PYRENEES ADVENTURE 2012 (Part 7)

Sunday 1 July 2012...continue...

Sant Pere de les Maleses

Rather unexpected outbreak of meditarenean thunderstorm forced us back to seek shelter in our car. The rain was so heavy, that even if we wanted to drive off, we simply couldn't. Having no other choice but wait for it to pass, we snuggled in and kept our hopes high. To our astonishment, less than 15 minutes later, the sun came out, the skies cleared, and you'd have thought we had imagined the storm. After aditional 15 minute wait, I decided to take a second chance and explore the area. It was shortly after 7.20pm, when I grabbed my daypack, Nero and we started to walk. This time, the weather was absolutely beautiful, the air was cooled by the rain, and as you walk above 180m, you could feel a light breeze blowing in from south. However, the earth under our feet remained parched. The amount of rain that fell, was nowhere enough to rehydrate the land. Seem that summers here are extremely dry.

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The going here wasn't easy, some sections were quite steep and the small sharp rocks made it slightly uncomfortable for my dog to walk on them. Knowing the terrain was gonna be this rough, I would have equiped Nero with his walking boots. Strangely enough the little guy did not seem to be bothered by it at all. He kept on happily going ahead, leading the path like he was the tour guide. Around 45 minutes into the hike the path became narrow and steep, leading us through dense forest into thick bushes down to the stream. Once at the stream, the path continued  ahead, so we had to cross over. It wasn't very difficult, but it was a very slippery going! Once on the other side of the bank, we struggled for another few minutes through a "jungle" and then we came to it's end. In front of us laid ruins of what once used to be Sant Pere de les Maleses Monastery, built under the dramatic cliffs of the Congost de Collegats. The monastery being objective of this walk, and it's main value are the spectacular views over and into the ravine itself as well as the surrounding countryside. As one enters the ‘secret’ barranc of Sant Pere there is a sense of walking back into pre-history; a sensation increased by the brooding cliffs and the ever present vultures circling overhead and landing on their roosts.

Nero on top of the ruins inside the monastery

ruins of the monastery

Nature: The Congost de Collegats cuts through the Boumort massif, which consists of deep limestone strata interspersed with conglomerate rock, resulting in dramatic ‘tor’ structure, e.g. the Roca de l’Eslugueta, above the village of Hortoneda, which dominates the landscape to the south east of the Congost. Thanks to water erosion the limestone cliffs provide habitats for nesting birds, especially vultures. Griffon vultures roost here and the walk is ideal for viewing them. Bearded vultures can often be seen. Red and fallow deer stray across the river from the Boumort Reserva Natural, taking advantage of the swathes of uninterrupted woodland, mainly black pine that thrives of the limey soils. Along the riverbank herons can frequently be seen along with kingfishers and other waterfowl, and there is a noted population of otters and even genuine wildcats! Returning to geomorphology, the other specific feature of the walk, La Cova de la Serpent, is encountered near the apex of the trail, over 200 metres above the river. Indside, the mystery of the name is revealed; in the ‘ceiling’ of the main chamber there is a lesser chamber whose ‘floor’ has collapsed. The sinuous form of this chamber make it look serpentine indeed!

From the monastery we had to backtrack a bit, for about 10 minutes and follow another path down toward a ford over the stream towards the ‘Cova de la Serpent’. At the ford, the stream crosses smooth shelving rocks . I've noticed few rock pools just upstream suitable for bathing! Once Nero spotted them, he couldn't resist not to jump in for a short swimm. The current in the stream was a bit strong, and it was amusing watching Nero being gently slapped against the rocks now and then.

 Leaving the ford the path had set off uphill to the right. The yellow daubs forsake it permanently from here on but the cairns continue and the path is unmistakable from here on. At the top of the slope the trail entered a area of burned forest. At about 200 metres above the river, it is vertiginous indeed! The Cova de la Serpent is towards the end of this fairly level section, following a steep zigzag climbs to the only nasty bit of the walk; a short exposed section right under the cliffs with no handholds – but it’s only a few metres! Here Nero had to walk on leash right behind me. Any small mistake and we both would plunge into the ravine. Continuing onward, the trail lead us steeply back down to the ravine, where we reached the main road between the two tunnels. We followed the old road, which goes along the riverbank, all the way back to the car park.
 It was exactly 9.30pm when we returned back at the starting point, and that meant the route took us less than 2 hours to walk. I must admit, we walked quite fast. If we had more time, I sure would stop a lot to photograph most of the breathtaking scenery. The sun began to slowly set and we stayed to watch it going down. It was a sight to behold. What a great end to long and exhausting day.

Nero swimming in the ravine

water and electrolyte refreshment

natural ravine pools

Back at the cottage, we ate some dinner, soaked are sore feet (my feet and nero's paws) in a mix of different healing salts and warm water, and went early bed to get enough sleep for next day's long hike to the peak of El Pic del Portarro (2,736m) at d' Aiguestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park.