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| A day of trekking & swimming |
Today, Tonyi Tamaki has joined Josep de Ca'th Lon, Tina Picotes, Jordi Santanyí, Claire Fontaine and The Grandma on their coastal route along Costa Brava.
Tonyi Tamaki, who was born in New Zealand, is a great expert in flora and fauna and she is going to explain interesting things about pines, one of the most common trees in this coast.
The friends have visited Cala Pedrosa, a wonderful place where they have enjoyed the beach, taking sun and swimming into these claer and increadible waters.
While The Grandma has been relaxing in Cala Pedrosa, she has been studying a new lesson of her Ms. Excel course.
Chapter 15. Import and export data in Excel (III) (Spanish Version)
FROM TRES PINS TO SANT SEBASTIÀ
Departure point: Els Tres Pins (Calella).
Arrival point: Sant Sebastià Mountain.
Distance: 2,450 m.
Duration: about 50 minutes.
Type of path: a coastal path with some slopes with flights of steps and a section.
Description of the route: the entire route follows the red and white GR-92 markers. Follow the path along the coast until reaching to Llafranc Beach; walk all round the bay until you get to the port. At the entrance of the port, on your left hand side you hava a stairs that goes up to the road. Take the road until you get to Sant Sebastià lighthouse.
Points of interest: off the route; Llafranc, Roman wine press, Santa Rosa Church. Historical assets in Sant Sebastià: the Iberian settlement (6th century b.C.), watchtower (15th century), the Hermitage (18th century), the lighthouse (19th century), the viewpoints, the image of the Divine Shepherdess and the image of Sant Baldiri.
Recommendations: follow the red and white GR-92 markers, do not take this route if there is an easterly storm, use comfortable footwear and take water.
Description
After La Punta de la Torre, carry along the coastal path towards Llafranc. This route allows you to enjoy the peacefulness of the area.
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| Jordi Santanyí visits Sant Sebastià Lighthouse |
Go along la Marineda, Passeig Xavier Miserachs and when you get to plaça Marinada, go down the Garbí steps that take you to Passeig Francesc de Blanes and to Passeig de Cípsela, to the Bay of Llafranc, with all kind of services; hotels, restaurants, bars, diving centres, supermarkets, shops, rental agencies…
Continue up the stairs next to Llafranc Port and after going up a large number of steps (*) follow the road that climbs Sant Sebastià Mountain, until reacing th viewpoint in front of the lighthouse from which there is a wonderful panoramic view of Calella and Llafranc. Carry on a little further until reaching the Sant Sebastià esplanade.
If you look at the sea from the viewpoint, you will see that the horizon looks to be curved due to a strange optical effect. This is a section that is recommended for people who would like to get to know part of the coast of the municipality without having to walk very far. The section from Llafranc to Sant Sebastià can be done by car.
*By following the road you will come to Carrer del Pinell, which is a cul-de-sac with a small esplanade at the end. Here there are El Pinell Rocks where you can practice climbing (12 equipped lines from grade 4 to 3C).
Scuba diving fans will find one of the best places for immersions off La Punta del Pinell: Els Ullastres (mountains under the sea).
More information: Visit Palafrugell & Terralet-Llafranc
FROM SANT SEBASTIÀ TO CALA PEDROSA
Departure point: Conjunt Monumental de Sant Sebastià de la Guarda.
Arrival Point: Cala Pedrosa.
Distance: 2,137 m.
Length: 45 minutes.
Type of path: trail.
Description of the route: the coastal path can not be used. You can follow the red and white markers that go through the interior and take you to Cala Pedrosa.
Points of interest: Salt de Romaboira, Roca del Cavall, Cala Pedrosa.
Recommendations: a section that is recommended for hikers used to mountain walks. Follow the red and white GR-92 markers, use comfortable footwear and take water.
Description
Once you have left the watchtower and have reached Sant Baldiri, follow the GR-92 markers to the north , from where you will be able to enjoy a view of the vertical coast with the lead and cinnamon coloured stones of the rocks.
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| Tonyi Tamaki & Tina Picotes visit Cala Pedrosa |
Worthy of a mention is the Salt de Romaboira, a cliff that goes down to the sea and which is impressive due to its height (187 m).
Follow the GR-92 markers inland. This section is recommended for hikers used to mountains walks.
If you take this path, be particularly careful along the first section as it goes close to cliffs that are not protected.
Carry along the GR-92 inland going through Mediterranean forests which are very leafy and that will help you disconnect from the usual sounds of towns and cities.
You will finally come to Cala Pedrosa, a cove covered in stones with two huts.
More information: Catalunya
A pine is any conifer in the genus Pinus of the family Pinaceae. Pinus is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae.
The modern English name pine derives from Latin pinus, which some have traced to the Indo-European base *pīt- resin (source of English pituitary). Before the 19th century, pines were often referred to as firs (from Old Norse fura, by way of Middle English firre).
There are more than a hundred species of pine trees, distributed across all latitudes and altitudes of the northern hemisphere, six of which are spontaneously occurring in the Catalan Countries: el pi blanc (white pine), el pi pinyer i el pinastre (pine and pineapple), typical of the lowland, la pinassa o pi gargalla (pineapple or pi gargalla) in the middle of the mountain, el pi roig (red pine) on the montane dwelling and pi negre (black pine) in the high mountains.
More information: SFGuide
Some others (pine of the Canary Islands, pine tree insigne) have been introduced for their forestry use.
Many
botanists consider the genus Pinus to contain two subgenera:
Haploxylon, or soft pines, which have one fibrovascular bundle, and
Diploxylon, or hard pines, which have two.
Many pines have both lumber trade names and several common names. Numerous trees commonly called pines are not true pines but belong to other genera in the family Pinaceae or to other families of conifers.
Pines are softwoods, but
commercially they may be designated as soft pines or hard pines. Soft
pines, such as white, sugar, and piñon pines, have relatively soft
timber, needles in bundles of five (less commonly, one to four), stalked
cones with scales lacking prickles, and little resin.
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| Contemplating Pinus halepensis in Llafranc |
Their wood is close-grained, with thin, nearly white sapwood; the sheaths of the leaf clusters are deciduous, and the leaves contain a single fibrovascular bundle.
Hard pines, such as Scotch, Corsican, and loblolly pines, have relatively hard timber, needles in bundles of two or three (rarely, five to eight), cone scales with prickles, and large amounts of resin.
Their wood is coarse-grained and usually dark-coloured, with pale, often thick sapwood; the sheaths of the leaf clusters are persistent, and the leaves have two fibrovascular bundles.
Young pine trees are usually conical, with whorls of horizontal branches. Older trees may have round, flat, or spreading crowns. Most species have thick rough furrowed bark. Pines have two types of branches, long shoots and short shoots, and three types of leaves, primordial, scale, and adult.
More information: Owlcation
Seedling plants bear the lance-shaped spirally arranged primordial leaves. The triangular scale leaves, also lance-shaped, are borne on the long shoots of older trees. Both long and short shoots develop in the axils of the deciduous scale leaves. The needlelike photosynthetic adult leaves, with two or more resin canals, are borne in fascicles (bundles) of two to five (rarely, up to eight or solitary) at the tip of each short shoot; they remain on the tree 2 to 17 years.
Pollen-bearing male cones are covered with many fertile scales, each of which bears two pollen sacs. Ovule-bearing female cones, borne on the same tree, have several spirally arranged bracts (modified leaves), each of which is located below a scale with two ovules (potential seeds). In spring or early summer the pollen sacs release pollen through longitudinal slits; each grain has two air bladders for wind dispersal.
The scales on the female cones open to receive the pollen and then close; actual fertilization takes place late the following spring. After fertilization, the woody female cone develops over a two- to three-year period. In some species the cones open at maturity and the seeds are released, while in others the cones remain closed for several years until opened by rotting, by food-seeking animals, or by fire.
In some pines the scale bearing the nutlike seed may be expanded to form a wing for airborne dispersal.
More information: The Spruce
Remember, the storm is a good opportunity for the pine
and the cypress to show their strength and their stability.
Ho Chi Minh
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