Thanks Olot!

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After our final visit to Barcelona we rented a car and will spend the next three weeks touring Spain and Portugal finally winding up in Madrid. We decided to go counter-clockwise around the Iberian Peninsula (as the square-ish peninsula is called) first heading into the Pyrenees. Because it is still winter, our options were a bit limited so we are staying at the lower end of the Pyrenees and headed for the town of Olot.

We drove north along the Mediterranean coast then turned inland. It was a rainy day so we could not see a lot of scenery but one amazing site was what appeared to be in a rural red light district. We saw at least 10 women spread over 50 km each dressed like “ladies of the evening” just standing or sitting beside the road in the rain. We also saw several empty chairs and we’d like to presume they were on their lunch break.

When we arrived in Olot, the visitors’ center helped us find a hotel on Plaça Major right in the center of the old town. After checking in, we went for a walk around the village. It is a medieval town and the streets are too narrow for cars which makes for a lovely pedestrian mall. There is, of course, a huge church in the middle of town and the front of it looks like the Monastery Façade at Petra. I think Petra came first and I bet they are both influenced by the Greeks.

It was my birthday so we went looking for a nice place to have dinner. We found a tapas bar and ordered five tapas and a bottle of local wine. It was a good wine for me…simple, bold and fruity with no tannins. The tapas were good too; I especially liked the croquettes – deep fried balls of tuna salad. It was a nice birthday dinner.

The next day the sun was shining so we went for a seven mile hike in the Parc Natural de la Zona Volcanica de la Garrotxa. This is a park set up by the Catalonia government to protect the region around Garrotxa which is known for its volcanic domes and craters. The Visitor’s Center had told us about this hike and it was exactly what we wanted.

It was a short drive to the trailhead where we parked, grabbed our daypacks and began walking. The trail started out winding its way through a lovely beech forest. It is late winter so the trees have no leaves but there is some green from the holly and ivy. Then the trail entered farmland and made its way through a hodge-podge of short trails and road walks.

During the first significant climb the trail was pretty muddy but at the top of the climb we were rewarded by the site of a 1000 year old church and the sound of cowbells. We continued on down the hill then up the next hill and into a classic volcanic crater where there was a very small church at the bottom. Spaniards have built churches just about everywhere.

We walked back up over the crater rim and down the side of the cone to a parking lot and picnic area where we ate our lunch. By this time we were 2/3rd’s of the way around. The remainder of the walk was through forests like at the beginning and before we expected it, we found ourselves back at the trailhead.

We drove next to Santa Pau which is a medieval village with a castle and a church and many three story buildings clustered like mushrooms on the top of a small hill. We wandered the streets taking pictures but, other than looking around, there was not much to do.

So we went back to the car and drove back to town. As we headed toward Plaça Major we realized there was a festival going on. There were several hundred children dressed in costumes like our children do for Halloween. The square was packed and there was entertainment from a platform. I think it is part of Carnival, maybe a children’s celebration since none of the adults were in costume.

On Sunday we did a driving tour of the region. Our first stop was the Volcano Museum in Park Nou where we learned about the different types of volcanoes and even experienced an earthquake in their earthquake simulator.

Next we spent a couple of hours in the small town of Saint Joan Les Fonts. There we toured a small medieval castle, the church of a medieval monastery and took a short walk to look at lava flows. Both the castle and the church had nice exhibits with English translations but none of the three were very exciting. The church used to have a lovely altarpiece but it was burned during the Spanish Civil War. Sadly, we often read about something beautiful that used to be in a church but was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930’s.

So we headed for Besalu. It had a beautiful medieval town center and there was a market going on with most of the vendors dressed in medieval costume. We saw the fortified bridge and the nut seller. We listened to madrigals and watched the basket weaver. We bought a bottle of wine (are you surprised?). There were plenty of crowds but it was not too crowded and the weather was nice. We really enjoyed Besalu.

Then we went to a late lunch at a restaurant that specializes in local foods. We ordered the set menu and it was five courses! First was bread with cured ham. Second was cannelloni in a cream sauce. Third was rice with mushrooms and sausage. Fourth was pork cheeks served with steak fries. Finally fifth we had Crème Brule but they called it Catalan Cream. All of this plus wine and water and I was way too full.

Thus ended our stay in Olot. We would have liked to stay longer but Spain is a big country and we want to sample more of it.

Next stop: Andorra (Have you ever heard of it?)

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Photos

Besalu Bridge
Fortified bridge in Besalu.

Church Facade Olot
Reminds us of the facades in Petra

Church in a Volcano Crater
The volcano has been quiet for over 9,000 years.

Little Cutie
One of the many little ones in costume for Carnival.

Sunset in the Pyrenees
For you, Ling.

Violets
Spring is approaching.

Comments

[Ling Li]

Sunset
Ah......another beautiful sunset......Thanks! Enjoy Andorra! That counts as another country on your list. Are you planning on skiing there? I spent a week skiing there many many years ago and loved it. Enjoy the tax-free shopping!!!