Day 1: Girona to Sant Pol, 45 kilometers
We decided to make our cycling trip a pilgrimage to call attention to the importance of the upcoming UN Climate Conference. Here’s the photo we used for our day one tweet. Kristina is in front of a large solar installation on the exterior of an office building just south of Girona.
We joined with thousands of other pilgrims through an organization called the People’s Pilgrimage. One group led by Yeb Sano, started walking from Rome a month ago and will arrive Paris just before the UN conference.
From Girona we cycled south on the Ruta del Carrilet, the old narrow gauge railroad route. We liked seeing reminders about the SFG trains.
Ruta del Carrilet is a mostly flat dirt path that is used by cyclists and pedestrians. Here we are riding by sugar cane fields, some harvested and some not.
Lunch on our first day started with barbecued bolet mushrooms and a wonderful salad.
Kristina is in front of an old station named Santa Cristina d’Arco.
There was even a train engine at one of the old stations.
We arrived at Sant Pol and were thrilled that our hotel was right on the beach. Here’s the view from our room.
Day 2: Sant Pol to Calella de Palafrugell, 48 kilometers
It was fun to start our day riding along the beautiful coast. We made signs for our panniers so the people we passed could read them and ask us about our pilgrimage. As part of our pilgrimage we decided to carry all our gear in panniers, so we aren't burning any fossil fuels for transit this week. Here's a link to an interview with Bill Gates about how a carbon tax could be used for R&D into renewable energies.
We turned away from the coast and rode up to this small medieval town.
We were glad to get back onto the Ruta del Tren Petit,
even when it was a rough path.
At times we struggled to find the small bicycle signs to let us know we were still on the route.
Pete had the written directions on his handle bar bag so he could read them while we rode.
Our route continued through agricultural areas,
and then back down to the coast.
We wound our way through the narrow streets of Palamós.
And continued to enjoy the beautiful coastal views as we rode north.
Our destination was the small fishing village of Calella de Parafrugell.
We stopped for lunch at restaurant El Didal with was just steps from the cove. Kristina is smiling because her grilled vegetables topped with romesco were fabulous.
Pete is posing just above the cove where El Didal is located.
After lunch, we had a short but steep ride from the picturesque cove to our hotel.
Day 3: Calella de Parafrugell to Torroella de Montgrí, 41 kilometers
We continued our ride along part of the beautiful Costa Brava.
Climbing up to an old lighthouse, we enjoyed the views of the coast.
We rode to the town of Parafrugell on a Sunday when their market was happening. There were lots of bolets for sale, soft and delicious mushrooms that we’ve loved eating in Catalonia.
We visited the cork museum in Parafrugell and learned a lot. Suro means cork in Catalan.
This exhibit shows how the boiled cork bark has to be pressed flat. Cork oak trees retain large amounts of CO2 so they help keep the temperature on earth from rising. Spain has half a million acres of cork oak forest that retain over 15 million kilograms of CO2 each year!
In addition to the history of cork-making, the museum also featured cork art. Pete is pretending to chest bump the cork statue.
Since we were on a pilgrimage, we are including this cork art of pilgrims going to Santiago de Compostela.
The cork oak tree has to grow for 25 years before its outer bark can be harvested. Harvesting the bark doesn’t harm the tree, it simply regrows its bark, which can be harvested again in about twelve years. As we rode away from Parafrugell we passed by warehouses that were storing cork.
And our route took us through areas of cork trees. Here Kristina is standing next to a tree where the bark on the lower trunk has been harvested.
We rode on to Pals, a medieval town on a hill.
It was challenging to ride on the steep cobblestone streets.
But the cobblestone patterns were beautiful.
We stopped for coffee and the restaurant’s terrace had this cool old bike. Kristina was happy to ride it just for the photo.
We walked around the old town, admiring the stone buildings.
Then we got back on our bikes and rode on. We saw fields of golden rice that were ready for harvesting.
We spent the night in Torroella de Montgri in the Fonda Mitja hotel where we were the only guests (since it’s past the summer season). This is our room with part of its original stone wall as a decorative feature.
Day 4: Torroella de Montgrí to Banyoles, 52 kilometers
We rode through orchards with beautiful espalier apple trees.
We liked seeing the bins of harvested apples.
Today’s ride took us on part of the Ruta del Ter across and along the Ter river.
Cycling tourism is popular in Catalonia, and the drivers tend to be respectful of cyclists. This sign is a reminder to drivers to share the road. We recently read about Exxon's knowledge of global warming 20 years ago, and can't help but wonder how much further along we would be at reversing global warning if they had broadcast their research rather than denying it to protect their record-level profits.
Here Kristina is emerging from a short section of single-track that wound through the woods on the day's route.
We put our rain covers on our bike panniers as it started to sprinkle. This covered up our People's Pilgrimage signs, but kept our stuff dry. We are following the progress of the People's Pilgrimage from Rome to Paris, and they are halfway there with 750 Km to go! We are also following the 15 international Buddhist leaders who too are demanding a binding agreement to limit global warming at the UN Climate Conference.
We stopped under a tree to avoid a heavy shower near. You can see the rain drops on Pete’s glasses.
We were wet from the rain so we went directly to our hotel to take showers and eat lunch. Pete is ready to scarf down his delicious pasta with more bolet mushrooms, this time in a cream sauce.
Day 5: Banyoles to Olot, 48 kilometers
We started the day with a ride around the pretty Banyoles Lake.
It was nice to see blue sky coming out over the water.
Riding away from Banyoles we took a shortcut through a farm.
We climbed up and into the Campmajor valley, the start of the volcanic area in Catalonia. It was fun to spot old stone buildings that are still inhabited.
We stopped to check out this stone bridge from the 12th century.
We could see Santa Pau, a medieval town, in the distance.
Santa Pau is in the center of the Volcano Natural Park that includes 30 volcanoes.
Inside the town we explored the old plaza.
The Catalonian independence flags were displayed on some of the buildings in Santa Pau.
We saw this sign made of tiles in one of the small plazas of Santa Pau.
This display of squash was outside a cafe where we stopped for coffee.
As we rode in the Volcano Natural Park, we were impressed with the green landscape.
Behind Kristina is a volcano. The volcanoes here last erupted over 11,000 years ago and are now covered in dense foliage.
We got lost for awhile on the trails through the forest.
We stopped at restaurant La Deu for a big lunch. Pete enjoyed his carne cocido where the meats had been cooked in stock.
We finished our meal with crema de Catalunya, which is similar to creme brûlée.
Day 6, Olot to Girona, 62 kilometers
Just outside of Olot Pete stopped to check out the harvested corn fields next to the cycle path.
Our route was another converted railway line to bike path. At times the route cut through hills and we felt as if we were riding through green tunnels.
We enjoyed views of the rugged rock formations, sometimes peaking out behind clouds.
Of course we loved finding cyclist graffiti!
Here's another shot of the fall leaves.
Although most of the route from Olot to Girona was downhill, we did have to climb one small pass in the morning.
We stopped for coffee in the town of Amer. This is the church bell tower.
The main plaza in Amer had the most Catalonian independence flags and signs we’ve seen.
About 10 Km outside of Girona we rode through the beautiful wooded marshes of Salt.
We rode 300 Km and finished back in Girona. The Collegiate Church of Sant Feliu (foreground) and the Cathedral of Girona (background on hill) looked beautiful from the bike path as we rode into the city. We felt tired but satisfied with our efforts on the pilgrimage.
Girona also has a lot of Catalonian independence signs. This restaurant’s sign says that independence will require struggle.
And we saw the Catalonian flag here too, with calls to be an independent state of Europe.
We walked around the old town and visited the Arabian Baths Museum. Built in the 12th century, Arabian baths were popular at the time. Here’s the interior of the dressing area.
This room was the frigidarium. Bathers started here with a cold water scrub, then proceeded to warm and hot rooms filled with steam.
As we continued our stroll we were struck by the rosy colored stone walls.
Girona's old quarter is so beautiful.
This is the archeology museum that is housed in a 10th century monastery, Sant Pere de Galligants.
We have been traveling in Spain for almost three months. It’s been so great that we are already thinking about when we can return. Next we go to Lisbon for a week, then on to Asia. Where will you be on November 21st? There's a climate march in Oakland . . .
