Dijous Llarder

Around the world people celebrate carnival, which happens in February every year. It is a celebration before Lent and people do some crazy partying and dress up. The first day of carnival is on a Thursday and in Catalan is called ‘Dijous Llarder’ (Long Thursday). This is the last day that the Catholics are allowed to eat meat before abstaining from it for six weeks. On this day, some schools in Catalonia particularly FEDAC Anglés go on a walking trip to the nearby towns. The day started with the students talking about Dijous Llarder and singing a traditional Catalan song related to the day, while the Carnival King came out and shook hands with the children.

At half past ten, all of the classes set off on their trips. Judit and I were with the two oldest classes, which sometimes can be difficult as some of the students aren’t so well behaved. Not to worry as it was a trip and kids can get very excited when they’re out of the school. The children did behave well throughout the day, but it was exhausting trying to control them sometimes. The weather was very hot and when I looked up at the sky, it was a beautiful shade of blue and not a cloud in sight. From the school we walked along the old railway line, which led us to a little town called La Cellera de Ter. In this town there was a play park, but it looked more like a gym as there were signs telling people how to use the equipment. The kids were like monkeys, swinging and jumping from the handle bars. Then we went on our way to El Pasteral, which was our final destination. On the way we crossed a rather questionable looking bridge, saw a flowing river and passed a farm with many different animals including sheep, ducks and ostriches. Finally we made it to El Pasteral. We stopped and had lunch, after which the kids ran around playing a game called ‘War’ where they had make shift weapons out of twigs. Judit and I sat on a wall talking and enjoying the sun, before moving to the field where I lay down, put my head on my backpack and looked up at the sky. It was glorious.

After lunch we made the journey back to Anglés and with the mixture of the sun and the kids, I felt really tired by the end. Once I got home I slept for about three hours before having dinner. All in all it was a great day and I can’t wait to discover more of the Catalonian countryside. In the meantime enjoy the photos.