A guest post by Jenneke van der Wal
“Have you felt bored yet?” asks Wilbert. He phones me from the Ebro delta, where he is spending the day birdwatching. A successful day so far, by the cheerful sound of his voice, as it is not even noon and he has already spotted two species he had never seen before. I have stayed at Les Voltes today and climbed all the way to the rooftop, bringing with me a cup, a full pot of tea, and a book I’ve been wanting to read for ages. Oh, and sunglasses, as the mornings tend to be sunny, even if they are still chilly at the end of March – nothing a hoodie and scarf can’t solve though. The sunbed has transformed into a rocking chair, and as I am gently rocking back and forth, I appreciate the views from the village of Barberà de la Conca. No, I’m not bored yet…
It’s been a week since we hopped on the train from Leiden (the Netherlands), via a lovely lunch in Paris, and then straight and very comfortably by TGV to Barcelona in less than 7 hours. This was actually important to us: we did not want to fly, so we spent some time figuring out where we could go by train for some desperately-needed end-of-winter light and warmth. Solution: Barcelona! Once arrived there, we rented bikes and toured the architectural and gastronomical highlights of the city before renting a car and retreating to the peace and quiet at les Voltes, as currently enjoyed on the rooftop.
From here, I can see the gravel road we took two days ago. It winds down from the village, which is situated on a hill, to pass between the vineyards and cross little streams of water lined with reed. The electric mountainbikes at Les Voltes are just perfect for this kind of terrain, because I am quite happy cycling but do appreciate the little e-help when making my way back up again.
The goal of our bike tour was the nearby medieval town of Montblanc, where people were busy preparing the cathedral for Easter. After a stroll around town, we found the mussels and veggies we needed for the paella that we wanted to make at Les Voltes that evening – I’m not sure we got the right prawns, but it sure was tasty!
So I hadn’t felt bored yet, and that was actually worrying: my “goal” for the holidays was to get bored at least three times, as boredom can be very beneficial for otherwise active and occupied brains. It always takes me about three days to get used to not having to-do lists and then some days before getting to a state of relaxation and creativity, which is preceded by the feeling of boredom. This was part of the reason why we booked Les Voltes for a whole week: to allow ourselves the time to rest.
Yet, the boredom this beautiful day would have to wait a bit; I didn’t know it then, but that evening we would get a taste not just of the local cuisine, but also of village life, when Anne and Jordi kindly invited us to join the hunters’ dinner. Young and old gathered on long tables in the local theatre, to enjoy a traditional hog stew with potatoes (and ice cream as dessert!). This was followed by the inevitable bingo organised by and for the primary school, with prizes kindly offered by some of the winemakers of the village.
We experienced the lovely liveliness and hospitality of Barberà, and will be back for more Catalan connections, walks along the almond trees finding trencadís treasures and hoopoes, and hopefully also a healthy dose of boredom!
