Archive for October, 2009
We began our return trip to the high Pyrenees with a visit to the annual horse fair at Esterri d’Àneu, almost at the end of the Noguera Pallaresa river. Apart from fairs helping bind local communities and provide entertainment during the autumn, they stimulate the local economy in what would otherwise be a quiet period between the summer and the winter months when tourists return for the skiing.
The stocky Pyrenean breed is not used for riding or even ploughing, however, but are a traditional part of the diet! Turning away from the food tent we were drawn to the procession - complete with its pyrotechnical dragon, El Drac, in this case based on the Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus aquitanicus). The protected Gal Fer is endemic to the forests hereabouts and are an emblem of this part of the Pyrenees. I must be one of the few people alive who has actually eaten one - many, many years ago I hasten to add!
Throughout Catalonia the Caps Grossos always parody local characters and are dressed in traditional costume. A good deal of ribald humour, often self deprecating, accompanies them in a parade.
We had good reason to go to the fair, however, as the north wind came straight from the Arctic, with a top-up dose of cold as it crossed the highest peaks for good measure. The fair had a splendid market on the fringe, just the place for buying warm hats and gloves in readiness for our day out in the Parc.
This time we stayed around the Lake of Sant Maurici, whose waters were whipped up by the chill wind. We explored the sylvan woodland along the lakeside, accompanied only by the brave!
In severe winters avalanches fall through the pine forest, cutting great swathes right down to the valley floor. Surpisingly perhaps, birch trees are the first to repopulate the newly cleared terrain. White birch (Betula pubescens) are a feature of this side of the Parc and it was in such a colony that we had our best moment of the day.
The red deer are in the midst of thier rutting season and this stag sported a magnificent set of antlers. Perhaps it was the season that overcame his usual caution and he remained close by during a two-minue ’stand-off’, facing down our exited huskies!
Lucky certainly thought she had landed on the moon; fortunately we were well provided with heavy dury restraint gear! We all slept well that night after our long day - but a good amount of four-legged sleepwalking took place!
Catalan Culture, Catalan Pyrenees, Catalonia, Cuisine, Favourite Walks, Lleida, Noguera Pallaresa | |
Access to the Catalan Pyrenees is improving all the time, with new roads, high speed trains and, as of this winter, a new airport at Alguaire near Lleida. But perhaps the best way to get there is to take the Tren Dels Llacs, which runs from Lleida to La Pobla de Segur on Saturdays from May to October*. The train itself is composed of a rake of carriages dating from the 1950’s, restored in every detail, even down to the sepia tinted photographs of Spain’s major cathedrals! The train also has a buffet car so it is very commodious!
Foreign passengers, especially the British, will perhaps be more interested in the locomotive aspects of the run, however, and will not be disappointed by the splendid Beyer-Garret type locomotive, nicknamed La Garrafeta by the original drivers, that hauls the train as far as the town of Balaguer. From here a pair of historic diesel locomotives take over, leaving La Garrafeta to wait for the return of the train that evening. The driver, laconic as befits his station (ouch!), told me that the diesels were used to save money, plus the smoke and fumes that accumulate in the long tunnels as the train penetrates the Sierra de Montsec, make the carriages virtually uninhabitable!
* the train doesn’t run in high summer due to the heat!
Briefs | |
It’s been year since we were in the Parc, before we became dog owners in fact, so that makes it ten years! But a brief respite from stormy weather in early October and visiting friends who wanted to go got me there without the huskies.
I was stunned all over again by the beauty of the scenery. As indeed is everyone else - I gather that the Parc is one of Spain’s most photographed sites - with good reason; the autumn tints over the Ratera lake never fail to please!
It took just an hour’s walk to get to the Mirador overlooking the Estany de Sant Naurici itself, lying in the shadow of the twin Encantats (enchanted) peaks. After all these years the distances seemed shorter (due no doubt to chasing walking the dogs all this time!) so we vowed to return with The Pack the following week. But in fact we went to the other half of the Parc, to the Aigüestortes (meaning twisting waters) themselves.
This side of the Parc features evidence of severe glaciation, making open views that are admired by all!
Further back down the valley we were treated to yet more autumn tints, shown here to perfection against a background of Black pines (Pinus nigra) that are a special feature of the Parc.
The weather worsened in the high mountains, however, so we took ‘refuge’ with an interlude in the Pre-Pyrenees, crossing the Sierra de Montsec. The distances here are remarkable, we could see the Sierra de Montsant, a good seventy-five kilometres away south over the Pla d’Urgell.
We had crossed the Montsec’s summit years ago, when we had a jeep, but now the track is well metalled thanks to Catalonia’s new Observatory, reflecting the fabulous air quality found on the summit.
The clearing air bode well for the following week’s return trip to the Sant Maurici, meanwhile the dogs were beginning to revell in the cold northern air!
Catalan Pyrenees, Catalonia, Favourite Walks, Lleida, Uncategorized | |
While we were in Navarre we couldn’t resist a visit to the Irati Forest, one of Europe’s most important woodland areas whose 17,000 hectares stretch westwards into the Basque Country and over the Pyrenees into France. The forest is most notable for its abundance of beech (Fagus sylvatica) and silver fir (Abies alba).
The approach to the Forest along the banks of the Irati river is verdant enough, with meadows being increasingly engulfed by woodland. But the road suddenly leaves the valley and climbs towards a cleft in the ridge.
Here the Forest’s ’secret’ nature is apparent and it is easy to see why it has remained isolated through time, maintaining an air of magic that spans the centuries and gave rise to numerous myths and legends!
Once under the canopy, however, the range and beauty of the habitat easily overwhelms the ominous sensations we had on our arrival - helped by the glorious August sunshine illuminating the new green foliage!
Timber extraction is both a pillar of the local economy and an essential element of forest conservation, however. Although the forest is relatively young, at 12,00 years it emerged after the last great ice age, it has had many stages in its development. Originally composed of oak this gave over to the predominating fir trees from the middle-ages. This in turn has been overtaken by beech in recent centuries due to the increasing lumber trade.
As with most forest areas, it is interesting to observe how fragile the habitat is, and how little material is required to support such apparently huge vegetation. A forest trail blasted through the surface reveals the scant soil on which the canopy evidently thrives.
Inside, it is easy to believe that the woods are endless, but climbing back out of the Forest its ’spell’ is broken by the sight of the distant peaks of the Pyrenees on the far side.
Back at the picture-post-card village of Ochagavia it is easy to guess how close we are to the French border - time to head home to Catalonia!
Environment, Favourite Walks, Navarre | |
