GR1 Sendero Historico // day 44 // Lluçà - Ripoll

GR1 Sendero Historico day 44.
Distance: 36.7km (1297.4km), time spent: 10:37.
Waymarking: Good.
Weather: Overcast and gloomy, fog, sunny at the end.

I sleep so well, that in the morning I have to force myself up, something it takes a lot of effort to. Kin is awake when I tussle down, even after yesterday evening, and prepares a large and good breakfast for me. All honour to Kin and this place, it is a wonderful accommodation and my stay here has been fantastic. Still, the road goes ever on and I have to continue out into the grey world that waits outside the doors. Today, I have planned to do another combination of two stages in the guidebook; I will skip Alpens and walk straight to Ripoll.

On the way after El Castell (to the right), the ruins of Castell de Lluçà are guarding above.

Already from the morning there is a wet sky above me, as predicted. Not much, a quiet drizzle, but enough to ascertain that there are no views of the Pyrenees to get from a large and fortified farm, El Castell. The mountains to the north are otherwise supposed to be a distinct feature from here; the view is just as abandoned as the farm. I wander around the hill, where the ruins emerges up from the trees above, bygone watchtowers from the past. The eyes of the ghosts in the tower is watching over me for a good time.

A small oasis near Molí de Puig-oriol.

The first hours of the day is a walk in an undulating landscape, among scattered farms and tiny hamlets. Above the landscape there is a mournful mood resting, melancholic clouds that slowly tatters. Mournful and melancholic sounds sad, but I always feel a calm about me when I walk in such surroundings. Nearby Molí de Puig-oriol there is another small oasis, where the water runs down from pond to pond, on top of flat and large slabs of stone.

An undulating view, underneath the clouds in the horizon you can bare see the feet of the Pyrenees.

It is grey and melancholic in the horizons, between the undulating hills tiny veils of clouds are seeping. Furthest away, I can barely discern the feet of the Pyrenees, which is the closest I get to see some of those great mountains today. I have however escaped all of the serious rain today, although there are some drops coming here and there. It is not to be ignored that I think a lot of the fact that I will be at the end of my walk in just a couple of days now. With that in mind, I also know that I am now on my way down from the high country; I am excited about what this brings with it of changes in scenery and surroundings. But today, I feel it like an improvement from yesterday and the last part of the walk to Gironella, the landscape are more charming in this section.

The trail continues unabated further through the verdant scenery with now grey contrasts around. A small detour takes me up to a small chapel with a nice name, Ermita de Sant Cristòfol de Borrassers, which also houses a small cemetery called Sepultura de la Coma Homes. After a couple of kilometres more, I arrive at a huge masia with an overwhelming façade towards the route, El Graell. In the inside, there is a large room with high ceilings and pillars from the roof to the floor. A stately home for the livestock, an almost royal barn. A large group of youths swarms around in the opposite direction on the last part of the walk down to Alpens, possibly scouts.

El Graell, an impressive masia.

To stop for the day in Alpens would have been too early, it is the middle of the day when I arrive at the village, there are after all only a 14km long walk from Lluçà to here. In the centre of the village, I find a bar, some locals are already gathered around some tables, I order a bocadillo with loin of pig and cheese, together with some refreshments. It is good with a break; I have still over twenty kilometres left before I get to Ripoll. When I leave Alpens, I walk past some curious sculptures, abstract noes and musicians.

Sculpture in Alpens.

Out from Alpens, I meet the most serious rain of the day. Of the annoying kind, which does not last long, but still long enough that you spend time changing to your raingear. It begins on my way up into the hills and mountains above Alpens. I venture up into the misty country between the downpours. Fog always hides the views from your eyes, but usually compensates by always bringing a mysterious mood to the surroundings you are located in, my subconscious conjures up gnomes and trolls hidden in the layers of clouds. Even with the outside world obscured to me, it is a good walk up into a wooded ridge. Clouds drifts through the trees, bringing forth memories of earlier walks. I know that there are views here, but now I stare out into a grey eternity, wrapped in by both clouds and clothes.

Foggy ridge on the way to Santa Margarida de Vinyoles after Alpens.

The silhouette of another lonely walker appear in front of me in the mist, and disappears again behind me, I wander along a meandering path with trees on one side and clouds on the other. Above me, I can see the contours of a building emerge from the mist; I have arrived at Santa Margarida de Vinyoles. You are supposed to be able to see far away in the distance from here, but unnecessary to say this do not apply to this day. Instead, the clouds lies dense around the church and I think it is fantastic, although I would have liked to see the real surroundings of this church located so far off the beaten track. They do not make it easy for those who wishes to attend a service in the church.

Santa Margarida de Vinyoles.

Inside the clouds, the route then starts moving downwards again, past a large fortified manor in the tiny hamlet of Sant Marti de Vinyoles (where there is a barbeque going on of all things). A long, but not unpleasant, walk on a road ensues; I pass by a dancing young girl on the way down. The guidebook was advertising that there were no places for lunch between Alpens and Ripoll, but down by another road, I come to a restaurant, El Cremat. I have eaten lunch, but buy myself a quick café con leche. Afterwards, I pick the wrong way and walks for a good while up into a valley before I recognize that I have gone wrong.

Between masias and cultivated farmland on the way to Ripoll.

This detour I may take the full blame of myself, when I turn around I am both irritated that the waymarking has lead me on a wrong track again and that the route does not continue further where I had to turn. I liked the path that I was on. Back again, I have to take back what I uttered when I was frustrated, I had overlooked a red cross marking that the trail was not going in that direction. The correct path further, is not as exciting, but gets better after a while. The most distinct feature next to the trail is the large masias. I wonder how it must be to live up here in these farms, especially in the winter, but maybe they do not live here then. The sun suddenly emerge again towards the end of the walk, the outside world coming for a visit.

A small square in Ripoll.

Ripoll is larger than I had expected, but it does have a population of over 10 000. My first impression of the town is that it is kind of worn and looking somewhat poor. I spend some time trying to locate the hotel containing my room, it was supposed to be situated close to the famous monastery in the town, but near it I cannot find it. When I in the end has found it and completed the necessary shores, it is too late to visit the monastery, Monasteri de Santa Maria de Ripoll. Instead, I go to a small local bar for a beer before I go to a place for dinner. My impression of Ripoll grows bigger during the evening and I find myself enjoying the city, which counts especially for the small squares and the narrow streets in the old town.

Scorpion on the ground in a small square in Ripoll.

I find out that Hostal del Ripollés makes a really good pizza, clearly an in-place, there are a lot of people here. In the evening, I walk through a small square in the city, where something small and scary catches my eye. On the ground, there is a scorpion crawling, a black little rascal. And that on a square where I earlier saw children running around. When I show the picture to the host at the hotel, he only shrugs laughingly on his shoulders, they must be aware of them (I hope). A great day, despite the weather that was anything but great. And a nice evening in Ripoll. A change of plans for tomorrow begins to take shape in my mind, but that I will tell about tomorrow.

<- LluçàSant Joan de les Abadesses ->

GR1 Sendero Historico // day 43 // Gironella - Lluçà

GR1 Sendero Historico day 43.
Distance: 30.5km (1260.7km), time spent: 8:49.
Waymarking: Ok, some difficulties here and there.
Weather: Grey, gloomy and overcast, then nice towards the end.

Yesterday evening I fell asleep sitting on my bed in my room in Gironella, while I was sitting down, relaxing and writing down my notes of the walk of the day. I am probably more tired than I think I am, my quick reinvigoration when I walked from Massanés to Cambrils just a short flicker. Still, I keep on going; I have never walked as long days before as I have done on this hike, on my other long distance hikes. Today, I follow the guidebook to the letter, I will walk to Lluçà. Outside it is grey, but when I looked out of the window earlier in the night, it was to a clear and starry sky. I have really no expectations to this days stage, so I am not noteworthy bothered by the sombre weather.

In Gironella in the morning.

I am more bothered by trying to locate the trail out of Gironella, why is it always so hard to waymark the trails out of towns, even small towns like these? The clouds seems to stretch out to the western horizon, which forms the border, I can see the sun shining on the mountains that I went on yesterday. That the border will move over here, I have little belief in. In my direction, it is grey and gloomy, rain in the making. Even a short scenic walk through a forest does little to improve the boring beginning of the day until Olvan.

Grey weather where I walk after Gironella, but in the horizon, I can see sunlight over the mountains.

After Olvan, however, both the scenery and weather plays better as a team. Here the route disappears into a more open terrain, dominated by large surfaces of stone. You are not far away from people here, but the whole terrain and area has a desolate and barren touch to it. The waymarks are painted directly on the stony surface. There are some power pylons here, which otherwise would have ruined the views a little, but appears to vanish in this weather. When the bushes and vegetation surrounding me increases in scale, it is because the trail has dived down into a small valley, before it slowly climbs up again. The disconsolate weather and this mysterious open landscape fits perfectly together. Unfortunately, nothings lasts forever.

After Olvan, the GR1 goes through a barren and open landscape, with large surfaces of stone.

This part of the walk is nice until I arrive at a farm; because after the farm, the waymarking is no longer corresponding with the description and map in the guidebook. In it, I am supposed walk north when I get to a road, but the waymarks are pointing to the south. At first, I get confused, but then I understand that the trail has been rerouted. If it is to the better I cannot tell, but the new route that I follow to Sagàs is not particularly exciting. Sagàs is a small and charming village, but judging by its appearance also quite sleepy. The church, Sant Andreu de Sagàs, is from the 11th century. Around the village, the meadows are full of white blooming flowers.

The weather is grey and quite gloomy, but it sort of nicely fit the terrain I was walking through between Olvan and Sagàs, like here.

Outside Sagàs, I come to a farm, and my bypassing sets off a cacophony of dog barking. It is then quite fitting to say something about the dogs you encounter along the trail and in Spain. For the sound of barking is something that you will get to hear a lot and become tired of if you walk this trail. Mostly in all the villages you walk through, there will be a least one house where there is a dog, usually several houses, and when you arrive, the dogs will begin to yap. It is however quite notable that this for the most part applies to dogs that are locked inside the gardens of people, which is the usual way of using guard dogs. The dogs that I have met outside of confinement has as a rule been calm. So far, I have not had any bad experiences with dogs, but I am tired of their barking.

Sagàs.

There is not much to say about the walk down to Pont de Vilalta. On the way there, the clouds begin to split, but that does not bring any more interest to the walk for that reason. At the hotel next to the bridge, Sant Cristòfol, I just as well eat a four-course dinner. Soup with pasta, macaroni with meat, a good meat dish with equivalent good sauce, cheese with honey as desert. The Pont de Vilalta bridge and the Riera de Merles river forms a weathershed for the day, on the west side it was grey and sad, but now that I have crossed over to the east side, it is sunny and a blue sky.

To pass by a farm with five dogs provides you with the opportunity to hear a dog-symphony of barking. All the commotions the dogs made meant that I had to take a picture of them. The boy living there came out and wondered why I was talking a picture.

East of the Riera de Merles, however, the landscape is first quite messy, but when I rises in altitude it gets better. The view cannot be said to be very challenging, but the landscape feels more open and the walk up along the hill is pleasant. You can also see Lluçà from the hill, although it is not easy to see were the borders of the hamlet are, it is a hamlet were the houses lies well scattered away from each other. Under twenty persons are living here. If anything can be called the centre of Lluçà, it will have to be where the monastery is. Above there is a hill where the ruins of Castell de Lluçà are resting on the top of. You pass a large masia on the last part of the route down.

Before Pont de Vilalta, it was not that exciting, but this short walk between the trees was a pleasant one, even on a road.

In Hostal Fonda La Primitiva, there are no one present when I arrive, but that matters little, I can put down my backpack outside and relax by the tables and chairs standing there. Something I does not do for long. The church of the monastery, Monasteri de Sant María de Lluçà, is open and when I walk inside, the monastery itself is opened to me. Inside there are old murals on display, together with paintings that the churchwarden himself had made, a curious combination. Kin, who runs Fonda La Primitiva, appears and wants me to check in. She is tired and wants to rest a little; she has a long evening ahead of her. There is a concert at the place this evening. I was warned about it, but I am only looking forward to it. With me to my room, I get a local artisan beer, NAPA, New Anarchy Pale Ale.

View of Lluçà. At the top of the hill in the centre of the pictures lies the ruins of Castell de Lluçà, Hostal Fonda La Primitiva and the monastery are visible just below the hill to the right.

Before the evening sets in, I get to see more of the monastery. Outside, it is now nice, but there is a brim of clouds further back in the distance. There is something absurd that there is a monastery in such a tiny place as this, but when it was built, this was probably a very remote place and the monks do like to stay in places like that. The monastery has a nice, but small cloister garden. I would have liked to climb up to the castle above, but does not have the energy to do it.

The cloister garden of Monasteri de Sant María de Lluçà.

The evening becomes one of the very best on the GR1. So is also the Fonda La Primitiva a very pleasant place, even though I also wonder how it survives in a place like this. I can hardly believe that there are hikers on the GR1 standing in line to spend the night here (or any other place), since it does not appear to be very many hiking the trail. A digression. The evening becomes as said great. Firstly, there is a dinner consisting of seven courses, yes, you read correctly. Seven dishes. And the food tastes excellent; I also think that I get a little bit more food than the rest of the guest. Of the sole reason that I walk the GR1 and has gone a long way (and still has some to go, although I am getting closer to the end). I eat the desert together with the musicians and some friends of theirs. It has mostly been quite so lonesome dinners for me on this walk, so this feels very welcome.

From the concert in Fonda La Primitiva, Lluçà.

Afterwards, the concert begins. Where I can just sit down and relax with a bottle of white wine and enjoy the music. Kin told me that it would be some brazilian rhythms, that is correct, but more correctly it is that they are actually playing jazz with some brazilian touches. It is a good concert and wonderful to get to experience this on my walk, tonight I do not miss my tent. Still, however good it is, the Sandman is a difficult contender and in the end, I have to acknowledge that I have to go to bed, although I very much would have liked to hear the rest of the concert. In a break between some of the tunes, I say farewell to the friends of the band and waves goodbye to the musicians, who stops and greets me farewell and good luck. The evening here in Lluçà has without doubt been the highlight of the day; you quickly forgets some more boring walks when they carries you to such finales as this. Barely a week left before I am finished.

<- GironellaRipoll ->

GR1 Sendero Historico // day 42 // Sant Lleïr de la Vall d'Ora - Gironella

GR1 Sendero Historico day 42.
Distance: 32.4km (1230.2km), time spent: 10:19.
Waymarking: Good most of the way.
Weather: Some clouds in the beginning, then wonderful.

At the end of today’s walk, another larger place is awaiting me, Gironella, which will be the largest place I have been to since Graus, with the exception of Oliana that I just passed through a couple of days ago. In Masia el Pujol, they looked a little odd at me when I said that I planned to go there, they probably regarded it as a long walk. Which it really is as well, the guidebook also splits the walk to Gironella in two parts, but I wish once again to kill two birds with one stone and therefore bypass L’Espunyola. This would provide me with a great first part on a nice walk on a ridge, and a boring second part through a flatter forest- and fields- landscape.

View down towards cliffs and valley bottoms from the ascent after Sant Lleïr de la Vall d'Ora.

The breakfast was large and when I had finished eating it, I ventured out into the clouds, like yesterday they lay and covered the blue sky. To the south, it was also even slightly pitch black. The beginning of the day looked a lot like the beginning of yesterday, up from Sant Llorenç de Morunys. Like then, it was the clouds that dampened most of the mood, but got brighter during the upward journey. The ascent consists of an even part path and an even part untidy gravel track, which winds itself up by the side of the mountain to sudden viewpoints over the cliffs in the valley below. On the way up, it is as if the sky wakes up and tries to shake off the clouds, light are released upon the mountains.

Sunrays through the trees in the woods on the way to Taravil.

When I am finished with the nice climb up, a beautiful walk through a forest awaits me. The sun has now awaken from its morning hibernation and through the trees the leaves and branches filter the sunrays. It is an exquisite illumination, with the natural spotlight shifting location as I go. I emerge out to a meadow that looks almost white in the light from the sun. Up here, the sky is blue and the ground is green, in the valley bottoms below lies the clouds.

View north from Serra dels Tossals.

Up at Taravil, the woods are teeming with mushroom pickers, so many that I wonder if it is the national mushroom day or something like it, I met a few of them yesterday also on the way down from Sant Pere de Graudescales. From Taravil, Sendero Historico bears up into a mountain ridge above, Serra dels Tossals. This time, the trail will keep to the height for a while. The only thing that I whine about a little in the beginning is that you walk on the south side of the ridge, where the view is not as exciting as towards north. In the south, there is a flat area that limits the view some.

Serra dels Tossals.

Nevertheless, the walk is of the kind that makes you light at heart. With touches of the urge to climb to the top of certain cliffs and hills that the route passes by. After a while with the eyes turned towards the south, I get what I want; the trail turns over to the north side to views of mountains and valleys. I try to see if I recognize the route from yesterday, but I am not able to. The path continues across the ridge on an open stone meadow with wrinkled and distorted trees.

Santuari dels Tossals.

GR1 never passes any place that is really exposed, but towards the end of Serra dels Tossals, the trail passes over the only exposed section, at least according to the guidebook and even that describes the passage in a slightly ironic way. Last year, on the Lycian Way, I become slightly disappointed when I came to the so-called difficult descent between Kaş and Liman Agizi. Today I seriously doubted that I would get any problems on this traverse. And I am correct; the exposed part can barely be called exposed. The walk across the ridge is finished when I arrive at the ruins of Santuari dels Tossals. A church high up on the spur of the ridge, below are the clouds crashing into the hillsides like waves.

Barranc de Salt Sallent.

To come down to Capolat feels kind of coming to the same place that you came from (Taravil). Also here there are mushroom pickers at large. It is a short, tranquil and peaceful walk before the route descends from the mountain again. The highlight on the way down is Barranc de Salt Sallent, a waterfall that runs out from a cliff wall. Little water there at this time, but it is cool anyway, and the view is nice. At L’Espunyola you are down at the lowlands again, the last section down was a rather painful walk. Before I have even begun on the next stage, I notice the distinct change between the next section and the previous. I eat lunch at a restaurant in the village, which is actually really stupid; I have forgotten the baguette that I carry with me in my backpack. The bacon and cheese tostada does taste good anyway.

On the path to Avia.

From the very beginning, it is clear that the second part of the trip to Gironella will not be nearly as nice as the first part. To change the surroundings will provide variations, but not always to the better. As now. A lot of walking through woods and cultivated land, which can be nice, but not so very exciting now. The nicest part was when the route passed by a small terraced waterfall where the water flowed down into a small pond. Nice light and a row of trees guided the little river to the waterfall. A little oasis. I come to Avia, which I just passes straight through.

A small oasis on the way.

It does not become any better from Avia, my feet least of all, they are beginning to hurt. Small, quick and painful stabs to the sides of them. Some small chapels pass by, both known and unknown, like Sant Vicenç d’Obiols. For a while, it feels a little like I walk and walk, but without getting any further. A short section next to the river before Gironella is the most exciting part on this side of the walk. A small path, of the forgotten type, going through both natural and unnatural tunnels in the vegetation, underneath a gate made of out something that once was a building. Then the short-lived joy is interrupted by a walk through and worn and dirty industrial area. I walk past something that appears to be apartments, which appears miserably.

On a forgotten path next to the river before Gironella.

Arriving in Gironella, I am tired and my feet hurts, it does not become any better that I take the wrong turn when I look for Hostal 1888, my place for the night. I get to see more of the town, like the church and the height above the rest of the town, but that is not what I foremost wish for now. I spend a long time locating the place, even with the aid of others. And in addition, it takes a while before the hosts arrives and opens up for me, but when I am first is inside and has got a shower and relaxed a little, things are better. I stumble up to a bar to get a beer, where they look funnily at me where I walk in my bath shoes, something I care little about.

In Gironella.

I eat tapas for dinner in a restaurant, which suits me perfectly today. I think maybe I would have experienced Gironella as nicer, if it were not for the fact that I am so tired and have pains in my feet. Great first part, boring second part. It takes its toll, so long hikes as this.

Brief description of the exposed section on this part of the GR1:
The section is about 10 metres long. It starts off with a narrow walk with some cliffs on the left side (if you walk towards L'Espunyola) where the drop is mostly covered by vegetation. It then goes along a path, about half a metre to one meter wide if I remember it correctly, here there is a drop to the right side of it, but the path should have plenty of space so that one doesn't need to walk right next to the drop. It then goes up a short cliffside, requiring some easy scrambling to get up.

The part of the exposed section going next to the cliff at the beginning.

The path going next to a drop.

Section where you have to scramble up a small cliff.

<- Sant Lleïr de la Vall d'OraLluçà ->

GR1 Sendero Historico // day 41 // Sant Llorenç de Morunys - Sant Lleïr de la Vall d'Ora

19. oktober
GR1 Sendero Historico day 41.
Distance: 24.8km (1197.8km), time spent: 8:25.
Waymarking: Good (but some few pitfalls).
Weather: Clouds in the beginning, then nice.

A lovely day in three parts, where the first part of the route brought me high up to good views, the middle part let me taste asphalt beneath my feet again and the last part through a secluded area where the highlight was a national monument encircled by the colours of the fall. From Sant Llorenç de Morunys, I walked to the scattered settlement of Sant Lleïr de la Vall d'Ora, where an excellent place to stay awaited me in a large masia.

Dramatic clouds in the views on the way up from Sant Llorenç de Morunys.

In the morning in Casa Joan however, I feel that I am only causing problems, where none of the cogs of communication fit together, we struggle to understand each other. When I walk out of the doors, we have anyway come to a smiling understanding and parting. Outside, the clouds lies tightly over the small town and the mountains around, so I do not have any faith in getting a view today. On the way up into the mountains on the other side of Sant Llorenç de Morunys, there are also few windows to the horizons, but the little that exists of views are dramatic. The ascent is good, with a good surface to walk on and easy to find the way. The last part of the ascent went through a forest where the spiders had been busy making many small blankets of spider webs, which all sparkles of the morning dew.

First class view over Pantà de la Llosa de Cavall and Sant Llorenç de Morunys from Cap de Balç.

My faith was not the greatest in the morning, but today the weather gods are smiling to me. When the climb is finished, you can from the top go a small detour out to some cliffs, Cap de Balç. The views from the tip of the cliffs are first class. The sky has not opened one hundred percent yet, but more than enough to see far away over Pantà de la Llosa de Cavall and Sant Llorenç de Morunys. Coll de Jou above, however, are still wrapped inside the remaining clouds, but the bald tops of the mountains above appear out of the clouds. I put down my backpack and sit down with my feet outside the cliffs. Not easy to tear away from views.

View from Cap de Balç, Morunys below, Coll de Jou disappeared in the clouds, but the tops of the mountain appearing.

To stay up in the same altitude for a longer time, the trail rarely does, at Cap de Balç, you already has been at the highest point on this ascent. Further, it goes downwards again, but not directly. Instead, it takes its time in a calmly manner and the first part of the descent offers both woods and a view of the valley that I will descend down into. From the top of the valley, there are only a few separated farms to see. The route follows a narrow road down, past a small hamlet, La Corriu, which of course has its own tiny church. Down through a forest with a lot of dense scrub, the route disappears again. If I were to be a little bit mean, but from a slightly humoristic side, I would say that a stage on the GR1 looks to follow a certain set of rules. At least one overgrown passage full of thorns. At least once shall the waymarking be so bad that the hiker takes a wrong turn. If you gained altitude, the route shall find the fastest way down again. Today, I have no reason to complain, it has been a very good day so far.

A road with some views.

I do not let myself be affected so much by the long road walk today, as I did yesterday. Maybe it is the trees that slowly folds above me and the road that is causing it, which wraps me in a comforting mood. At the bottom, before the trail begins its ascent again, lies the small hamlet Valls, where yet another Tour de France cyclist in metal stands outside a house. I seriously doubt that Tour de France has passed by here. After Sisquer, I find a small place in the sun for lunch and now I remember something that I have forgotten to tell about. I have still some left of the red wine that I got in Salinas de Trillo. To now, I have usually taken some comforting sips of it when I have taken a very wrong turn on the trail (there has been some sips), but today, I feel like enjoying some wine for lunch. The weather is nice and it is a good temperature.

GR1 waymark and name on a cliff near Valls.

I continue further down a lovely valley, Vall Aigua d’Ora, past the scattered houses of the village Llinars. The autumn colours are on their way and the leaves are more sparkling. A campsite lies hidden away up into the valley was well, but there is no café con leche to get before a couple hours. Traces of a larger road is crossed at Pont de Llinars, where a smaller bridge leads over to an old mill. The mill is guarded by a large barking dog. A rambling crow’s nest of a house lies just next by, an accumulation of junk.

In Vall Aigua d'Ora.

The crow’s nest is the large trace of a settlement when the route enters a remote valley. Down through the valley, the trail is following a river, at first in a forest above the river. A quiet walk among leaves waiting to explode in colours. Afterwards, the bumpy mule track begins to crawl out of the woods and move higher up alongside the side of the valley. A small bronze plaque upon which is written Mirador dels Presidents on, indicates more than enough that I will soon arrive at one of the greatest highlights of the whole trail when it comes to churches. Some kind of metal assembly is struck down into the top of the same rock; I guess it is there to hold a flag or something. Out from the brink, there is a very thin cliff ridge that crosses over the valley.

Ermita de Sant Pere de Graudescales seen from above, fall is on the way.

Out on the ridge cliff, I almost look straight down at Ermita de Sant Pere de Graudescales, lying in the middle of trees with yellow autumnal colours next to the river. It is situated in a lovely location, seen from here, but far up in an isolated valley. I would still have wanted to arrive here even later, when the autumn is in full fire, or after the first snow has fallen. Both would have given a special view of the church, but I would have preferred to see the church in the middle of the colours of the fall. From the cliffs, there is a small walk down to the national monument; it is not located directly at the trail, so you have to leave the GR1 to get there. Originally a part of a Benedictine monastery, it is a lovely church built in a Romanesque style. The door is locked, but you can look inside it, inside it is neat and tidy, so the church is probably still in use at times. A beautiful place.

The thin ridge cliff above Sant Pere de Graudescales.

I am almost at the end of the walk of today when I pass by a tiny chapel, on one side of the chapel there is a sign written Telefonos on, a direct line to God maybe? Sant Lleïr de la Vall d'Ora is another village where the houses lies separated from each other. Masia el Pujol, my accommodation for the night, is located at the top of a small hill and it is a short and pleasant walk up. The place is a nice mix of pleasant accommodation, farm, bar, lazy strange dogs and more.

Ermita de Sant Pere de Graudescales, a national monument in a secluded valley.

In the evening, I would sit out and enjoy the scenery, but here it gets quicker cold outside than in Sant Llorenç de Morunys, so I cannot hold out sitting out just as long as yesterday. Inside there is a living room the guests can use, rather messy, but which gives it a kind of homely touch. Deer is served to dinner. I end the evening watching a football match together with an old fellow that suddenly appears, Champions League, Barca against Manchester City. A more than approved day today.

Masia el Pujol in Sant Lleïr de la Vall d'Ora.

<- Sant Llorenç de MorunysGironella ->

GR1 Sendero Historico // day 40 // Cambrils - Sant Llorenç de Morunys

GR1 Sendero Historico day 40.
Distance: 26.8km (1173.0km), time spent: 8:42.
Waymarking: For the most part good, disappeared before Castell d’Oden.
Weather: Nice at first, then more overcast.

I wake up to the fortieth day on the hike. Think about that! The chilly, but beautiful morning at Puerto de Tarna only a distant memory, days between filled with an endless line of experiences. Both good and bad. Day forty also means that I am getting nearer to the end, which feels a little bit weird.

The small hamlet of Racó, the baroque chapel to the right.

Out from Cambrils, I choose to follow John Hayes’ advice. The original route is supposed to go on a nasty path next to the car road leaving the hamlet. The road should be better, but given how less interesting it is to walk on a road, I wonder about how bad it is on the trail itself. Fortunately, it is a little trafficked road, but I have to follow it for the next 6 kilometres. The view was more exciting in the direction here, than from here.

View from the road, Castell d’Oden is situated on the top of the hill in the middle.

Through the trees on the sides of the road can I see the waymarks of the GR1, but that path does not look that bad. The road passes by above a small hamlet, Racó, with a small baroque chapel. It is first when I go through a tunnel that I get an indication why it would be better to go on the road, to avoid the tunnel and the road, the GR1 descends steeply down a hillside that looks sort of treacherous. The ascent is supposed to be just as bad, but confirm it I cannot, then I had to follow the original route instead.

Ermita de Santa Cecilia with Castell d'Oden above.

Finally I can leave the road and set my feet on the GR1 again, but it is a shortly lived joy. From Oden, the route climbs up in the direction of Castell d’Oden (but not all the way up), by a small farm on the way, the route disappears completely in the scrub. A hint that it probably was ok to take to the road, but now I become frustrated by having to fumble directionless around in the thicket to locate the path. I decide to walk the straightest way up to the ruins, for then trying to relocate the trail afterwards. The route then reappears, out of nowhere.

Castell d'Oden, the guardians at the old castle are now only trees and vegetation.

Castle d’Oden is lying with empty contents inside the remains of its walls on the top of a hill, some very few details of the adornments has survived. In a straight line from the castle, I see the viewpoint I stood on top of yesterday, Mirador de Serra Seca, behind there again, Montsec de Rùbies. That ridge has now followed me in the horizon a long time. It is an improvement of the view today. Below the ruins, lies Ermita de Santa Cecilia.

View from Castell d'Oden, Montsec de Rùbies still in the background.

I am not able to keep the same pace and energy level today as I did yesterday, a simple picture of the difference between waymarking and quality of the surface you walk on, not to forget the 40km from yesterday (or the 1150km in total that I have walked). After the ruins of the castle, the GR1 falls down into a gorge, steep down and up again. The trail later emerges up above several large and mysterious cages, which looks like the huge birdcages from one of the Jurassic Park movies. The cages belongs to Zoo del Pirineu. I hope that the aviaries does not contain any pterodactylus. Instead of flying reptiles, I encounter two large dogs that meets me with fierce gazes. They seem at first threatening, but suddenly changes to behave like we are best of friends. Taking place ahead of me on the route, as if to show me where the way goes, all the time stopping and looking back to check that I go the correct path.

The huge aviaries of Zoo del Pirineu.

Fierce has also the sky started to be, scowling in over the landscape, grey and dark clouds are floating in. Gustier, more wind. Clouds lands and takes off again, temporarily covering up the landscape and the cliffs above me. In the walls of the cliffs there are small holes and openings visible, caves used by the Moors (Coves del Moros). Out of the small hamlet Canalda, I meet again the cyclist from Cambrils, on his way down to look at the chapel in the hamlet.

Dark clouds over the cliffs that houses the Coves del Moros, old caves in the cliffs that the Moors hid in.

If it is only the fatigue that comes into play again, I do not know, but I have not been that thrilled about today’s walk. It has been nice, but it has somewhat just got to that level and stayed there today. When the route leaves Canalda, after first having find the correct way, the most pleasant part of the day begins. First through a small and charming woods, then in a u-turn beneath some cliffs with water running down its sides. In the rainy season, this would have been an even cooler walk, then I would probably have walked inside a small wall of water. Inner most there is a small water source, Font de les Esplugues. Further inside lies Salt del Torrent de la Perdiu, here has the water from a cascade cut itself into the cliffs, but now almost no water runs down the waterfall. In the spring, this would be a great sight. The route continues below the cliff walls, past several caves.

Here the trail goes in a turn underneath the cliffs, when there is more water it will be several cool cascades running down the cliffs.

From Coll de Jou (1470m), the name sounds Pyrenean like, the route goes steeply down on a cumbersome and broad path caused by many rolling stones. I could see Sant Llorenç de Morunys a long way down from the top of the hill, there are about 650 height meters down. In Sant Llorenç de Morunys, I have got a room at Casa Joan, but before I find that, I go for a small beer in a bar in the old town. The hosts at Casa Joan speaks a Spanish dialect that I cannot figure anything out of, nor does any of the Spanish words I know help, but we do manage to find things out in the end.

Salt del Torrent de la Perdiu.

Some places just appear in such a way that they provide a relaxed atmosphere, Sant Llorenç de Morunys is exactly that kind of place. In the middle of the small town lies the old town inside its intact walls that originates from the middle ages. In the afternoon and evening, I sit and relax on the terrace of a local bar. I sit in my t-shirt and thinks it is a nice temperature, but the Spaniards seems to feel it is kind of cold, they sit tightly wrapped inside thick jackets. I eat a good pizza for dinner at a small local pizza place, with an interesting wall painting as backdrop.

It has been a nice day, but not of the most exciting kind, where I believe the highlight of the day actually was the stay here in Sant Llorenç de Morunys.

Sant Llorenç de Morunys.

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