Our Pyrenees Hideaway

For three days we disappeared into the rocky depths of the Pyrenees ... if only they had swallowed us up for a little longer... We were extremely lucky to find a remote little farmhouse, beautifully furnished, nestled in a spectacular valley, surrounded by rocky cliffs and gurgling streams. The air was crisp and clear and the constant tinkling of cattle bells wafted up the valley to our little retreat.

We left Barcelona assuming a tapas bar could be found on every other corner - even in the mountains. Unfortunately, we were quite unprepared for our isolation and had to eat a meal of just dry bread, olive oil and salt on our first evening. But the views were definitely worth it.

We then ventured into the neighbouring towns of Salsona and Cardona - not just for some sustenance but also for some local 'excitement'... we found a bull ring in the middle of Cardona but no bulls, so the girls had to re-enact the fight for us. Interestingly, bull fighting was banned in Barcelona in July 2010!! And due to be fully enforced in 2012. This is partly humane and partly to differentiate themselves from the Spanish. Barcelonians are Catalan.

Also in Cardona is a magnificent (now dis-used) salt mine. The salt came from the ocean which was swept aside when Africa crashed into Europe 40 million years ago, causing the Pyrenees to rise up from the ocean bed. The salt was gradually restructured into a mountain - which has been mined since 2,500BC. The local medieval knights were known as the rich Lords of the Salt. Mining stopped in 1990 due to the cost and risks associated with extracting the remaining salt, now most concentrated 1km below the surface. It is an exceptionally beautiful mine - with numerous caves filled with snow white or rusty red salt stalactites and stalagmites.

In the mountains the only early risers (apart from our two daughters) were the cows and the mushroom hunters. Both species roamed the mountains in the morning and spent the afternoons slumbering!!