El Tozal is a small village in the Southern part of Spanish Pyrenees. It may not be a famous holiday resort but that only adds to its attraction. There is something there for everyone to enjoy from the youngest to the oldest. Life has a truly Spanish schedule with compulsory two hour siesta during the day (when the pool is closed and families spend some ‘tiempo juntos’ at home). Late afternoon activities invariably centre round the re-opened pool due to temperatures usually being in the high 30s and communal evening fun starts after dinner around 10.30pm (10pm if you rush… although best not to turn up to drinks parties until after 11pm). Parties have quite an odd feel in El Tozal especially for those of us used to packing our children off to bed before evening guests arrive… Instead kids seem to appear last – the little ones around midnight when they have had enough of the park or the outdoor cinema has finished – and the older ones perhaps popping in around 1am when the football tournament has wound up. It is important to round them up at this point and start thinking of bed if you don’t want to have to dodge the ubiquitous sprinklers which start automatically around then – possibly to revive any grownups who have had a little too much tinto as well as keeping the grass a shade closer to green and maintaining that surreal little muddy puddle at the bottom of the chute in this otherwise parched land.
Besides the pool there are tennis courts, football pitches, several swing parks, a fantastic sound system for everything from the outdoor cinema to legendary talent shows(!), and many vintage performances by spontaneous artists during any outdoor long-table ‘cenas’ – where we all get to taste each others’ brave attempts at cooking. In addition to all these typical holiday attractions, in the vicinity of El Tozal there is the truly wonderful Santuario de Torreciudad. A visit to this place always elevates the spirit and even the kids manage a little awe-inspired decorum (most of the time).