Ten years ago we were motorhome novices, but now we feel like seasoned veterans…..most of the time…….
Saturday 28th May 2022
I do enjoy sitting with maps in my lap planning which road to take next. Our plans for next week are set in stone, so we only had to plan for the weekend. The road from the Costa Brava up to Vic and on into the mountains looked interesting and was pointing in the right direction for our plans ahead. Vic turned out to be in full swing with the Saturday market when we arrived, and as there was plenty of parking available, we decided to take a look around, purchase some more cherries and move on further west into the foothills of the Pyrenees.
I love the grey shaded outlines of layers upon layers of hillsides and mountains. I don’t need to be up on the top of the mountains, unless I have skis strapped to my boots. I just like seeing them grow as you approach and watch the lines of the layers shift. And when you find a milky turquoise lake deep down in a valley, the scenery truly glows. The road around Berga and along the BV4241 was tricky to find, but we got there in the end and the views were lovely.
You never know what’s around the next corner, there might be a better picnic spot and today was an example of that. We stopped in a layby before we reached the Panta de la Llosa del Cavall, which would have been a far prettier spot to stop, but we were getting hungry before then, so missed that opportunity. Instead, we stretched our legs when we got there and then found another road we hadn’t intended to take. It was a beautiful road which followed the Rio El Cardener and brought us directly into Solsona. We passed quickly through the north end of town and headed straight to Camping El Solsonès for two nights.
It was apparently necessary for Rodney to be in the bar at 9pm to watch the European Champions League soccer final between Liverpool and Real Madrid, so we ate in the campsite restaurant at 8pm and I left him there with a crowd of Spanish soccer fans…….
Sunday 29th May 2022
Today started late with a cooked breakfast eaten outside, surrounded by clean sheets flapping around us in the sunshine and breeze. They dried within 2 hours, brilliant! Then the bikes were un-hooked and we sailed downhill to the town of Solsona. No pedalling required for the 2 kms. Why are campsites always on the top of hills outside towns and villages?
At midday, Solsona was a sun-drenched, sleepy village, but there were a few folks roaming about. The town has a legend involving the accidental murder of a donkey. The bishop was kicked out of town and God punished the people with seven years of dry weather. When it did rain, milk apparently appeared at the top of a belltower and the mayor decided his donkey should be the first to drink it. So his donkey was made to climb up to the top of the tower, with a rope tied around his neck. The poor thing died on the way up, emptying his bladder over all of those watching. To this day, Solsonians are still referred to as Mata Rucs (donkey killers) and they still re-enact the event each year, with a fake donkey and hopefully without the peeing bit !!!
We performed our spontaneous urban meandering, an art we seem to have perfected, from one end of the old town to the other and back, via various narrow roads and alleyways We walked under ancient arched portals and poked our noses into the incredibly dark cathedral, finishing our meandering with a cold drink in the Placa Major. It’s the carefree, do-nothing wellbeing of being a retired traveller.
Rodney’s cycle ride back uphill to the campsite was a struggle, now blamed on having had a late night watching soccer, rather than the lack of an E-bike…..
