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In La Vanguardia’s Readers’ Photos we can contemplate the steaming Gurri River first thing in the morning, when the thermometer shows the frost at -3º and still reminds us that we are in winter.
The snowy Puigmal also wants to indicate it to us like this, vindicating itself in white, with the castle of Vilagelants in the foreground, in Granollers de La Plana, in Gurb, Osona region.
In fact, on top of the old Vilagelans castle, declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest and documented since 1012, a square house was built in the 16th century. Next to it we find the chapel of Santa Fe, with a Romanesque plan, although very transformed. In 1920, an annex with a central tower was also built.
The steaming water is known as arctic smoke. It is produced by the difference in temperature of the water and the air mass, as in this case in Gurri.
The Gurri is a tributary of the Ter River. It originates on the northwestern slope of Matagalls, in Montseny, and runs north. It collects water from the terminals of Seva, Taradell, Santa Eugènia de Berga, Malla, Calldetenes, Vic and Roda de Ter.
El Puigmal, in Alta Cerdanya, is the second highest mountain in the province of Girona, with 2914 meters, and is located on the border between Spain and France.
Located between the municipalities of Queralbs (Ripollès) and Err (Alta Cerdanya, Eastern Pyrenees), the Puigmal is the highest of the peaks that make up the so-called Gran Olla that surrounds the Vall de Núria.
It is a wide and rounded top. And its ascent is easy if the weather conditions are not very adverse. At its summit there is a forged iron cross and a plaque with verses by Jacint Verdaguer.
