the Aiguabarreig de Mequinenza and there things changed.

As soon as I got out of the car I found a gigantic thing. A turbine from a hydroelectric power station exposed to the air, planted there as if it were a modern sculpture dedicated to the cult of water and brute force. I looked at it from below thinking that, if that were a toy, it would clearly be out of my league. It's impressive to see it still, clean, like a sleeping monster that once moved half the world based on the river.

The place is special because the great rivers meet there, the Ebro with the Segre and not far away the Cinca, forming what they call the Aiguabarreig. For me it was a high-level aquatic smell festival. On the other side of the road you could see some ruins that gave a little respect. They were remains of the old town of Mequinenza, abandoned when the reservoir was built and the water swallowed almost everything. Houses, streets and churches were left under water and what you see today are broken walls that seem to remember what was there before.

We continued the route by car, already with the idea of looking for a place to sleep. We saw a place on the banks of the Mequinenza reservoir that in summer is sure to be a marvel, but today it was cold and the wind was blowing with bad intentions. Too exposed even for a brave dog like me. Another attempt was near Caspe, but it didn't convince us either. So we kept going, without drama.

And thank goodness, because we ended up arriving in Escatrón. The motorhome area in the town wasn't anything to write home about, quite ugly and stuck to the road, but just below we found a perfect spot next to the river Ebro. Nature, calm and a feeling of the right place. I got out of the car, sniffed the air and knew it. Here, yes.

We ate in the camper and, attention, at a rather decent hour. Around three o'clock. I celebrated it internally with imaginary fireworks. Afterwards we took a walk through the town. Escatrón has that air of a place that was important a long time ago and now takes it easy. Many closed houses, quiet streets and a suspicious amount of cats. I don't like them, but I recognise that they are very photogenic, the condemned ones. They let themselves be seen, they stretched like professional models while I pretended that I didn't care at all.

We went up to the Tozal viewpoint. From there there are good views of the Ebro river and you can also see the thermoelectric power plant, huge, dominating the landscape. I stood still for a while looking, with the wind ruffling my ears, thinking that humans do very big and very strange things, but sometimes they fit well into the landscape.

We went back to the camper when the evening was already falling. The body was tired but happy, that good tiredness that doesn't complain. We went to bed early. I took my regular walks before going to bed, checked that everything was in order and settled into my place.

Here we stayed to sleep. A quiet day after a good beating, with landscapes that don't shout but stay with you. I closed my eyes thinking that travelling is also knowing when to slow down. And today, the truth is, we did very well.