It is no secret that I love the Alt Empordà
My spirits rise when I see the mountains in the distance and the green fields spreading out on both sides on the road. This time I asked myself, at what point do I start to feel that shift in energy which tells me I am arriving? I was travelling in the van with Bonnie up the AP7 and I think the change happened when I crossed the River Ter which flows from the mountains to the Aiguamolls.
Seeing the snow-peaked Pyranees gives me a similar shiver to the one I always get on seeing St Michaels Mount in Penzance.
Home again!
In the distance the Canigó is covered in snow
The almond blossom is out
There is flowering rosemary on the country lanes
and here are my favourite letters carved in stone on the lane to Sant Nicolau
One day I hope to live here – it’s a place that inspires you
Cap a la part del Pirineu,
vora els serrats i arran del mar
s’obre una plana riallera,
n’és l’Empordà !
vora els serrats i arran del mar
s’obre una plana riallera,
n’és l’Empordà !
Joan Maragall
