During my holidays I visited the beautiful Sierra de Gata. It is located in the west of Spain, very close to the border with Portugal.

In the song “A contratiempo”, with lyrics by Agustin Garcia Calvo and music by Chicho Sanchez Ferlosio, Sierra de Gata is referred as the place where a very famous wood was taken from. The wood used to construct the ships that Christopher Columbus used to travel to America. In that songs the singer ask to the ships to not arrive in America, to come back to Spain and make the trip back to Sierra de Gata, not sailing but walking as pilgrims, traveling back to the mountains to be transformed again in the trees that they once were.

The road to Gata

Music and Lyrics: Miguel Ganzo, 2013

Today was the day to take the road to Gata

Today was the day to take the road to Gata

Today was the day to walk beyond the crossroad

Today is the day to leave behind the sorrow

I wrote it should be in the morning

I knew it would be in the night

And with the shadows of the ancient stones

Looking over me and taking care

There’s no sight of any promised land

Only sun and dust and noble trees

I see the apple and I see the snake

But I will take good care of it

I just wonder how it feels

Today was the day to take the road to Gata

Today was the day to take the road to Gata

Today was the day to walk beyond the crossroad

Today is the day to leave behind the sorrow

It seems it’s getting uphill from here

I guess I’ve lost the fear for falling

Getting 1000 points of boredom

Released by the sunset in the old town

It would never be today

It would never be like this

It would never be just me

But I don’t,

I don’t

I don’t regret to be here

I’m surprised about how it feels

Today was the day to take the road to Gata

Today was the day to take the road to Gata