At the beginning of the work

On Saturday, February 15, 9 Volunteers recovered the road that goes from Castell·llebre to the house of Juncàs (*).

Map of the route, from Castell·llebre to Juncàs

We met at 10 am in Oliana and immediately, with two off-road vehicles, we went up to near the Tarragona’s house. There we formed two groups: one that went towards Juncàs (formed by Jordi Pérez, Ramon Camats, Josep Maria Vila and Daniel Macià) and the other group that went towards Castell·llebre (Paco Penella, Emilio de Gomis, Philip Groves, Lluís Abardia and Jordi Piferrer).

Clearing and signage work

The Juncàs group. In the background the Juncàs house

Philip and Emilio. Philip came from London

After each group had done its work, we all met in Castell·llebre where we had lunch from what each one had brought.

Group of Volunteers

To end this day of work, we all went to Pallerols where we dismantled the Nativity Scene, leaving the church very clean.

A day of intense work and well spent!

(*) This is the path taken by Antoni Dalmases, one of the expedition members who joined the expedition of Saint Josemaría Escrivá on November 28, 1937, shortly before arriving together in La Ribalera.

Below I share some paragraphs taken from the Diary “Pro Deo et Patria” written by Antonio Dalmases in 1937. A more complete reading can be found in the books “El Pas dels Pirineus” (pp. 241-244), “Entre la Noche y la esperanza” (pp. 249-253) and “Camino de Liberación” (pp. 302-304).

Antoni Dalmases left Barcelona on November 12, 1937 and went by train to Manresa. From there he took a bus to Solsona. When he gets off the bus, a girl named Emília is waiting for him and takes him to her house, in Serinyana (about 5 km from Oliana). He stays there until the 22nd.

Houses of Serinyana

At 5 pm on the 22nd, Antonio and Emília leave for Oliana, where they arrive after 7 pm. They go directly to the inn where Emília’s sister, Patrícia, works. This inn could be Cal Victor or Cal Manel (which does not exist today).

On Tuesday the 23rd, at 4 am, Gili arrives, a local guide who will take them to La Ribalera. Two more fugitives join them. It is raining. They cross the Peramola bridge and head towards Castell·llebre.

Climb from the Bridge of Peramola to Castell·llebre

They arrive at Cal Tarragona’s house (very close to Castell·llebre) but they cannot stay there because there are strange people there. They continue towards a small village past the Torrent de les Caubes, where they arrive at 7 am. They stay there until 6 pm. Gili arrives and takes them north, to the house in Ribalera, 2 hours away. It is an abandoned and half-destroyed house.

On the 24th at 8 am Gili comes again and tells them that the guide will not arrive for 4 days and that they have to go down to the road, to the hostel in Penella de Baix. So they leave the house in Ribalera, go through Juncàs (where they leave their backpacks) and arrive in Penella at 7 pm.

Here, as there are many people in the hostel, they are locked in a room for 3 days, until on the 28th at 3 am Gili comes and takes them back to Juncàs, where they rest a bit.

The house of Juncàs

After half an hour they are called and go out again; After 500 meters of walking, they meet the group of Saint Josemaría Escrivá who come from Pallerols. Now all together, they arrive at the Barranc de la Ribalera (in l’Espluga de les Vaques) around 6-7 in the morning.

– On Saturday, February 15, we were able to follow this entire itinerary that we already have well cleared and signposted.

– Come with us, become a volunteer, and you will be able to discover the exciting story of this escape expedition that covers 100 km, from the Pont de Peramola to Andorra!