Los Pireneos

"I kind of forgot that places like this actually exist," I recall saying casually to my friend while trekking through the Pyrenees just yesterday. I'm sitting here looking out my window at clusters of modern buildings and streets thinking that it's kind of crazy that twenty four hours ago we were in one of those places. We were in Taüll, a small village of 300 hidden and tucked away in the Pyrenees mountains. It was one of those places that most have never heard of or will ever step foot in, but has so much mysterious charm and awe because of it.

When we got in on Friday afternoon the rain promptly followed the dark and ominous clouds that seemed to time their arrival over Taüll with ours. At first I thought that this was the last thing I could want to happen during our free time to explore the village however it cast a rather sublime tone over the town. We wandered around the village on narrow cobblestone streets carving their way through the old stone buildings of the seemingly abandoned old town. The two twelfth century romanesque churches at each end of the village provided shelter from the rain. I had such a peaceful feeling of comfort and awe while sitting on a pew in the dark 900 year-old stone churches listening as it poured outside. The view from the top of the bell-tower was also quite incredible.

That night we found hot chocolate in a very small restaurant next to one of the churches and sat listening to the rain outside and enjoying the warm atmosphere inside. There I found a friend named Flo, a giant Pyrenees dog who walked into the restaurant like he owned the place and of course wouldn't leave your side once you start petting him. A gentle tap on the back from an outstretched paw would remind you of his presence the instant you stopped petting him. At around midnight we left the restaurant and simply walked up the small hill to our hotel.

Thankfully the rain stopped when we awoke at 8 am the next morning and boarded a bus for Igüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park, one of the 14 national parks of Spain. When the bus drove as far as it could we were packed like sardines into old rickety Land Rover jeeps with two rows in the back facing inwards. While zipping up the extremely narrow and curvy paths up the mountain I tried to avoid looking out the window when going around a curve as a sheer drop took the place of the road below us. Somehow we made it safely to the trailhead and went on a breathtaking 4 hour hike in such crisp, fresh air. The scenes were absolutely incredible and seemed to me the epitome of nature. The photos really don't do justice and it is so hard to put such beauty into words.

I highly doubt that I'll ever be able to return to the same spot but it sure has made its mark on me. Each thought I have about the town of Taull and of the national park that we barely made our own mark in with only 4 hours to explore still and always will strike me with a bit of awe.

lunchtime:

Roadblocks:

Flo!

12th century church