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Camino Routes
🇪🇸 Routes in Spain
🇪🇸 Camino CATALÁN (from Barcelona /Monts. /Llança)
Report of Cami Catalan May to June 2018 (Parts 1 and 2)
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[QUOTE="oursonpolaire, post: 643066, member: 1799"] As I walked much of the Cami Catalan in May of this year, I can confirm that this is an excellent and thorough;y up-to-date account of this route,. My Camino ended up being a bit disjointed as one of the first events was that my wallet was lifted in the train from Barcelona to Montserrat. In many training sessions, I have instructed pilgrims to keep a sharp eye on their valuables in Barcelona in the airport, stations, and public transit, but even contained in an inside zippered pocket, my wallet was a victim of local professionals. So instead of enjoying the abbey, I sat in the plaza with 7.80€ in my pocket telephoning Canada to cancel my cards and make arrangements for emergency cash and a replacement card. Mercifully, my passport was stowed away under my shirt but henceforth in Barcelona, it will be the money belt for me. Still, everyone was very kind and helpful, from the señor at the Celler de la Guàrdia in Sant Pau who assured me that these things happened all the time, and to pay him when I could (which I did at a bank in Igualada when I got my emergency cash) to the warm and supportive words from the Californian pilgrims who were on the Ignatian trail. The Celler has an albergue room in the basement (nicer than it sounds), but you do need to call ahead (+34 937 71 03 23). The señor speaks English— I could not get anyone to answer the telephone, so I booked a private room through a message to their Facebook page. Dinner was superlative, and the breakfast was one of the best I have had in Spain. Lindam covered most items of interest and use, but I will add a few others. I can dig up prices from my notebook if anyone would like. Cervera- The Hostal Bonavista, where I stayed, now has a nearby competitor, El Celleret, just across from the university, and which opened the day after my arrival. Cervera is a very pleasant little Catalan university town and has a great social club at the Casal de Cervera on the Plaça Santa Anna which gives a flavour how cultural and community life must have been in the franquista and post-franquista period. Curious as to what Spanish Chinese food might be like, I tried the local Chinese restaurant and realized that I should keep my Chinese food activities to a Canadian setting. Balaguer- I stayed at the Hotel Balaguer, on the quayside of the Rio Segre, where the staff were friendly and helpful. I had a celebratory dinner (of high quality....and price, but still likely under half the cost of its equivalent in Montréal) at the Tastet del Reng to celebrate the arrival of my replacement credit card and recommend it to a pilgrim needing indulgence or comfort. The museum of the Noguera had a fascinating exhibition of photography of the area during the civil war (Balaguer was the entry point into Catalonia of Nationalist troops and the careful observer can see a few bullet pockmarks on older buildings) and the curious may wish to visit the Church of the Miracle on Carrer del Miracle, as it is a converted synagogue from the time when Balaguer once had a sizeable Jewish community. The exit from Balaguer was much better marked than it was when I first did the Cami Catalan ten years ago, and generally the signing is improved and freshly painted. There were only a very few points along the entire Cami where it was unclear (Lindam’s description of the post-Chimillas stage should be noted) and the volunteers who attend to this should be congratulated. Algerri- I stayed at the Hostal Terraferma (+34 973 426 004), one of the many small-town hostales attached to a gasoline station/bar/restaurant which we find in Spain off the beaten track. Reception was in the gas station, and was friendly and efficient. The room was clean and basic, but at 24€ was fairly priced. I had a basic but satisfactory lunch at the restaurant. The restaurant is closed in the evening, but I had an excellent meal in the Cal Sigle (+34 672 36 90 07), a café 300m east of the Hostal Terraferma, on the south side of the road, which is run by a warm and friendly young couple. Tamarite de Litera- I stayed at the Casa Galindo, which I had frequented before on a previous Camino. Reception was warm and the food fine. I was able to enjoy a contest between several drum teams from the area, and applauded loudly for the Santiago drum team with its uniforms and the Cruz Espadon. In Monzón, I stayed at the snazzy new Hotel Mosmonzón. It was not inexpensive but I had decided that I needed to pamper myself, given the robbery of my first day, and that I was travelling alone. The pilgrim should not miss the chance to check out the Juderia, just behind the cathedral, remarkable for the Mudejar brickwork and carving, and the notices of clergy and parishioners martyred during the civil war. By this time, my foot was bothering me (details omitted) and I did not think I could easily do the Berbegal - Pueyo de Fañanás stage so I took the bus to Huesca to get it looked at. Succesful, I plunged on, more concerned about the nasty dogs at the Castillo de Azano, which had blocked my progress on two previous occasions. This time I was lucky and got through the grounds without any threats, and made it to Bolea through fields of wildflowers. Bolea has a wonderful museum at the Collegiate church, and every effort should be made to see the renaissance and baroque paintings and carvings. The Casa Ruffino was full, but a guest left early, and the señor prepared the room for me. Loarre- I stayed at a casa rural which I am not sure I would recommend, although the breakfast was very good, but would recommend the meals at the Casa O’Caminero, run by a cheerful young German chef and his Aragonese wife. I had planned to head over the Sierra de Loarre to Santa Maria, then to Ena, then to San Juan de la Peña, but by chance I encountered two Australian pilgrims– the first I had met in three weeks– who were walking from Santiago to Montserrat, and they recommended that I go to Ayerbe, then Murillo de Gallego, and head to Santa Maria from there. I liked this idea as there was a particularly decrepit bridge over a gorge on the path from Sarsamarcuello and I did not mind skipping that, even if it meant another day walking. This landscape is seriously Games-of-Thronesey, for fans of that series. The 7km highway walk from Ayerbe to Murillo de Gallego was really quite unpleasant in the rain, as it was a well-used provincial highway, but while I liked my stay at the Casona de la Reina Berta (+34 628 09 62 62)– dinner at either of the two restaurants along the highway below the town, where I had a long conversation with a Mauritanian waiter happy to speak French– and the Casona’s breakfast might have been the best I have every had in Spain, with cherries and walnuts along with all sorts of jamon and stuff, the next day featured heavy rain and the señor called the Civil Guard, who advised that I not try the Sierra de la Peña as the path might have become impassable. I hiked over to the station at Riglos and took the local train into Jaca, which ended my effort at completing the Cami Catalan. Taking the bus up to Pamplona and then the north coast along the Embalse de Yesa, I decided that discretion had been the better part of valour, as the waters had risen to cover one of the paths and also covered the hot springs at Tiermas. So I cannot comfortably claim that I completed the Cami Catalan, but I did try, and it was really interesting. I think that the robbery did knock me off my balance, but as an olive-skinned and flashing-eyed Guardia reminded me, I had kept my passport and I was not hurt. It’s only money. In other years, I walked the Cami Catalan in September, when it is dry and parched. To do so in May gave me a pleasant and cool(er) stroll through a garden of fruit trees and green fields speckled with fields of poppies. Most conversation focussed on the politics of the area and, coming from Canada, many many questions of Québec and its experience. The intensity of discourse reminded me of the early 1970s in Montréal, and I hope that the situation serves as an engine to creativity in music and art, rather than to less agreeable means of expression. This is a great Camino, and gives the pilgrim a touch of a deep Spain with very different regions of Catalonia with its orientation toward the Mediterranean and Aragon, still with a strong whiff of the middle ages and the reconquista. [/QUOTE]
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