Sant Aniol
Our longest day hike followed the river bed of Riera de Sant Aniol, up to the hermitage of Sant Aniol d'Aguja (Sant Aniol of the needle). The hike was wonderful, most of it not difficult, but extremely varied passing from low humid valleys into drier rockier areas.
The trail crosses an old bridge, and passes by a finca with a visitor center and small café, reminiscent of an AMC lodge in some ways but with a much more ancient aspect.
In many locations the river pools to form dramatic swimming holes. The trail forded the riera 2 or 3 times, and there were several opportunities for wading along the trail.
Our destination was the 11th century church of Sant Aniol, all that remains of a Benedictine monastery. It has a beautiful small sheltered plaza in front of it, with stone benches along its two sides. We ate lunch on the little wooden toadstools in front of it.
When I took this photo, I thought at first that the eerie saint statue was my own reflection.
Next to Sant Aniol is another building, perhaps a hostel, which is being slowly refurbished. Hikers can grab a bag and help schlep sand or stones for the last leg of the hike. Ed was tempted to help, but since we didn't know the trail, he thought the better of it.
It was rainy at times, so we didn’t end up swimming. We really wanted to check out this beautiful swimming hole, though, which was very close to the trailhead in Sadernes.
