Olot, Spain -- It was cool and damp, down in the volcano. The crater's green bowl rose around us, cutting off our view of the village and creating a bubble of silence around us. I couldn't believe that, 20,000 years ago, the spot I was standing on had been a roiling pool of lava.
Deep in northern Spain there's a walker's paradise of urban volcanoes, romantic farms and well-tended swamps, where the sleepy land rises and falls according to a rhythm set well before the last ice age. The Garrotxa (pronounce the 'x' as a 'ch') is a peaceful escape from the buzz of Barcelona, two hours away, yet offers enough to see for a long weekend -- as long as you bring your walking shoes.
I took a morning bus up from Barcelona to Olot, the Garrotxa's small but civilized capital, and strolled Olot's charming Passeig de Barcelona, a tree-lined boulevard that wouldn't look out of place in Paris. There's a covered market in the center of town open on Monday through Saturday mornings for bread, cheese, sausages and other picnic fixings for your walk.
Depending on how ambitious you are (and how much time you have), you can hike up one of Olot's three in-town volcanoes -- a mere hour's journey -- or all the way out through swamps, farms and volcanoes to the perfectly-preserved medieval town of Santa Pau, six miles away. Other intriguing walks lead to a massive wall of basalt columns at Sant Joan les Fonts or to Spain's youngest volcano -- it's only 11,500 years old. (If you get tired, local buses run to most of the points on Olot-area walks every two hours or so.)
I walked first down to the Paratges de la Moixina, an adorably well-kept swamp about a mile south of town. The flat, pleasant walk took me past several farms and finally into the swamp, where a stream quietly trickled past poplars and mossy willows and lovers strolled nearby. Farther down the trail, horses grazed and cows looked up languidly. A ruined wall, alone in a yard next to a few red-roofed homes, offered mystery. Cats and big-headed, friendly donkeys watched over kitchen gardens.
Then I hiked up the side of the Volcà de Montascopa within Olot itself. The paved path to the volcano's crater is marked with the Stations of the Cross, leading to a fortified church at the very top -- and a panoramic view all the way to the whitecapped Pyrenees of Andorra. The grass at the bottom of the crater is springy and damp, growing over thousands of years' worth of good soil.
The town itself is a quiet place, with a cheerful shopping district, an impressive church and plenty of cafes where you can rest your tired feet over a cappuccino and a chocolate croissant and even check your e-mail. The occasional Gaudi-esque building peeks through the medieval streets and mix of 17th-through-21st-century architecture. Up on the volcano's flanks, streets become long staircases studded with houses, vegetable gardens, and an orderly little cemetery.
As night fell over Olot, I hopped a bus back to Barcelona -- my mind cleared by the fresh mountain air and the swell of the craters, my heart ready to see the city again.
Details: Olot is one hour from Girona and two hours from Barcelona. Buses run by TEISA (www.teisa-bus.com) cost €11 ($13.11) one way, €19 ($22.64) return from Barcelona and €4.90 ($5.84) from Girona; the last bus to Barcelona leaves quite early most days, so the best way to get back is to take the Girona bus (which runs as late as 7:30 PM) and connect to a €5 ($5.96) RENFE train, the whole bus-train trip taking three hours or so.
If you're planning to walk out to Santa Pau or the basalt columns, you'll want to stay overnight. The classiest hotel nearby is the Riu, out of town on Carrera Sta. Pau [+34/972 26 94 44; www.riu.com; €75.25 ($89.67) double]. More central, but less plush is the Hotel La Perla at 9, Carrera de la Deu [+34/972 26 23 26; www.agtat.es/hperla; €41.80 ($49.82) single, €72.60 ($86.52) double with bath].
Olot offers several restaurants serving "volcanic cuisine" from locally-grown products, but I was underwhelmed. I'd rather make my own snacks from food at the market on 33 Carrer de Mulleras (open Mon-Sat, 8AM to 2PM), or get sandwiches from the charming bakery-café, Patisseria Callis, at 25 Carrer Sant Esteve in the passageway joining Placa del Mig to Carrer d'Antoni Llopis.
For more information, call Tourism Olot at +34/972 26 01 41 or go to www.olot.org/turisme.
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