Els Ermitanets

Panoramic view southwards from a point close to Els Ermitanets

This time I wanted to explore an area I had come by on one of my previous trips that brought me to Les Balmes Roges. At one point, the forest road offers five different paths on which to continue. Number one and two, I tried the last time: the former being a narrow one to my right, which led me to the summit of a hill known as Puig Gili, and the latter being the one that actually brought me to Les Balmes Roges. This time, I was eager to find out what the three remaining possibilities had to offer.

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Els Ermitanets

My first choice was a steep ramp up a small hill to my left. From the top of it, and to my surprise, I could see some ruins a little further. They turned out to be the remains of a small estate, which back in time must have been a nice place to live. Although there's not much left of the house, one must say that the ruins are rather well conserved. It even seems to me, that somebody actually takes care for the place. The surrounding vegetation, for example, is trimmed short, and the cut off parts of it are being kept neatly piled up nearby. As for the ruins themselves, they are somehow tidied up and parts of it apparently had been fettled by someone. In one spot, even a carafe of water and a newspaper are being kept, waiting to be consumed by a thirsty wanderer .

Since the gazette dates back to December 2012, I suppose that any news regarding the latest Stock Exchange movements bear rather little interest, but on the back cover, there is an interesting interview with a fellow called Juanjo Garbizu, who insists that one day spent in the mountains equals two spent on tarmac. Since one minute spent on my bike equals two reading an old paper, I admit I only read the interview's headline. A later internet survey revealed the denomination of the discovered estate to be "Els Ermitanets". 

Another forest road, which started/ended close to Els Ermitanets, brought me back to the 6-path's-crossing, hence there was only one path left, that remained unknown to me. 

That one turned out to be a funny and rather fast downhill course which after some kilometres connected with the forest road I had taken back home the last time I was in that area. The whole round trip has been interesting, and as often happens, showed me yet other paths and forest roads I haven't even been aware of. That only means my personal exploration of the area must continue...

Spectacular sky at St Jaume