Hello dear travelers. Last month we decided to get closer to nature. We headed towards a forest park with sequoia trees, located about 80 kilometers from Barcelona. The park is accessible via a mountain road and it's called Arboretum Masjoan. There is a parking lot here and we parked our car there. It's a very pleasant place. I felt a bit uncomfortable on the road because there was a long winding path, about 30 kilometers and I felt a little unwell at every curve, so we decided to take a different route on the way back.
One of the trees is carved like a castle, quite charming.
There were very few people in the park, with only three cars, including ours. At the entrance there is a welcome sign. You can walk here with dogs, but there's a sign indicating that they must be on a leash. It turns out that small pine trees are being grown here and they might even be for sale. We walked around to find out the entrance fee, which was 5 euros. They gave us a map and two candies, which were included in the fee. We started walking in the park. It’s open on weekends until 5 pm and until 2 pm on Saturdays. While walking through the forest, we didn't see anyone except a few people.
This is a great place for walking, especially if you wear sneakers, because there are roots and stones in some areas. It's a nice walk in the forest and there are benches for resting. You can also learn about local plants here. According to the park map, we were first at point 16. The sequoia here was quite tall, reaching up to 40 meters. Every tree has a description, such as when it was planted, how wide it is and other information.
While walking through the park, you don’t really need to look at the map because the directions are quite clear. However, the guidebook is written in Catalan and French, which is a bit strange because it’s clear that the park wants to attract tourists, but the booklet is only in two languages.
This giant sequoia really looks impressive. It reaches a height of 33 meters, with a diameter of 176 centimeters. This tree was planted in 1911. Its trunk is so large that it's impossible to hug it. But when I approached and heard the sound from within, it felt like there was a hollow inside. The texture was very soft, like a carpet. It's really big and interesting. Walking around it, I felt like a little person in a land of giants. Walking through the forest, we almost lost ourselves in it. I really liked this sequoia.
Afterward, I found a very nice pinecone and took it. You can do a fairly short walk in the forest for 5 euros and some people walk here for just 5 minutes, while others walk for 10 or 15 minutes. While this might not be a major sightseeing spot by itself, it could be nice to visit for a short walk. The road had a bit of a tricky winding path, but after leaving the forest, we decided to head to Lloret de Mar, 40 minutes away. There’s a nice road there and it's not winding at all.
On the way to Lloret de Mar, we wanted to explore the city a bit. Pine trees are very common here and of course, there are also palm trees, since we are in Spain. We approached Filsa Beach, where we often park because it has large parking areas.
Then we headed to our restaurant, named Ugolok (The Corner). This was our second time trying it and everything was delicious for us. We are healthy people and our stomachs work quite well, so we will also leave positive comments about the quality. The food here is reasonably priced and very tasty.
We placed our orders: I had borscht and stuffed cabbage rolls, while my friend opted for pelmeni and khinkali. We also ordered drinks. I asked for kvass and it was really nice, made in Ukraine. My friend had a fizzy drink. We toasted to each other and celebrated. The borscht was incredibly delicious and I was very satisfied with it. The kvass was great too, but I couldn’t finish the cabbage rolls because they were a bit too herby and tasted somewhat bland. Still I had two of them and we took the leftovers with us. Overall it was a lovely meal.
After eating, we decided to go to the beach. We were approaching sunset.
In the spring of this year, some parts of the beach had eroded and were closed to tourists. Some areas are still under repair and there was a security cone marking a restricted section.
Still we walked around the beach a bit, where some people were celebrating and a fisherman was preparing his fishing rods.
Now it was time to say goodbye. Sending you all big hugs, take care.