Marta Belmonte: "Catalonia is impressive, it has a brutal diversity of landscapes"

When actress Marta Belmonte was in her early twenties, she took one of her first trips with friends to the Catalan Pyrenees. The objective was to hike the Carros de Foc route within the Aigüestortes National Park and Estany de Sant Maurici, a circular mountain route that connects nine refuges. “It was an improvised getaway, I hadn't prepared anything and I joined at the last minute, perhaps that's why it surprised me so much and I have a very good memory of the landscape and the whole experience. They were incredible days,” she comments. She admits she wasn't very physically prepared. While doing the route, she grumbled a bit, and in the end, they decided not to finish the trek: "Even so, it was fantastic. There were three of us friends, we were carrying backpacks and tents to camp in the middle of nature, in case we didn't reach the refuges. It's a spectacular area, I'd like to go back, now I would finish the entire route." Although she has been to the Pyrenees more times, she has done so more towards France and the Huesca area. She has never repeated the Carros de Foc. Belmonte believes that sometimes we go far away to see spectacular places and it wouldn't be necessary, "Catalonia is impressive, with a brutal diversity of landscapes that has nothing to envy other places. I really like green and water, seas, rivers… and Estany de Sant Maurici is extraordinary," she points out. The route was very varied, it was spring and the temperature changed a lot depending on the altitude and the time of day, they went from wearing short sleeves to treading snow.

The actress loves the simplicity involved in walking in the mountains, when you only have to worry about walking, eating, and sleeping. In principle, it was necessary to book to sleep in the refuges, but there were days when they improvised and walked more than planned: “In one of these changes, we hadn't booked the refuge, we showed up without anyone expecting us and it was full. They were very kind, they let us sleep in the dining room. There I ate the best garlic soup I have ever tasted”. She admits that after hours of walking, finding a broth is a real treat.Explains that it was a week of great freedom, that they did not shower until the last day, when they ended up in a hotel with hot springs, much more luxurious than the refuges they had been in, which were simpler, and where everyone was charming. He likes the complicity of people who meet in the mountains and greet each other, although at that time they did not meet almost anyone. Shortly after, The New York Times dedicated a feature to the crossing and things changed. “Routes like this one are an opportunity to enjoy the silence in nature, travel light, and recover the authenticity we are losing day by day. Those Chariots of Fire were a luxury,” he concludes.