Girona to Olot and HF Holidays Hiking
  The second half of my time in Catalonia would be 5 days hiking with a well-established company from the UK, HF Holidays. I had a day to explore a bit in Girona before heading north to Olot, to begin my hiking adventure. 
  Upon arrival dining that evening, I met the other 20 or so hikers, mostly from a Canadian hiking club, several from UK, and me the one person from the US. We met our tour leader, Jill, and our two guides, Berta and Maddy.  Berta and Maddy live in Catalonia and are experienced mountain tour guides and as we learned, are very good at what they do. 
   I think everyone was over 68 years old, one lady who could pass for late 60’s, was 92 and another 88 or so. They were fit and experienced hikers and we were all duly impressed with their stamina and skills.
  The hikes often were challenging, technical trails with steep climbs and descents, averaging about 7 miles and around 1200 gain.  We hiked in Garrotxa Volcanic Zone national park into a volcanic crater formed 11 million years ago.
  After a few days in the Garrotxa area, we boarded our bus to Porto de la Selva, about 30 miles south of French border, on the Mediterranean Sea, where we would do more hiking in a coastal national park.  This area boasts the origins of Club Med and there’s a lengthy history to the establishment, then decommissioning of it.  Additionally, Salvador Dali spent many nights camping in this area, gathering inspiration for his weird (so the Gypsea thinks) art. We walked the Cami de Ronda, about 135 miles total (nah we didn’t go THAT far) along Costa Brava
   It was such a wonderful experience, meeting all these inspiring hikers and hearing their stories, getting to know the guides, and learning about HF Holidays, which I’ll definitely travel with in the future.
   We all said our goodbyes, and I boarded a bus to Figures where I’d get the train to Barcelona for a few days there before retuning (business class; yay!) to the US after this 20 some day excursion.  
   Next up ... a weeks' cycling with friends much closer to home.

Multi-sport Serinya
    Seemed like the longest flight of my life, Portland to Barcelona, especially in economy seating.  I was fortunate to have a pass to the United lounge in Chicago, which certainly made a nice break before the 10-hour onward leg to Barcelona. I found the bus from the Barcelona airport to town, seeking the second bus to Serinya for this first part. Challenge: quickly adjust to nine hours time difference.
    Navigating cities, whether by foot or bicycle has always been a challenge for me, but I had 4 hours in Barcelona until the bus to Serinya arrived.  Whew; finally found it with the assistance of a kind local!  Interesting to people watch on this busy Sunday afternoon, shopping, cycling, hanging out in the numerous parks, and enjoying the pleasant weather. Bicycle traffic is heavy with dedicated lanes and lights, with separated pedestrian crossings in most places. 
   Arriving in Serinya, I was greeted by my hosts Gareth and Fiona from Mas Peligri, a sports oriented hotel a short mile from the village, in a historic building previously a pilgrim guest house.  Everything that could bloom was blooming which made for some miserable sinus activity. Upon arrival, I learned about the successful efforts the owners, former competitive athletes, to establish sustainable, off-grid livability, sparing no amenity.  Although I didn’t use the large lap pool, I managed to attended many daily, hour-long yoga sessions most mornings.
   Armed with various maps and recommendations, I ran trails, bicycled on road and gravel, and hiked over the 10 days of my time there.  I had breakfast and most dinners on site and the food was varied, plentiful, and delicious.
   I rented an excellent Specialized gravel bike and on one day, rode about 25 miles round trip on the Via Verde to Lake Banyoles . It was a weekend, and very busy with families, runners, cyclists of all kinds, strolling around the lake and enjoying lakeside dining. The boat houses were unique from any that I’ve ever seen in the US.
   I didn’t make the road ride all the way to L’Escala where the Greeks then Romans settled about 2700 years ago.  The roads were great and traffic, what there was of it, was most respectful and once again, I felt safer riding in another country than I have at home. The killer was the long, relentless climbs to get over the coastal range to the sea.  I aborted, as I realized I couldn’t enjoy the museum and get back before dark!  I took the bus there another day. The museum was phenomenal, with audio guide in one’s choice of language.  The work to preserve and reconstruct this huge historic site is evident with every step I took, enhanced with the audio commentary.
   I had never considered the strong passion people have to identify as Catalonian and not Spanish in this area of NE Spain. Going NE from Barcelona, the signage was in either Catalan or English. The smaller the village, the more passionate locals seemed to be and mostly speak Catalan or English. Additionally, I think anyone visiting Catalonia is well advised to spend at least 3 days at Mas Peligri, enjoying a challenging mountain or road bike ride and hearty dining with the most wonderful of hosts.
​On to Part 2, departing Serinya for Girona then on to Olot.