A Tree too big to Hug?

My favourite pastime is walking, but there's an added flavour when you walk to discover and learn something. This week I took Mrs. Max up to Terra Alta, the high area to the West of the Ebro Valley where there are so many great walking areas. Our target was an ancient Olive tree known as "Lo Parot" The Patriarch. It's reckoned to be the oldest tree in Catalunya and at 2000 plus years, possibly the oldest in Spain. I found out about Lo Parot on the Palau Robert website, which is a marvellous multi lingual resource of walks, cycling, climbing and motoring routes throughout Catalunya. This is one of the easiest routes as the tree is just 200 metres from the road over mostly level ground, however it is private land and a dirt path only.

Lo Parot is obviously recognised as a national treasure as a stout fence and sigposts explaining its biology have been placed. I understand that, genetically, it is unusual, being a very ancient strain of olive. Notwithstanding, it is very healthy and still producing dark elongated fruits which lie in abundance below the massive 8 metre girth of the impressive great great grandfather of the species.

How to get there: From Salou drive to Hospitalet de L'Infant, Mora, Gandesa then take the road to Bot and the Txxx to Horta de Sant Joan. At KP3 there are farm buildings of grey breeze block. Park opposite, don't block the road. Follow the track to the buildings and passing the larger shed on your right turn right following the low field wall for 100 metres (the path will be well walked) this brings you to a step down to a lower field and Lo Parot is on the right just 50 metres away. (This route takes into consideration the road works at Prat de Compte 2009 - an easier route to Horta via Tortosa and Xerta will exist when the work is done)

To complete the day we drove back though the delightfully named BOT and on to Batea, another ancient and venerable Catalan town. This picture shows the arches which line the main street of Carrer Major where the diminuitive town hall (Ajuntament - that's the door on the right!) emphasises tha scale of these tiny but delightful towns.

As we enjoyed strolling around, despite the chilly conditions (600 metres up and in late January, even Catalunya can get nippy) we became aware of a scolding bark from a local doggie, staring at us from a beautiful small house built right over a narrow lane. I captured him for a moment and his expression suggests that he'd really have rather been out with us!

Enjoy Terra Alta through their website before you go there. (http://www.terra-alta.org/)

Stop for a coffee and some crusty bread at La Corbera D'Ebre (7 Kms from Gandesa)on the way back to Mora and Hospitalet.