Six days lived in intense contact with nature and experiencing the effort of those who crossed these mountains fleeing persecution
From September 24 to 28, 2021, a group of boys from Slovenia accompanied by the priest of Opus Dei Mn. Feliu Torra, who has lived in that country for many years, did practically the whole of the Camí d’Andorra. Many of them are in the Pristan Residence in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
They send us this chronicle:
“Can you imagine doing this night trip? It would be crazy”. St. Josemaría and his companions traveled this path in 1937. For a few cold days in late autumn during the Spanish Civil War, this group decided to secretly follow this mountainous path through the Pyrenees, to reach the security of Andorra. Our group of young people at the end of September were not chased with guns and did not walk at night; but we were able to experience some of the fatigue and to see how dangerous it is to cross the Pyrenees, which was crossed by Saint Josemaría and his group.
Following is Niki’s quasi-journalistic chronicle.
September 24th
After a “moving” trip to Venice, we flew to Barcelona. Happy and full of good expectations after taking the first step, arriving in Barcelona. We drove to Oliana in a van. The first stop was to see the Peramola bridge where in 1937 part of the group started walking, after getting off the bus that was going to La Seu d’Urgell. Earlier we picked up a jeep to get to the hardest places. In Peramola we met the barn where they slept the first night. The plan was to start walking there, but it was getting late and we decided to go to Pallerols by car. We settled in quickly and visited the church, the rectory and the “oven” where they spent the second night. After preparing things, we went to the Cabana de San Rafel, where Fr Feliu celebrated the Eucharist. On the way back, from this first walk, Jordi continued to tell us what happened in November 1937, which ended with the video summary “The Crossing of the Pyrenees”. Jure arrived from Pamplona and all eight of us dined in Peramola to go back to sleep at the Pallerols refuge.
September 25th
We remember the first part of this day’s journey very well, because the morning has rained a couple of days since we left Peramola. We arrived at the Cova del Corb. A stop to read what St. Josemaría and his companions did in 1937. There the sun rose, which made us very happy, as we continued on our way to La Ribalera. On arrival we rested on the stones in that place until the priest arrived, who guided an all-terrain vehicle and climbed up to near the Ribalera. Immediately the Mass took place, in the same place where St. Josemaría did it. After eating, we prepared to move on, or rather upstairs; the path was especially demanding, very steep, so we almost had to climb a chimney, the Canal de la Jaça. Above all we will find a plan with an extraordinary view. From this point on, almost everything goes down to Les Masies de Nargó. Downstairs, Balta and Mn were waiting for us. Glad they had found a place by the river to set up tents and spend the night.
As it was the first time we had set up tents, and it was a little late, it was a little difficult; It was getting darker and darker, which made the operation more complicated, except that we had few flashlights, but in the end we made it. At night we were awakened by a storm with plenty of water, which passed through two of the tents, and some of us got wet; we saw lightning flashes from repeated photographs as we heard the loud thunder. Luckily it was relatively short. Nevertheless, Luka continued to sleep peacefully all night.
September 26
It was a day of going up and down until noon in Fenollet. The van arrived there, and after cleaning the chapel next to the house, we had Mass. Arranging the chapel at the same time helped us to prepare our hearts as well. Then we had a good meal – it was plentiful and tasty. Some, the three bravest, bathed in the pond. And then, to continue walking towards Santa Fe and the house of the Olive of Cabó, but now without the Jure that had to return to Pamplona and that accompanied by Mn. Feliu went to pick up the car, which he had left in Peramola.
Arriving at L’Oliva, we went down to the Cabó river where there is a magnificent meadow. And already with experience we planted the tents and, when the van had already arrived with the last ones, we made a campfire. After dinner, after singing and talking, we went to bed. Half an hour later we were awakened by the owners of the land, with whom Baltasar spoke in Mallorcan Catalan, repeating a greeting that became famous from that moment on: Bona niiit! In the end they just wanted us to put everything in order and most of all to take away all the rubbish. The night was filled with the howls of some animals. Some said at first that they looked like wolves, but they were probably deer.
September 27th
It was the day to climb Mount Ares! Quite demanding, but most did not back down. Some preferred to rest. Thus Luka, Niki, who together with Fr Feliu organized a very different cultural plan, first visiting the church of Organyà and then the Cathedral of Urgell, the Cathedral, the Museum, a couple of churches, and the Olympic Park. Lunch went to a self-service combo, leaving the typical sandwiches and we bought dishes made by walkers. We will meet in Noves de Segre. After resting for a while, we found the key to the church so we could have Mass. And on the banks of the Segre we looked for a place to put the tents, more and more experienced. We had time to swim in the famous Segre, which carried very cold water. The night was very calm, with no howls of animals or storms, happy waiting for the last day of walking that awaited us.
September 28th
Luka had to go to the Covid test, accompanied by Fr Feliu, while the others went up the Collada de la Torre and went down until they found the van and ate the sandwiches and lots of fruit. At seven in the afternoon we did the last stage of the Way: the climb of the Dead Goat, which gets its name because it has such a slope that the goats can fall easily, and in any case get tired enough. After the Dead Goat, go up to Mas d’Alins, which is already Andorran territory, and go down to Canòlich, where we had Mass in the chapel next to the road. Ramon came to pick us up in the van and from there to Organyà where we were invited to dinner at Mariano’s house, who had turned 75 the day before! We sang, toasted and chatted – a very entertaining dinner. We had set up shop before in a few minutes – it was our record – in a sports club area, where we rested that night and were finally able to shower!
September 29th
Today the plan was different. With the van we went to Andorra, in Sant Julià we attended the Holy Mass, contemplating the magnificent mosaic of our compatriot Marko I. Rupnik.
Then, with the guidance of a great friend of ours, such as Mrs. Conxita Heras, we visited Andorra la Vella: the tobacco museum, the Casa de la Vall, the church of S. Esteve and we went up to the sanctuary of Meritxell, where we thanked the Virgin for our Way of Pallerols in Andorra , following in the footsteps of St. Josemaría and his companions in late November 1937.
It is time to return to our home, enriched and full of interesting experiences, a little tired physically but renewed spiritually and very happy. Let’s see when we can repeat this great walk!
Aquest any era la quarta vegada que feia el Pas dels Pirineus. A més, he estat a Pallerols i voltants unes deu vegades més. Malgrat això cada cop m’agrada més anar-hi per respirar “l’ambient tan especial” que va deixar sant Josepmaria amb la seva estada per complir la Voluntat de Déu. Realment una nova experiència d’apropar-se a la santedat i fidelitat d’un gran sant. Val molt la pena anar-hi sovint, acompanyats dels nostres amics i familiars!
Molt bons comentaris per aquesta extraordinària experiència, que racomano a tothom. Volia aclarir, sobre tot a la Lara que va ploure només el primer dia un parell d’hores, a estones més fort, però no massa, i també la primera nit que vàrem dormir a les tendes va haver-hi una tormenta de mitja hora llarga. Per cert, som eslovens (no eslovacs, com escriu).
Marvelous! Congratulations!
Em sap greu per ells que els plogués, però molt contenta per la terra, segur que el vert es veu mes vert ara! Fotos molt maques.
Que maca es l,església de St Julia.
Molt ben fet nois eslovacs.
Sin palabras…
Moltes felicitats a mn. Feliu i als nois de Eslovènia que han fet el “paspi”
Una crònica molt completa i ben treballada, amb fotos i comentaris vivencials!
Iz potovanja čez Pireneje sem si najbolj zapomnil zamujanje na letalo, okusne in zabavne večerje (še posebej tortilla), poskus branjenja svojega kozarca, da mi ne bi več nalivali, vročina v gorah, čudovit razgled, bodičasto grmovje in zoprne muhe, molitev rožnega venca ob vzponu na cabra muerta, razmišljanje o tem kako so lahko sv. Escriva in ostali to pot prehodili v temi, smrčanje ponoči in Oj Triglav moj dom vsakih 15 minut.
Del Camí a través dels Pirineus tinc molts records: la natura, la forta calor pujant muntanyes, les increïbles vistes, els arbustos espinosos, les odioses mosques, la pregària del rosari pujant la Cabra Morta, les boniques cançons, com “Oj Triglav moj dom” (Triglav, la meva llar) que cantàvem, les dificultats per “dormir” a la tenda pels sorolls dels altres, … però sobretot la meditació sobre com sant Josepmaria i els que anaven amb ell varen recórrer tot el camí a les fosques i les dificultats que varen trobar.
Pohod por Pirenejih se mi zdel zelo zanimiv in dinamičen. Bila je zelo dobra izkušnja, ki mi bo ostala v spominu. Všeč mi je bilo da smo si spreva ogledali znamenitosti Barcelone ter nato prehodili pot, ki jo je hodil sv Jožefmarija, ko je pobegnil v Francijo. Na potovanju sem se imel super, videl sem ogromno lepe narave ter osupljive znamenitosti.
El Pas dels Pirineus em va semblar molt interessant i mogut. Ha estat una experiència molt bona, que em queda com a record. Em va agradar molt recórrer el camí que havia recorregut sant Josepmaria quan va anar camí d’Andorra. En tot el viatge m’he trobat molt a gust, per tot el que hem vist (una natura preciosa) i hem viscut aquests dies.
Paso de los Pirineos se mi je vtisnili v spomin po krasnih poteh in raznolikih pokrajinah, predvsem pa po sproščenem in prijateljskem vzdušju, ki je vladalo v naši skupinici. Nekatere anekdote od tam so res nepozabne. Obenem mi je tisti izlet približal kraje, o katerih sem prej le bral, in težko izkušnjo, čez katero je šel naš oče s svojimi sinovi. Z njim se sem čutil posebej povezan med molitvijo rožnega venca, saj sem vedel, da ga je po istih poteh molil tudi on.
El Pas dels Pirineus m’ha quedat imprès a la memòria pels fantàstics camins i variats paranys, però sobretot el bon ambient d’amistat que el nostre grup va respirar. Algunes anècdotes d’aquells dies són realment inoblidables. Tanmateix aquesta excursió m’ha apropat a llocs sobre els quals havia llegit, i en especial m’ha fet entendre la difícil experiència que varen patir sant Josepmaria i els fills que l’acompanyaren. Amb ell em vaig sentir molt unit mentre resava el rosari, sabent que pels mateixos camins ho havia fet ell.
Pensé que estando en el siglo 21, el paso de los Pirineos, sería un simple paseo. Ya el primer día me di cuenta que no sería así. Una verdadera travesía reviviendo en carne propia todos los rincones y peligros por los que pasó san Josemaría. Ha sido una experiencia inolvidable, con la cual ha crecido en nosotros la amistad, la alegría, la confianza, la fortaleza, la fe y la esperanza.
Pensava que estant al segle 21, el Pas dels Pirineus era només una passejada. Des del primer dia ja vaig veure que no era així. Fou una veritable travessa on revisquérem personalment tots els llocs i perills pels quals va passar sant Josepmaria. Ha estat una experiència inoblidable, amb què ha crescut entre nosaltres l’amistat, l’alegria, la confiança, la fermesa i l’esperança.
Najlepši občutek, ki se ga spominjam iz našega pohoda po Pirenejih je bilo to, da smo lahko hodili skupaj, trdno povezani in pripravljeni drug za drugega poskrbeti. In vsaka maša se je zdela kot popolno zatočišče, kjer smo si odpočili in se pripravili za nadaljevanje poti. Globoko v srce se mi je vtisnilo zavedanje, da je pot lahko zelo strma, pa je Gospod vseeno vedno z nami. Ribalera je dokaz za to.
La sensació més bella que recordo del nostre Camí dels Pirineus és que el vàrem fer junts, molt units i sempre disposats a preocupar-se un de l’altre. I cada Missa em va semblar el millor refugi, on podíem reposar i preparar-nos per continuar el camí. També se’m va quedar gravat al cor la convicció que, encara que el camí fos a vegades molt costerut, el Senyor està sempre amb nosaltres: la Ribalera és la millor demostració d’això.
Ha sido una gran experiencia. Hemos disfrutado de la naturaleza y personalmente me voy con muy buen sabor de boca después de haber conseguido recorrer todas aquellas cimas y valles a pie. Es dificil imaginar lo que supondría recorrer aquellos caminos resbaladizos de noche y con prisas. De todos los lugares que hemos conocido recordaré especialmente la fuerte impresión que me causó estar en la Ribalera donde San Josemaría celebró la santa misa en unas circunstancias tan intensas.
Ha estat una gran experiència. Hem gaudit de la natura i personalment vaig tornar molt content després d’haver aconseguit recórrer a peu tots aquells cims i valls. És difícil imaginar què va suposar recórrer aquells camins relliscosos de nit i amb pressa. De tots els llocs que hem conegut recordaré especialment la forta impressió que em va causar estar a la Ribalera on sant Josepmaria celebrà la santa Missa en unes circumstàncies tan especials.
Pohod po Pirenejih se mi je zdel zelo zanimiv. Lahko sem bolje spoznal špansko kulturo in kulinariko, prav tako pa sem lahko užival v naravi, čez katero smo hodili. Ker študiram zootehniko in me kmetovanje zanima, sem zato z veseljem opazoval tamkajšnjo pokrajino in obdelovalne površine, ter rejene živali, ki so jih tam redili. Zelo se mi je dopadla velika gostoljubnost ljudi, pri katerih smo večerjali in po možnosti tudi spali. Zelo me je presenetilo, kako imajo povsod obnovljene in urejene
cerkve, kar se pri nas ne vidi na veliko krajih.
El Pas dels Pirineus em va semblar molt interessant. Vaig conèixer millor la cultura i la gastronomia catalana, també vaig gaudir de la natura per on vàrem caminar. Com que estudiem zootècnica m’interessa molt el camp i per això vaig observar amb alegria els variats paranys pels quals vàrem passar de tot tipus, els animals que vàrem veure a les diverses finques. Em va encantar l’acollida de la gent, que ens van invitar a sopar i alguns a dormir. Em va sorprendre molt, veure les esglésies reformades i molt cuidades, cosa que no es veu a d’altres llocs.