Overland to Spain 2010: Camprodon

A lazy day today - quite sunny with temperatures around 21 degrees. We walked upstream towards Llanars, taking a back road which offered nice views of the valley. Amongst the flora and fauna, we noticed some reptiles crawling about in the undergrowth and managed to get some photographs.

We've been quite disappointed by the food offered by our hotel. Like the hotel down at the coast, we've opted for a half-board service, but the food doesn't appear to be anything near as authentic. The menu options are somewhat basic, and the portions on the small side.

The menu is printed entirely in Catalan, with no Castilian and this does present a slight language barrier. To help identify the dishes, we undertake a nightly routine of asking the waiting staff to explain each of the options. Although they don't really speak much French or English, it seems to be marginally easier for them to translate into French, being so close to the border. I then translate into English, and verify with a bit of Castilian in return (if my knowledge of the vocabulary stretches that far). The waiting staff are absolute gems, and their patience with the whole process is very much appreciated!

This translation process, which is absolutely no fault of the waiting staff, does lead to some unexpected dishes being served to us! For example, we were described a 'platter' of potatoes, ham, egg and sausage. In our minds, we visualised this to be tortilla, local Catalan sausages and dried hams. In reality, the dish transpired to be none other than sausage, egg, bacon and chips, complete with a squirt of brown sauce at the side of plate! I'd like to meet the person who thought this would be a good idea for a menu...

Last night, Christine had a pork dish, but there was as much bone, fat and gristle as there was actual meat. My own dish consisted of a few slices of processed ham, a cherry tomato and garlic sausage on toast speared together by a cocktail stick. Served at the side was a small egg omelette. Curiously, the other (mainly elderly) residents of the hotel seem to be completely unphased by the sub-standard food?

So, to top up our calorie intake, we make a daily pilgrimage to the local supermercado at the far end of the town. We're able to purchase local hams, sausages, cheeses, olives and breads which are sufficient to make a wholesome 'starter' in our room prior to dinner. All washed down with a nice glass of Catalan red wine :-)

Somewhat irritatingly, the hotel actually offers a far more extensive menu for non-residents. However, since we've prepaid for the half-board service, this menu is not presented to us. As I've said before, we can't fault the service - it's been fantastic and everyone is so nice. Just a shame that the food is not up to scratch.