Bot to Horta

We walked from Bot to Horta on the 6^th of May. Considering the fact that this was a 26km walk, the food in Horta had better be good! Ok, so the food was worth the walk. We can only wish that the restaurants in Canada felt the need to entice us with such menus! I’ll tell you more about the lunch later.

The walk was breathtaking. We went the first half of the way … from Bot to Horta along the Via Verde, or Green Way. Did I already tell you about this? It’s a series of pathways along the old railway tracks in Spain that have been marked and maintained in beautiful condition. The scenery is amazing, with old villas and bridges along the way. We passed through tunnels that are now lit with solar motion lights so that you have no problem walking through. There are no cars or motorized vehicles allowed, so you were very safe. We saw wild mint, rosemary, sage, thyme, and bay all along the path that rivaled the sight of olives, grapes, almonds and peaches!

The old rock walls … some built by the Franco regime and some by the resistance were simply incredible. I can’t tell you the politics in Spain as I really didn’t understand it, but I did understand that Franco was NOT a nice guy!

The lunch in Horta was our first taste of Menu Del Dia. The people in Catalunya do not speak Spanish. They speak Catalan. This is a cross between French and Italian, so we had a great time with the translations! The food was copious. Let me explain.

When you order “The Menu of the Day” in Catalunya, you are really getting a bargain! This meal costs anywhere from 7Euros to 13Euros (in our experience, anyway) and includes either 2 or 3 “plates” of food. On top the plates, you also get wine and water, plus a dessert and sometimes coffee or tea. The first plate is, of course, an appy. This can be a salad or soup or juice or other delicacy … each restaurant is different. The only similarity to me seemed to be that once I was finished my appy, I was full!!! And there were more plates to go! Of course, they expected you to finish everything, or you weren’t healthy. Sheesh!!

The walk back to Bot was through the mountains where all (and I mean ALL) the grades of the hills were 10%. We believe the roadbuilders got a deal on the signs. It was far more difficult than the 13k Horta, and both Corry and I were in bad shape at the end of it. The boys pretended that they were fine( … sure … sure….).  Margaret and Ronald were definitely ok. They’re in incredible walking shape!