Day 07: Monestir de Montserrat to Castellolí

Date	May 29 ( Monday )
Today's Distance:	12  miles /  13 km
Monestir de Montserrat to Castellolí Stats	Route Video
Total This Camino:	51 miles
Total 2023 Caminos:	51 miles
Total All Caminos:	1786 miles
Lodging:	$ 0 @ Municipal Albergue La Rectoría
Total Lodging:	$ 425
Planes:	$ 1350
Total Planes:	$ 1350
Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$
Total Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$ 0 / 30 / 32 = 47
Food:	$ 10
Total Food:	$ 215

Meaningful Moment

Castellolí is one of those Camino towns that is basically a one horse town. 

Being Monday night, everything was closed except for one bar. Although the bar was open for drinks, the kitchen was closed. 

So all Deb and I could do was order a wine and a beer. 

But they did have a drinks machine so we could stock up on stuff for tomorrow, like Aquarius which is kind of like a power drink.

So the long and short was that there was no place to eat supper. 

But Deb, always the problem solver, came across some chorizo and iberica ham and rice that a previous pilgrim had left for follow on Pilgrims to use.

The kitchen had a pot and a stove and some other rudimentary cooking implements. 

So Deb saw the opportunity and made us jambalaya.

So we went from eating emergency food that we had been carrying to a home-cooked meal. :-)

We sat outside in the courtyard on a bench under the evening sky and had our meal.

Random Thought of the Day

So last night when we checked into the albergue at Montserrat, we had completed the first part of this journey. That is to say the Camino Barcelona. 

Today we started the second part of this journey. We are on the first legs of the Camino Catalán. 

This part of the journey will take 4 days, at which point we will come to a split in the Camino. We could go north or south, but in planning this earlier, I had already chosen the southern route. 

That route will take us about 7 days to complete, at which point we will have completed the Camino Catalan.

It will then be time to decide what we are doing next.

On the Road / Notable memories

Was thinking that we would slowly come off the Montserrat mountain, but as it turned out we had to do a bunch of up and downs in s curves as we rounded more faces of the mountain. 

It really wasn't until about 2/3 of the way through the hike that we got off the mountain.

After yesterday's challenging climb of Montserrat, today's 12 mile hike was a bit of a breather. Tomorrow's hike is at about 10 mi and will be another chance to recoup a little bit.

This is important because two days from today we're setting out on an 18 mi hike, in order to preposition ourselves for a rest day in the city of Tarrega. 

The hike into Tarrega will only be 6 miles. So if we get in early enough, we'll have lots of downtime.

...

Today's albergue is a converted church. Deb and I have the church all to ourselves.

	Montserrat
	One last look
	We thought it would be a relatively short descent but it turned out to be 2/3 of the hike
	Unbelievable views
	Finally got off the road
	And back on the rocks
	Yes, that is the trail behind us 9:40
	Midday break of carbonated water and some snacks ... Espresso for Deb
	Main Street of Castellolí
	Municipal Albergue La Rectoría