gironaJ

La Gola del Ter

La Gola is where the river Ter flows into the Mediterranean Sea, having started in the Pyrenees mountains around the ski resort of Vallter 2000 some 220 kms away.

The fields on either side of the Ter are very flat, fertile land where cultivation of fruit, wheat, corn and rice takes place. There are also wetlands which although cultivated, are also part of the Aiguamolls Nature Reserve, famous for a wide range of migratory birds.

There are many paths signposted telling you where to go and being flat the area is perfect for cycling and walking.

Of course no exercise is possible if at the end there is not a meal contemplated and in this case the local specialities involve rice and seafood which is one type of "arroz" and in other parts of Spain would be called a "paella".

A delicacy called "angulas" are found where eels breed in fresh water rivers producing millions of tiny eels which are caught at night in nets and currently retail for 500€ to1,300€ a kilo depending on season, if you can find them.

The small restaurants around La Gola are some of the few places you will be able to taste this amazing dish cooked in olive oil and garlic and hot peppers, once tried never forgotten!

Click here to download:

La_Gola_del_Ter.zip (9351 KB)

Loading mentions Retweet

Filed under // Aiguamolls Nature Reserve angulas arroz cycling La Gola La Gola del Ter Mediterranean Sea paella Pyrenees river Ter Vallter 2000 walking

Camprodon- foodie town

Camprodon is about an hour's drive from Girona up into the Pyrenees and only some 20 kms from the French border. It is also close to Vallter 2000 the nearest ski resort so at weekends in winter lots of skiers are wandering around shopping and looking for places to eat.
We are here to shop for local specialities too- on offer there are some mouth watering displays and quaint old shops which seem to be from several centuries back and still going strong.
One of the so called advances of our age is that we can get everything anytime and we take for granted being able to consume food items which are linked to an area or region at any time without really putting them in context. Camprodon is a market town in a mountainous region where the local foods reflect what they produce, and they have made sure to promote and preserve their local products which is fantastic.
So what are they? Well, you can find all types of pork sausages, a variety of cheeses made from goat, cow and sheep milk, pastries made with walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds and honey from the high mountains. The animals are left to roam free eating what is available in the different seasons and consequently are leaner and more flavourful than the bland intensively farmed alternatives we are so used to.
Shopping becomes a pleasurable, exciting event as each shop you enter has their own way of making sausages or pastries that have passed down through the generations and which they insist you try and will explain in detail if you show the slightest interest and language is not an insurmountable barrier.
Once you have loaded up these foods lend themselves to picnics along some of the walking paths or next to the clear streams marked all around the area so head for the hills!