From Big City to Mountain Town: Taull, Spain

Even though there was plenty more to see in Spain, I had to head to Taüll for work. This post explains how I am able to travel for so long! Yes, I just graduated and yes, I am a typical broke student! However, I learned of this very cool website that allows you to work and travel. A bed and usually food are accommodated for your time, making it easier to travel longer 🙂

Partying in Barcelona, sun bathing next to a castle, and exploring the history of each city was all great but Taüll, located in the Spanish Pyrenees, was going to be a great change of speed. Before starting my adventure I knew I wanted to do some hiking and this experience allowed me to do just that!

Taüll is a very small town located in the province of Lleida in Catalonia. Though small, it has two churches which are a huge attraction: Esglesia de Sant Climent and Esglesia de Santa Maria. Both churches are good examples of Romanesque architecture built in the 11th or 12th century.

Sant Climent is the first thing you see when driving into town. No matter which side you are viewing it from, there is a beautiful mountain range backdrop.

A couple times a day (this may vary in the off season) there is a video projection displaying the central mural that was painted back in the 12th or 13th century. The paintings are absolutely incredible and really give life to the church.

Walking up to the top of the bell tower allows for a nice view of Taüll 🙂

Santa Maria is located in the center of town. It is another beautiful church with Romanesque architecture, however, I did not see the inside. Both churches were consecrated in 1123 but the dates built are unknown.

Arriving to Taüll around lunch time, the first thing we did was eat 🙂 A yummy fresh salad, bread, sardines, and some type of shell fish (do not remember the name) made it clear I was going to be happy here!

Mussels and a delicious white fish were on the menu another time and were absolutely amazing!

Without wasting anytime, I was hiking on my second day after my first real day of work. We hiked to L’aut Peak which is at an elevation of 2,531 m (~8,304 ft). It took about 3 hours to get up and 2 hours back down.

It was pretty tiring! It may have been because we started so late in the day, my lack of sleep or the fact that I was fighting a cold (which I got the first night and had for over a week!). Regardless, it was still a great workout and worth it! It was pretty overcast at the top but there were still beautiful views.

On the way back down we ran into a herd of cows. We walked past them with no problems but then I guess they smelt salt on us and started chasing us down! It was quite hilarious and a bit scary for a moment.

I learned about wild mushrooms during the hike and we picked some of the edible ones. Watch out for the Alice and Wonderland looking ones though- you may see unusual things after eating those!

The big brown ones were later grilled with a little salt and pepper. They were amazing and really did taste like a nice rare piece of steak!

Estanys del Pesso was another hike in the area that I really enjoyed. It starts off as a pretty easy hike and then after about an hour you start heading straight up to the lakes.

After an hour of hiking straight up you arrive to a small lake. Then in another 15 minutes of walking you arrive to a bigger lake.

My hiking partner (Fox- the dog in photo below) has a crazy obsession with water and rocks so we spent a little time at the lakes!

During my time in Taüll, I was literally spoiled with fresh berries! I ate blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries straight from the vine 😀 They were so juicy and delicious!

Though it doesn’t look like it, I did work! My work mainly consisted of cleaning in the hostel in the mornings and working in the restaurant in the evenings as needed. My spanish is not so great so I did more dish washing and food prep. I also did a bit of gardening which allowed me to find this cute little snail!

Though cleaning was a bit therapeutic at times (no I will not clean your house! 🙂 ), working in the kitchen was awesome because I got to see a chef at work!

He walked me through the steps of making seafood Paella which I plan to make when I am back home 😀

We had a yummy pumpkin soup one night- he made it especially with me in mind since I was sick! Also, there was this cold tomato soup that was so delicious! I do not usually like crunchy bread but I just let it soak up some of the soup and it was incredible 🙂

When I saw him adding beer into the chicken before throwing it in the oven I was pretty happy 😀

Everything I had was really amazing and I tried to take notes as much as possible. You may see me trying to replicate some recipes when I am back at home. Taüll is a lovely small mountain town that I enjoyed getting to know. With the mountains at my doorstep and yummy, heathy food everyday I could not have been happier!

Music For Your Ears:
~Little Red Riding Hood by The Coasters (aka The Robins)

More To Love: