Let's Go Camping!

After the overwhelming events of babies and bellies everywhere I needed some fresh clean air, greenery and a little nature to still my mind and invite the summer in. And so there's nothing better than packing your essentials, grabbing a tent and going to the mountains. Oriol, Mollie the dog and I decided to do exactly that. Turns out that Oriol knows quite a bit about mountains and so we headed towards Garotxa, near Girona to go hiking and waterfall hunting.

We spent three splendid days surrounded by nature and people who actually smile with you and talk to you. There is something magical that happens when you remove yourself from the city, it is as if you remove that on-defense skin that we wear, where we don't smile, talk or look into the eyes of the fellow stranger sitting next to us. But when we are camping, surrounded by the creaks and sounds of the woods, we drop our defenses and actually make friends, even if they don't speak any of the languages we speak, you just simply smile and acknowledge that, yes we are all here on this earth, keeping clean and taking advantage of it...and that is exactly what we did on this weekend.
So the weekend went as follows, I got off of work and we headed to Sardenes which is a great little campsite with an old hostal in which the travelers of the good old days lodged and dined in.

The site itself was calming and just breathing in the fresh cool air of the mountains already had me giddy with joy, mind you that just a few days before I had had my wisdom tooth pulled out...so I needed some oxygen.
After setting up camp, Mollie, Oriol and I went to check out the trail we would be taking on the next day and on the way back we decided to go on a nice run where I got to show off my cool running skills to the dog who really could care less. After showering and getting that, "Yes! I'm at a campground" feeling, we went to an old medieval town nearby called Besalu, with a lovely stone bridge and old medieval homes and mini altars in the streets to protect the city. I found the imprisoned virgin quite interesting...a virgin behind bars:

The moon was full and the frogs were croaking and I was in mountain heaven.
After strolling around the town we headed back to our tent and prepared for the long day ahead of us.

And little did I know what I was to expect. We packed up our lunches and headed out hiking. It started out wonderfully on a dark mossy path trailed by the sounds of the river next to us. Oriol explained that the old moss covered stone walls I saw were territories marked by the traders of centuries ago that came from France to Catalunya. The path was famous for the bandits that hid in the woods and attacked the traders. You could also find old deteriorating remnants of hostals where travelers used to sleep in. I could feel the stories and life that the forest breathed and it was unreal to know I was walking on a path that was used centuries ago.


But then of course things started getting rough...Oriol couldn't ring the bell of the tower and just a few moments later we witnessed an 8 year-old do it

and then my turn came of inability. I tend to have a terrible fear of walking on wet rocks with a dash of vertigo and when you are in the mountains, you have heights, rivers and rocks. And of course, in order to get to a waterfall you have to climb and get wet and try to get over your fears instantly. Turns out that Mollie the Labrador is afraid of swimming (don't ask, but I think she's the only Labrador afraid of swimming in all of the eh Universe...). So here I am, perched on a rock contemplating my possible death as Mollie swims around frantically in circles trying to get out of the mess she just got herself into and Oriol and a helpful stranger trying to get over to the other side of the river as Oriol is telling me to stay still and soon he will rescue me. As I think back now, I laugh at how ridiculous both of us must have looked, the dog and I, but at that moment I have to admit I was quite shaken and frustrated. Needless to say, after Oriol pointed out the 80 year old woman with the walking stick who was climbing with grace and ease and if she could do it I could too, I finally made it to the other side and my prize was a view of an amazing waterfall with what almost resembled a blue lagoon. The water was crystal blue and breathtaking...literally.

We swam, took in the sun and I mentally told myself that my fears were in my head and that on the way back I would take it with ease and work on this silly terror that over takes me. Luckily, we were all in good spirits and I promised Mollie and myself a piece of steak after this.

We drank water from a famous fountain that had ice cold water and that had been around forever and made our way back to the tent.

That evening we sat around and rested our tired bones and Mollie her worn out doggy paws as children played football around us and laughter rang through out the campground. Then that night we went to a town nearby named Tortella which is known for it's organic food and eco-friendly citizens and had the best dinner I had had in a long long time as the town's teenage rock band played indoors.

The next day we went to Banyoles, which has Catalunya's largest lake and witnessed globalization come to life. Africans, Brazilians, Morrocans, Catalans and even a Californian were all swimming in the same waters and speaking in Catalan which was the best of all. It was so chaotic that it was harmonious and it reminded me of one of Monet's paintings. I shared my peach with the little Brazilian girls next to me as Oriol taught the African kids how to dive and Mollie napped in the shade. And it was exactly that, picturesque...

We dined at the campground's hostal that night and went over all the wonderful activities we accomplished and I considered leaving the city and exchanging it for something as simple as this, breathing and living nature. But the next morning I woke up, we re-entered reality and my phone started ringing...it was time to get back to work.