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June 22, 2013 - Spain
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Woke to a sunny, beautiful day after yesterday's rain. Noisy night last night. The seagulls don't sleep here apparently. People and mopeds out all night until dawn, but we both slept well. The plan today is to hike to the lighthouse at Cap de Creus. We hit the Mercado grocery store in the morning and bought yogurt, fresh squeezed OJ and half a cantaloupe for breakfast. Also got 2 types of sausage, a wedge of swiss-like cheese, a baguette, a tomato and an apple for lunch. Back to our room for breakfast on the balcony. Packed a daypack and went to the waterfront bar for my cup of cafe con leche while Evan skipped rocks.
A new, beautiful day.
Evan likes water. In fact he doesn't drink anything else.
Evan skipping rocks again.
Cafe con leche on a beautiful morning.
Then off to Cap de Creus. We walked too far around the harbor, enjoying the views back at Cadaques anyway. Prettier in todays sunshine than yesterday's drizzle. The water was strikingly clear with deep shades of turquoise and blue. Backtracked to the street that leads over the hill to Portlligat. Saw Salvidor Dali's house there. I understand why he lived there. Totally cool house right on the beach on a fabulous sheltered bay. Hiked up the road to the official trailhead and followed the sigs to Cap de Crues. An interesting hike. Dry landscape with prickly pear cactus in bloom, large agave-like plants too. Stone trails. Lots of stone walls and olive groves. Not many people on the trail at all. A hot day, but with a cool breeze. Passed a few coves with "Cala Nudista" (nudist cove) signs, and indeed saw topless women.
The harbor on a sunny morning.
The harbor on a sunny morning.
The path leading out of Cadaques to Portlligat.
The street leading to Portlligat.
Salvador Dali's house in Portlligat.
His house was right on the water. I understand why he chose to live here.
What Mr. Dali woke to every morning.
Where the trail started.
Evan on the trail.
Pine trees along the trail.
Lots of cactus plants. They were blooming too.
Olive trees along the trail.
The trail.
A very nice house with a spectacular view.
The trail.
Paint markings that indicate the trail.
One of the many bays along the trail.
Heading up a hill.
Cal Nudista (nude beach).
About a mile from the lighthouse we detoured down a side trail to a cove. Yes there were some topless women, but not all. We found a decent spot to stash our gear, grabbed our swim goggles and hit the crystal clear water. I thought it was pretty warm and got used to it immediately. Evan thought it was cold. It was not too different than snorkeling in Hawaii. The fish weren't as colorful, but there were plenty of them, if not small. Lots of pretty big (8
sea cucumbers lying on the bottom. Also spiny sea urchins. Got out after a while and had a picnic lunch on the rocks. We bought more than enough food.
The bay where we swam.
Looking down at our swimming hole.
Lunch.
Lunch.
The boat with the forward-tilting mast again.
Evan on the rocks.
Beautiful, clear water.
Leaving the bay where we swam.
After lunch, we headed back up the trail to the lighthouse. Impressive views to France to the north, and the south east coast of Spain. A road leads out to the Cap so there were plenty of motorists lounging at the restaurant who hadn't endured the hike. We headed back and took a side trail to a different cove about a third of the way back. The side trail was clearly not traveled on much, and was overgrown with thorny plants. We found a nude couple at the cove when we arrived. Evan opted out of swimming so I struck out alone into the clear blue water. Same marine life, but also saw a small brown jellyfish. Sunned a bit with Evan on a towel on the beach after getting out, then began the rest of the hike back. It was clear we were getting pretty good sunburns by then. Back to Portlligat, then over the hill to Cadaques.
Nice flowers.
Heading up to the lighthouse.
Looking down at another bay.
Me, starting to get very sunburned. What was I thinking?
Cap de Creus lighthouse.
Looking south from the lighthouse.
The second bay where I swam.
Hit the Mercado store again for 2, 1.5 liter bottles of cold water and 2 San Miguel beer, all for only 3.80 euros! We had seen smoke rising from Cadaques on the hike back and saw liquid running down the center of the street next to our hotel. A nice woman warned us that it was gasolina! Apparently there was a bus mishap at the bus station uptown, and the diesel fuel from the bus drained down through town on our street. It's not very flammable. I saw a woman actually throw her spent cigarette into the puddle and crush it out with her foot. Sheesh. Anyway, the San Miguel beers on our balcony were excellent. Then, a shower. After a brief nap, we went for another walk around the old town. Saw a band playing "Hey good lookin, what you got cookin" wearing goofy overalls in a courtyard. Also the tail end of a wedding. Then a cheap dinner at the local Donner Kabob place. A walk to the waterfront for some gelato, then back to the room. We're pretty beat. It was about a 10 mile hike and we're *really* sunburned.
The stream of diesel fuel running down the street in front of our room.
Street scene. We thought this must've been a wedding.
More Spanish cats. They weren't very friendly. Maybe it's because we were tourists.
Donner kebabs!
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