Wild Catalonia: Cavalls del Vent

Cavalls del Vent (Horses of the Wind) is a 82km hiking route in the Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park and takes its name from the Tibetan Lung ta prayer flags that are strung up outside the mountain “refugis” (hostels) which offer hikers various places to stay along the route. My friend Lys and I decided to do half of the official route going from Coll de la Bena (Gisclareny) to the Sant Jordi Refugi, the Prat d’Aguiló Refugi, the Lluís Estasen Refugi and back to Coll de la Bena (walking past the Gresolet Refugi).

I do not want to write a travelogue here about the journey but, rather, would like to just make a few comments about the nature we encountered on the route. The weather plays a huge part during any outdoor activity and even more so in the mountains. On our first and last days we had sunshine and so we were accompanied by many many butterflies of all different colours and sizes. There was a constant chirruping of crickets and, on some of the paths, they were constantly jumping out of the way as we trod on the ground where they rested. We saw beetles and lizards, bees and flies. The insect-life was truly abundant.

Iberian Marbled White / Escac ibèric (Melanargia lachesis)

Six-spot burnet / Zigena de sis punts (Zygaena filipendulae)

In the wooded areas we heard birds but I must say that I didn’t see very many. Eagles (I’m not sure what species) appeared a couple of times and on the foggy morning when we departed from Prat d’Aguiló we saw a murder of crows swooping and cawing giving the scene a chilling wintry feeling. I saw a jay from the bedroom window of the Lluís Estasen Refugi but, on the whole, there was not too much birdlife to be seen. Of course, this was partly because on the two middle days of our trek, the weather was not as kind to us.

On the day we departed from the Sant Jordi hostel, we were soon caught in wind and rain which was not really conducive to wildlife spotting. In fact, we walked quickly that day to be sure to reach the next refugi before getting caught in a thunderstorm. The next morning started so foggy that there really was nothing to see! The only animals in sight were the horses and cows which pasture up in the hills.

As for mammals and amphibians; well we saw the scat from some mammals and, on our last day, we saw large tadpoles in a stream and also a dead salamander.

The wild flowers on the mountains are impressive and, of course, we saw different species in different areas. I’m no expert on wild flowers, but I shall share a few photos and attempt to identify them. As for forests, we passed through beech forests, through areas dominated by pine trees and, in the higher areas, there were few trees due to the wind and weather conditions. I was overcome by just how beautiful the whole area is and filled with a desire to go back and explore further.