English Summar y
Number 07 /116/ July 2019
TOP FLIGHT
tine monastery in Sant Joan
les Fonts, Europe’s oldest syn-
agogue and mikveh in Besalu,
and also Sant Pere de Besalú,
a Benedictine monastery
founded in 977, one of the
windows is decorated with
figures of two lions stand-
ing on a monkey and a bare
man (the power of the church
is opposed to symbols of evil
and paganism), Olot, with its
symbol Volcán de Montsa-
copa, and Santa Pau with a
unique castle of the 13th cen-
tury and a square that has
completely preserved its ap-
pearance since the beginning
of the 14th century, when it
hosted fairs of bulls and oth-
er cattle. From Santa Pau over
Garrotxa you can take a hot
air balloon flight, and in Olot
you should definitely visit the
Font Moixina volcanic cuisine
restaurant. Vegetables grown
in the volcanic zone are
cooked here, you can also try
wines from the local terroirs.
Beech Forest located at a
500-meter height on the slope
of Croskat volcano in Santa
Pau, Olot, and Les Preses mu-
nicipalities is another part of
the park worth seeing. There
is no better place for medi-
tation walks - it seems that
you are back to childhood
when the trees were large; be-
cause you will want to look up
non stop, at the endless em-
erald lace, and I must say, it
is a dizzying exercise in all
senses: the height of the trees
reach 35 m! In the past, the
forest served as a source of
inspiration for the creative
elite of Catalonia, and Joan
Maragall made this place fa-
mous in one of his poems.
Among other things, the
walk promises to be very
comfortable: volcanic soil
under the feet springs like
a high-quality clay surface
on a tennis court, and if you
do not want to walk, you can
hire a horse-drawn cart (any
car entry is strictly regulat-
ed here).