Today has been a cloudy grey day in Barcelona and a bit cold.
Claire Fontaine and TheGrandma have decided to take their bikes and go for a little ride to Sitges to enjoy the Garraf massif and to be able to observe the birds that live there.
It is a route of about 5 hours and 80 kilometres that allows you to enjoy one of the most beautiful and, perhaps, unknown Natural Parks along the GR-92.
The Garraf Massif, in Catalan Massís del Garraf, is a mountain range of the Catalan Coastal Range. Its cliffs reach the Mediterranean waters. Its highest point on the coastal side is La Morella, 593 metres above sea level and further inland rises the higher, although less conspicuous, Montau (657 m).
The Garraf Massif gives its name to the Garraf comarca, as well as to the little seashore village of Garraf. It is located south of Barcelona, between the coastal towns of Castelldefels and Sitges. The small town of Olivella, Plana Novella with its Buddhist monastery, as well as the abandoned village of Jafre are located in the middle of the massif, in the Natural Park area.
This coastal calcareous mountain range is sparsely wooded, and has many rocky denuded areas. The main vegetation is maquis shrubland and the Mediterranean Fan Palm is an endemic species of these mountains. It has over 400 karstic shafts and caves, including La Falconera, a very large cave with an underground lake.
The Garraf Park is a 12,376-hectare area of natural interest that is part of the Network of Natural Parks protected, promoted and managed by the Barcelona Provincial Council through the Area of Natural Spaces and Green Infrastructure.
The park is spread over the municipalities of Avinyonet del Penedès, Begues, Castelldefels, Gavà, Olesa de Bonesvalls, Olivella, Sant Pere de Ribes, Sitges and Vilanova i la Geltrú. It is twinned with the Italian parks of Riserva Naturale Monte Soratte (2000) and the Parco Naturale della Maremma (2001).
In the park you can find remains of ancient human occupation (such as the castle of Eramprunyà and the abandoned villages of Campdàsens and Jafre) and farmhouses that are still dedicated to agriculture or park services (such as Can Planes and La Pleta). Right on the border of the park there is also the Creu de Sant Isidre, on Puig d'en Boronet, much appreciated by the people of Sitges.
The coastal situation determines a typically Mediterranean climate, with scarce but torrential rains in spring and autumn, mild and temperate winters, and hot and dry summers. This last characteristic limits the number of animal species capable of settling there. In order to withstand these conditions, plants develop a series of adaptations aimed at survival and improving their effectiveness in competition with other plants.
The torrential nature of the rains causes an extraordinarily powerful mechanical erosion that drags away all kinds of materials; if we add chemical erosion, which dissolves the limestone rock, the effect is impressive: deep and steep valleys and streams, with a tortuous and beautiful layout that the people of the country call fondos.
Claire Fontaine & TheGrandma has visited ElGarraf, a wonderful county near Barcelona where you can find six unforgettable towns with strong personality, old history, many cultural events, amazing natural landscapes and nice inhabitants.
Last summer, The Grandma also visited the GarrafAstronomical Observatorywith Joseph de Ca'th Lon who knows this zone perfectly and who studies another kind of population which lives in this zone, the Peregrine Falcon.
Before arriving by train to Vilanova i la Geltrú, the capital of the county, The Grandma has studied a new lesson of her ElementaryLanguage Practice manual (Vocabulary 16).
Vilanova i la Geltrú is a city in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia and the capital of the Garraf county. Historically a fishing port, the city has a growing population of approximately 66,000, and is situated 40 km south-west of Barcelona.
The town has a long history, and experienced an efflorescence during the Romantic period evidenced by a wealth of opulent 19th century buildings. The atmospheric town square, the Plaça de la Vila, and many of its iconic public buildings were principally financed by Josep Tomàs Ventosa Soler (1797-1874) a textile magnate who made his fortune in Cuba. A monument featuring a bronze statue of Ventosa stands in the center of the square. An identical monument stands in Matanzas, Cuba, where both statues were forged.
Claire Fontaine in Plaça de la Vila, Vilanova i la Geltrú
During the dictatorship, large numbers of people fleeing poverty in Southern Spain settled in Vilanova. They are sometimes referred to by historians as fugitives of fascism. Although they experienced prejudice they became increasingly accepted and known as els altres Vilanovins or the other Vilanovins.
By 1970, a majority of the town's population had been born elsewhere. In the first decade of the 21st century, there was another wave of immigrants, called nouvinguts or newcomers locally, this time primarily from North Africa, South America and Eastern Europe.
Located 46 km from Barcelona and 44 km from Tarragona, it has the thirdlargest port of Catalonia and is a major fishing port. The Brotherhood of Pescadors of Vilanova derives from the powerful and ancient Brotherhood of Sant Elm, founded in 1579.
And it is through participating in local festivals that Vilanovins, whether natives or recently arrived newcomers, intensify their sense of belonging to a community dedicated to active engagement between neighbors or convivència(coexistence).
Canyelles is a town in the northeast of the Garraf county in the south of Barcelona province, Catalonia. It is home to a 15th-century castle.
Main festivals in Canyelles include Xatonada Popula, Festa Major de Canyelles (July 22), Petit Festa Major (September 10), and Fira de Santa Llúcia (1st Sunday in December).
Cubelles is a municipality in Catalonia, in the province of Barcelona. It is situated in the county of Garraf.
Visiting Canyelles and Cubelles Castles, Garraf
Josep Andreu i Lasserre (April 23, 1896-July 26, 1983), best known as Charlie Rivel, was an internationally known Catalan circus clown who was born in Cubelles.His parents Pere Andreu Pausas (Catalan) and Marie-Louise Lasarre (Occitan) were circus artists as well.
He debuted at the age of three and formed the group Los Rivels with his brothers Polo Rivel and René Rivel. He took his artistic first name from CharlieChaplin whom he encountered first in 1910. Each respected the other. Legend has it that Chaplin later asked him: Is it you who imitate me or I who imitate you? He later discovered his definitive routine, featuring a chair, a guitar and a long jersey.
In 1971, he appeared in Federico Fellini's film Clowns.
The Charlie Rivel Hall in Cubelles is a museum dedicated to him.
Sant Pere de Ribes is a town in the center of the Garraf county, in Barcelona province, Catalonia. The remains of a 12th-century castle once ruled by the troubadour Guillem de Ribes are in the town.
Main festivals include: Festa Major de Sant Pere (June 29), Festa Major de Sant Pau (January 25), Festa Major de Santa Eulàlia (February 12) and Festa Major de Sant Joan (June 24).
Olivella is a municipality in Catalonia, in the province of Barcelona. It is situated in the county of Garraf.
Visiting Sant Pere de Ribes and Olivella, Garraf
The first known village in the area was founded in 992 around a castle known as Castell vell.
The inhabitants lived off dryland agriculture. This initial nucleus was almost abandoned after the black plague caused numerous deaths. The area was resettled in the 14th century and gradually prospered. Nowadays there are some new housing developments in the area as well as the Sakya Tashi Ling. Buddhist monastery, located in Plana Novella.
The village is located in the Garraf Massif, in a natural park area, not far from Barcelona.
Sitges is a town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, in Catalonia, renowned worldwide for its Film Festival and Carnival. Located between the Garraf Massif and the sea, it is known for its beaches, nightspots, and historical sites. There are 17 beaches.
Visiting Sitges, Garraf
While the roots of Sitges' artistic reputation date back to the late 19th century, when Catalan painter Santiago Rusiñol took up residence there during the summer, the town became a centre for the 1960s counterculture in mainland Spain, in Francoist Spain, and became known as Ibiza in miniature.
Sitges has been
referred to as the Saint-Tropez of Catalonia, with property prices
approaching those of the most expensive European cities, the main reason
for this being the setting by the sea and the surrounding Parc Natural del Garraf.
Almost 35% of the approximately 26,000 permanent inhabitants are from the Netherlands, the UK, France and Scandinavia, whose children attend international schools in the area.
Human presence in the area dates to at least the Neolithic area, and an Iberian settlement from the 4th century. In the 1st century BC it included two separated villages, later absorbed by the Romans.
During the Middle Ages, a castle was built in Sitges, owned by the bishopric of Barcelona, which later ceded it to count Mir Geribert (1041). In the 12th century the town fell under the rule of the Sitges family. The latter held it until 1308, when Agnes of Sitges sold the town to Bernat de Fonollar, after whose death it went to the Pia Almoina, a charitable institution, to which it belonged until 1814.
The Bonds have just arrived to TenerifeIsland in Canary Islands. They are going to stay four days in the island enjoying the carnival, one of the most famous around the world.
There are three kinds of carnival. For one hand, you can enjoy the pro-protest carnival, where people wear different costumes and are critic with real characters o situations, especially, politics and religious. You can find this carnival in places like Vilanova i la Geltrú or Sitges, in Barcelona. For other hand, you can enjoy another carnival, a great coloured-party where people sing and dance without stopping. You can find this carnival in places like Rio de Janeiro in Brazil or TenerifeIsland in Canary Islands and finally, there is Venice. Venice is Venice.
Carnival is a synonymous of costumes and fake identities, and this is the reason because of the family is starting to prepare their own fake profiles.
The Bonds have wanted to visit the lucky islands because of Montse Bond, who has an old friend in the island, Nikka and she wished to visit her but they're not only going to participate in the carnivale, the family wants to climb up Teide, the Canarian volcano and visits two more islands: Hierro and La Palma, two volcanic islands very important for the future of the planet.
These two visits are the reason because of The Bonds are assisting in that moment to a conference about occupational hazards. They want to climb up volcanoes and walk across high dangerous sismic zones and they need to know as things as it was possible about protection against these dangers.
Since 1765,
when Carlos III, the Spanish king, had to be more flexible with the commercial
monopoly of the Southern Spanish ports over Cuba, we have news about Catalan migrants in this Caribbean Island.
The beginning of the Catalan Industrial Revolution and this political resolution
marked the economic success of some Catalan migrants in the island during the
first half of the 19th century (1820-1840). During those years, the
Catalan migrants had an intensive commercial activity and they became in new
members of the Cuban society. In Santiago de Cuba, the commercial activity was
so big than native people say “I go to the Catalan” when they went to the winery
and surnames like Baró, Martí, Alegret, Ametller or Arnau mixed with the native
ones.
Judges like
Josep Verdaguer, businessmen like Facund Bacardí Massó (founder of Bacardí Rum)
and Jaume Partagàs i Ravell (founder of
Partagàs Tobacco Factory), bankers like Narcís Gelats (founder of Banco Gelats)
or religious like Antoni Maria Claret, the archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, were
only an example of personal successes in the island.
The existence
of the Modernism art in La Habana is a great influence of the Catalan artists
in architecture, painting and sculpture. The main Catalan settlements were Guantánamo,
Santiago de Cuba, La Habana, Matanzas, Bayamo, Manzanillo and Holguín.
Those who
became rich and had fortune returned to their hometowns and built Indian-style
houses. They missed the island and tried to evocate the Caribbean architecture in
towns like Cambrils, Torredembarra, Sitges, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Arenys
de Mar, Blanes, Lloret de Mar, Palafrugellor Begur.
Lots of
Catalans helped Cubans in the Independence Wars against Spain (1868-1878 and
1895-1898) and some years later, lots of Catalans loyal to the Republican
troops must emigrate: it was a political exile (1936-1939). Some of them,
famous intellectuals, contributed to found prestigious institutions and
universities (Universidad de Oriente, 1947) and worked in them. Nowadays, the
influence of Caribbean culture is still visible along the Catalan coast in the architecture
and in the traditions.
Local people celebrate parties to reminisce these cultural
influences where Havaneres (Cuban-Catalan
music) and rum are the main protagonists.
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