The Nuria Valley

Hot Air Balloons over Vic.

The hike to Nuria.

The mountains are calling!

Christmas in Sydney was lovely, a chance to go home after nearly 4 years. I visited a few beaches, drove around old suburbs of Sydney were I lived and had many memories, as well as catch with some old friends and family. The weather had been hot too, some days tipping the scales at 45c in the city, driving people to flock to the beaches or stay indoors with their air-con on high. I had also visited a few beaches, some of my old favourites and places where I spent many hours lying in the sun, dipping in the water to cool off and rinse the sweat off being laying back in the sun to warm up again - nothing like Summer in Sydney. I'd ticked all the boxes of things that I wanted to do once getting home, most of these things were food that I had to eat - Vietnamese Pho, Thai Laksa, good old Aussie meat pies and sausages rolls, as well as a hot Indian curry. I spent one of my last nights chilling on a rooftop terrace bar in Newtown, having a few beers and talking dreams and aspirations with my best friend who I went to school with. This friend (she knows who she is), is one of the hardest-working, dedicated, smartest and interesting people you will ever meet and I am very happy we got to hang out while I was back. It doesn't matter how long between visits and chats, even if it's 4 years, it seems like yesterday - that's friendship. But not, it was time to make the 24 hours flight back to Barcelona, battle with jetlag and go back to work within a few days and teach 3 year olds. Bring it!

Anyone else see a baby? Looking at the clouds and seeing shapes - Pareidolia.

End of the ski season.

This way!

Nuria is also a ski resort.

The Winter in Spain and Barcelona hadn't been too cold and snowy so far, last year was much worse. I say worse, as I don't really like the dark, cold and wet days of Winter, but in Barcelona it isn't that bad at all. Also, I like a good winter hike if there's a bit of snow around! Since getting back here and going back to work, I was far busier at work and seemed not to have much time for day trips or any mountain trips at all, and it was starting to show. I was feeling the need for Nature, the call of the wild, to stretch my legs and hike. Luckily, many of my friends here feel the same, and so a trip was planned. Already it was March, and I'd been back since mid-January after Australia, and not really done anything, let alone in the mountains. We decided to head up to the Vall de Nuria (Nuria Valley), a Ski resort and monastery in a valley in the Pyrenees. There are 2 ways of getting there - walking from the town of Queralbs (or from France on the other side of the range) or via a rack railway. There are no roads, no short-cuts apart from the train but it isn't cheap to do it that way - unless your name is 'Nuria' then the ticket is free! It's actually a very popular name in Catalonia, but I'm sure not just for the free ride up here. I've caught the little train once as well as walk, and this time we would be walking as well, starting from the village of Queralbs and walking for just under 3 hours. It's fairly close to Sabadell, just over 1 hour and 30 mins on a good run and along the C-17, a road that runs through small mountains, past towns like Aigufreda, Centelles and past Vic. To make things easier, I had dinner at my friend's place, with their 2 kids, and slept on the sofa, ready to make an early start in the morning.

Mountain cabin with a view.

The start of the hike to Nuria.

The hike up.

Frozen water at the dam.

With a little napping and no traffic, the ride went by quickly, even the kids were quiet! Being a Sunday, you usually get to see balloons setting up in the area around Vic, and today we saw lots of them, all floating just off the ground, making their quiet ascent into the big blue sky. If you've never been on a balloon trip, I highly recommend it - it's peaceful, relaxing and you get amazing view straight down onto houses, roads and fields, and also a unique view of mountains. The landing isn't always quite so tranquil - it;s usually a bumpy affair and you rarely land exactly where you want either! We parked the car at the rack railway station, had a quick bathroom break and leg stretch, then slowly walked up to the starting point of the hike. Already at this time, around 8:30, there were people waiting for the train to Nuria, but not as many as you'd get in Summer or Winter. In summer, loads of people come up here to go hiking in the Pyrenees and sometimes right over the border to France. In Winter, it's busy because it's also a ski resort. Luckily for us, it wasn't peak season and there weren't that many people going either way, train or trail. We stopped at the entrance to the village, filled up water bottles from the mountain spring fountain and also had a small snack of croissants and pastries to get some energy and motivation to start. We had 3 kids with us and with kids, you need to stop and feed them, rest them a little, every 45 mins to an hour to get to the finish line - they can do it, kids have an uncanny ability to always have a secret reserve of energy which they let lose at the wrong time, usually in the car on the way home, but they need stops and encouragement to hold their interest. Adults either need to be in shape or be mentally tough (sometimes both) to keep going, relying on muscle and training - kids just need to be kids.

The Rack Railway train making its way through the mountains.

As cool as the train is, you don't get these views without walking!

The Rack Railway.

The steel 'teeth' that help the train up the slopes.

We hiked up, stopping a few times for snacks and water, as well as photos. It didn't quite take up 3 hours, although it's quicker without kids. The view gets better and better, the higher up you get and further along the path. You cross small rivers, go under the railway bridge, and wind your way up and through the mountains, occasionally getting a brief view of the rack railway train steaming up and through the tunnels, cutting out all the twists and turns we had to do. The Vall de Núria Rack Railway, or the 'Cremallera de Núria' in Catalan, was originally opened in 1931 as an all-electric train to access the ski resorts which up to this point was only accessible via footpath and donkey. The train operates normally for some of the way, snaking up the railways, through tunnels, but the last part, the steepest part, it goes up via a strange rack system. This part of the track looks like big metal teeth in the middle between the normal rails, and this links with the train and it gets pulled up the slope, even in snowy weather. The walk is a pleasant one, with great views behind you of where you started from, the green trees that change colour in autumn and even in Winter, blue skies and interesting clouds. The best part is when you finally reach the end of the hike, walking over a crest and you get a view of the valley and the resort. There is a small lookout point, where everyone goes to take photos and get selfies taken, but it's a must. From here you get a great view, and today we got exactly what we were hoping for - the was dam partially frozen over, as well as some remaining snow on the slopes and higher mountains. Beautiful! We walked down, alongside the water and over to the resort for a well-deserved beer and some hot food.

All aboard to Nuria!

The best view of Nuria.

Frozen lake.

The Vall de Nuria!

It's not just the ski slopes here that attract tourists, but the monastery as well. According to legend, Saint Giles came to the valley and lived here for 4 years during the 8th Century, but had to flee from persecution. He left a carved image of the Virgin, along with a cooking pot, a cross and a bell for calling shepherds to meals. A pilgrim called Amadéu began searching for the image in 1072 after having a dream. He built a small chapel for pilgrims, and eventually found the items left by the Saint and kept them in church as holy objects. The image is regarded as the patron saint of fertility by shepherds and the Sanctuary here is named after Saint Nuria. Inside the chapel, you can ring the bell while holding your head in a confession style booth, and the saying goes that  if you do this, you'll become very fertile and have many kids. I've done this a few times and thankfully no kids yet! We sat on the lawn in front of the monastery and ate our packed lunches, enjoyed the warmth of the Winter sun on our legs, and chilled out, not really wanting to leave. After a decent amount of time, and just when the sun started to lose its potency, we got up and started the journey back down to the cars. We had our last snack at the bottom along with more spring water, then a quick walk around the village of Queralbs, before jumping in the cars and heading for home. It was a good day - I love the Nuria Valley and love the hike there. Next time, I will not just hike there but further afield, through the Pyrenees, maybe even into France! Who knows! Adventure is just there on the horizon, take it and live it!

Rooftops in Queralbs.

The little streets of Queralbs.

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UncleTravellingMatt. March 2019.