Sunday May 12, 2013

I ended my description of the monastery at Sant Pere de Rodes in the blog “Hiking to the Monastery” by talking about its decline. Problems became worse in the 15th & 16th centuries with attacks by pirates & bandits and as religious life became laxer. The financial situation in the 17th & 18th centuries improved (they produced huge amounts of wine & the terraced hillsides are still evident), but attacks from French troops and bandits continued. In 1798 the monks abandoned the monastery completely and in 1835 they dissolved. The property then was ravaged, suffering great damage.

In 1930 efforts began to restore what was then named as a national historic monument. The archaeological research & restoration between 1989 & 1999 yielded a fascinating look into the life of monks in medieval times & later. The building is completely empty but the visitor’s guide provides a detailed look at the areas of the abbey & monastery and how it was used. For example the dimensions of the refectory where the monks ate their meals show that the community of Sant Pere de Rodes almost never exceeded 20 monks.

We spent 2 hours exploring this site and then proceeded down. We took another footpath to the mountain village of La Vall de Santa Creu. More challenging rocky, narrow and sometimes steep paths. From there we took a paved road to the main road between El Port de la Selva and Llanca. We (especially me) were exhausted by this point and the easiest way was to walk the coastal path to La Selva and get a taxi to LLanca! We took the taxi.

Mother’s Day dinner out ended this great day.

Photo: Trail on the way down to La Vall de Santa Creu. Paul in the distance.