gironaJ

Cork: an important local industry

Yes, we are talking about the corks that are normally found in a bottle of wine or sparkling wine. This is an industry which has been important for Girona province for 150 years. It is centred on the towns of Palafrugell and Cassa de la Selva, either side of the Gavarres hills where most of the cork oaks are found.
Cork is an amazing natural product which was discovered by the Greeks over 2,500 years ago to seal the amphoras of wine and olive oil they transported around the Mediterranean basin.
As well as being lightweight, it is waterproof and fireproof which means the cork oaks are some of the very few trees that survive the regular fires which sweep through most forests. The trees take about 30 years to mature sufficiently to produce a layer of cork (its bark) but another 15 is needed before it is thick enough to be used for commercial purposes.
So, this is no short term industry, the trees take about 14 years to re-grow its bark for the next harvest which is all done by hand up in the hills. This area is the second largest exporter of corks in the world after Portugal and some 1,500 people are still employed in some way by the industry locally.
Unfortunately, like all mature industries, there is severe competition from other methods of closing bottles which are more economic and the market for corks is sliding steadily. Their niche is still relatively secure in the more upmarket sectors of the wine and champagne sectors but the cheaper end is moving to plastic corks or screw-caps.
Make sure you come and take a tour of a cork making factory (ask at the local tourist information offices) or visit the cork museum in Palafrugell before this fascinating industry disappears forever!

         
Click here to download:
Cork_an_important_local_indust.zip (4703 KB)

Sant Feliu-Girona-Olot bike path Part3

From Amer (211m), which has an interesting church and old town, it is a short run to the river Ter below where it emerges from the Susqueda dam, a major hydroelectric plant. It also means that the bulk of the downhill is over and from here on it is flat with hazelnut and walnut plantations or sunflowers and corn fields on either side of the path which meanders through the fertile river valley.
El Pasteral (179m) with its old station building still intact and along to La Cellera de Ter and finally to the outskirts of Angles. 
Angles has an interesting old town (a few minutes detour) and was famous for the textile factories which were established at the end of the 19th century but have almost all been closed in the last few years as the competition from China destroyed their business.
Now the path follows the river Ter or the parallel canal which was established to serve the small sub- hydroelectric stations and factories that needed water and electricity along the route.
There is an interesting restored ice-house around km 10 which explains how ice was preserved in the era before electricity. We now take ice and refrigeration for granted but it used to be a luxury item. 
Girona looms large and there is no way to avoid crossing it from the Devesa park (tallest trees in a public park) and then follow the other river, the Onyar out of town to the south-east towards Quart. You pass the new Science Park of the University of Girona with some impressive modern buildings.
The next part takes you to Cassa de la Selva and Llagostera which are both famous for the cork processing factories which have been there for over a century, using the cork collected in the Gavarres hills nearby.
From Llagostera the path drops fairly sharply to the coastal plain around Castell d'Aro and it is a short haul into S'Agaro and then finally Sant Feliu de Guixols where all the dust from the path can be washed off with a cool dip in the Mediterranean!
Only the foolish or very strong should consider cycling back to Girona (36 kms) as there are a good 8kms of climbing, much easier to have lunch on a terrace and then put the bike on a bus which leave every hour from the bus station and arrive in Girona fresh and happy!

           
Click here to download:
Sant_Feliu-Girona-Olot_bike_pa.zip (8902 KB)