“And all for a photo!” exclaims David Gargallo, a young man from Granollers still with fear in his body. Its legs have been completely covered by the dense mud that accumulates, after decades of sediments carried by the river to the swamp. In reality, Sau, with 1% water, today looks much more like a river than a reservoir. The young man, who with his thoughtless act drew several sighs from the visitors who watched in amazement at his audacity, was lucky that his friend Eric came to his aid. “Seeing that he was sinking little by little into the mud, I threw a stick at him,” explains the colleague. “If you get nervous you are lost; if I get to be alone, I might not have been able to get out”, he admits while washing his hands, black as coal.
But in the Sau swamp, which is accessed after a final stretch of 16 kilometers of steep bends, it has been impossible to be alone there for months. Since the waters began to descend in a vertiginous way, more than a year and a half ago, the weekends have become a real promenade. The latest news about its condition in the media and the new buildings that are emerging from the waters have a calling effect. “On peak days, between 1,000 and 1,500 people can pass through here”, explains Joan Pareja, the forest ranger who regulates the parking area that depends on the park. As it guides drivers, it issues cautionary messages. “Be careful with the mud, because people often get stuck in it. And the dog well tied!”. The slogan is very clear, but there are many who do not pay attention to it. “Oh, I’m sinking!” cries a young woman in distress after having put her foot where it shouldn’t have been. “The guard warned us, but…” admits Sergi, from la Garriga, who ended up with mud up to his feet in an attempt to get as close as possible to the sheet of water. Not even he knows exactly what he wanted to see.
Incidents like these are far from isolated cases and are repeated every day. There are even people who have returned home with one less shoe or slipper because they have been half-sunk in the mud. For many, carrying a mobile phone has been vital to being able to call for help in areas of the swamp with little traffic. Pets can also go through dangerous situations if their owners do not walk with lead feet. Roser Moreno, a resident of Barcelona, ??holds Elsa, a nine-year-old Maltese bichon, in her arms when she notices that the wet earth begins to move under her feet.
One of the areas that concentrated the most movement this Saturday was the area around the old flour mill, which is already perfectly visible. Visitors want to get as close as possible, circling or jumping over what remains of the buildings where the workers who built the dam once lived. It is a coming and going of people, among them many families with small children. A trip that, of course, most often ends with the de rigueur photo or selfie. The more cautious ones warn the little ones to stay away from the mud. But there are also those who walk through the mud with creatures in their arms. An example of foolishness.
Another focus of attention is the medieval bridge of the ancient village of Sant Romà de Sau, which begins to protrude from the water. It is the first time it has emerged since the reservoir was inaugurated in 1963. Any news, therefore, is another focus of photos.
From the Guilleries-Savassona natural area, to which the most photographed swamp in Catalonia belongs, they warn of the danger of getting too close to the water’s edge, due to the large amount of accumulated silt. Its director, Sònia Llobet, calls for great caution and remembers that the banks of the reservoir are unstable terrain. At the moment, the Fire Department says that they have only acted once in this scenario – another in Riudecanyes to “save” a trapped journalist – to rescue a man who was sinking on a ledge. A ground team and troops from the special operations group (GRAE) intervened. The Catalan Water Agency (ACA) has a no-passing sign around the church of Sant Romà . But given the daily entrapments that are recorded, perhaps it would be better to place more signs near the new “attractions” of the reservoir, such as the flour mill. The Rural Agents assure that they carry out checks to avoid access to the muddiest areas.
With the water so low, Sau is a pole of attraction for drought tourism. In 2023, it closed with more than 45,000 visitors, according to park data. The excursion to this space, so dry, involves a mixture of sensations. Many, like Toni and Laura, a couple from Aiguafreda, are overcome by grief and sadness, and others, like Pepita González, who lived in this scene between the ages of three and five, and Mercè Blanch , who as a child had the opportunity to see the town before it was buried, a lot of nostalgia.
The visit is a shock to reality: there is no water. And apparently, in many cases neither is common sense.
