Walking around the Volcano of la Banya del Boc

The hermitage of Sant Medir

While the same path, we enter a plain forest. On this route find oaks. If we are lovers of the animal world, hopefully we will hear or see tits and herons, and who knows if any squirrel and small reptiles. At least inform us in the middle panels of the ride, which also indicate that after a few meters, and after crossing a bridge, reach the hermitage of Sant Medir. These were lands that had its relevance time of the remences, and the following inscription (do not tell us where it is extracted), also on a panel of the journey, reminds us:

Remences Sant Medir

"When you arrive at the small Romanesque chapel of Sant Measuring Bernat realizes that long ago that did not run much.'s Is closed and silent, but instead receives a joy.'s Still hot and smoldering remains of a recent fire tell while recently where someone, probably in DESPUIG and his men have stopped to eat something. This means that you must have, now, very close. "

Before the chapel, we found some ruins, we could say that pretty spectacular, in an old house. Finally we come to the hermitage of Sant Medir. Very simple, a little abandoned building there are references from the eleventh century, and proudly displays its Romanesque features. Foul door, we can see that inside is a single nave with a semicircular arch with a semicircular apse, and remains of wall paintings are preserved, predominantly blue and red colors. Outside we see the steeple of one eye, without hood, and also protecting remains of the chapel porch.

The plain of San Juan

We return now to the bridge and take the other possible direction, which leads us to the plain of San Juan. Spent beside a house, La Pallonera, and although it may not seem to us, we are in a crater of the Clot Omera. Through a slight rise hit the road, we cross and take the dirt road. We have in front the magnificent esplanade, the result of ancient volcanic eruptions and associated basaltic lava wash.

The volcano, also called mountain, the Banya Boc (Boc Horn) so we can contemplate. Its highest point has an altitude of 451 meters above sea level. Amid the green plain we see a group of houses, and a little high, the hermitage of San Juan, better preserved than her cousin that we have left in the forest. The large differences of the small temple compared to the hermitage of Sant Medir, besides the condition, are your belfry is two eyes, and the entrance is on the west wall, and not in the front. He began to lift in the eleventh century. It will not be easy to approach it from the side in which we find ourselves, because in between there gardens and vegetation that make border.

Climbing the volcano

Without ever leaving the same way, we just past the hamlet inhabited the plains we pass is intercepted by another road, the track Bosquerós. Common sense tells us that if we want to climb the volcano, we must take it on the rise , ie, on the right. The climb is not difficult, though, as the heat you do, we may have to replace at some point. The clay pits we found, and the land of black color, clearly indicate that this is not a "normal" mountain, but it has something special. Let's look especially in the so-called volcanic bombs that lie in the clay pits.'s Not strange to see why this volcano is visited by geologists to continue studying volcanism of the Catalan countryside. It is proven that the Boc la Banya erupted in three different stages, the last 123 thousand years ago.

After a few turns, we arrived at a large open grassy fields and: we are in the crater of the Boc Banya This space tiene1.300 meters 860 meters, and we can clearly see that it is a. volcanic form, as we found to a depth of 100 meters with respect to the "hills" that stand around us. It is a place with an idyllic spot, no noise, surrounded, as we say, of the peaks of the same volcano that extend around the crater and left, the cliffs of Rocafesa. Were really gets the feeling, not always possible in these geological formations found in the heart of the mountain. Great to be browsing through it and as long as time will allow place.

Return to Llorà

The descent, always following the same path, has no difficulty, but is longer than the climb, since the slope goes down very slowly, and we found homes, now here now there, some old and others of recent construction. Or restored, as the farmhouse Cal Bolet. If you you have the strength and time, once Llorà we visit the church of San Pedro. Though conducted major renovations in the seventeenth century, retains elements of its birth in the century XI, in Romanesque city, as the slender bell tower, a square with two levels of mullioned windows, and even details of the gateway as the bolt. Plant is also a Romanesque nave with pointed barrel vault and semicircular apse, and several fragments of wall paintings, some discovered not long ago. Neither knew how much he makes, through excavations, the temple of the eleventh century replaced at the same point to a still earlier.

Not far ...

Taking advantage we found in the Valley of Llémena, and if you have more hours or days, recommend other areas of interest to visitarr. For example, within the same term of Sant Martí de Llémena , Castle Rocacorba Granollers. makes today is inhabited farmhouse (suffered a significant remodeling in the nineteenth century), but you can clearly see its majesty and maintaining architectural elements of the feudal era. Castle, center of the barony of Granollers, you have documentation from the mid-thirteenth century.

This is not the only castle in the Valley of Llémena the contrary, we are in a very dense area in such constructions. To follow acercaros checking can Cartellà Castle, a fortress of XIII century at the end of Sant Gregori . Note, however, that it is a private property and you can not visit the interior. To get there, take the turnoff to the left of the road a mile before Cartellà sector church. Next to the castle there is a Romanesque chapel, a nave and semicircular apse. You can also go to the castle of Tudela, in a place with lots of history, for in the same place an Iberian settlement was discovered while the castle, of which some remains as the circular base of the main tower are, was linked to the Counts of Barcelona and have references from the eleventh century. Currently, however, most visible at this point is the chapel of Sant Grau, the sixteenth century and inhabited by a hermit until 1936.

And since we mentioned the Iberians, if you are interested in this civilization, near Sant Aniol de Finestres the town of La Palomera, a typical defense Iberian settlement dating from the third century BC is. To enter, take a track that leaves the old town of Sant Aniol de Finestres towards Mieres .