• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Cadaqués is a typical Mediterranean post-card town with a multitude of white-walled buildings stacked precariously in uneven rows along a ragged coastline. A smattering of which sweep upwards into the hillsides filled with olive groves of all ages.  To get there, you either need a small yacht or a dependable vehicle unafraid to traverse the winding road painstakingly built along the rocky, steep terrain. There is only one main highway, GI-614, allowed to go into and out of Cadaqués.  There are other routes, but they don’t qualify as roads – more like lanes that often converge into single status in order to cross a bridge or round a sharp corner, of which there are many.  This is the nature of the Costa Brava – the wild coast.  The land appears to have pushed it’s way from the very center of the earth before it finally, gradually allowed life to grow upon its surface.  It is the epitome of wild.  It is random and rough and, at times, scary.  For this reason, the tiny city of Cadaqués is a hidden little gem that miraculously appears out of nowhere when you creep around the last corner and find your way suddenly in the main traffic circle.  It surprises you like that last little Russian doll nesting in the set.  Ta-da!  

• 

• 

• 

To get to Cadaqués, we drove around the large, bustling yet beautiful city of Roses.  We actually spent plenty of time driving around Roses as we passed it on the way into Cadaqués and again, on the way out!  If you do decide to explore the Costa Brava from the oceanic perspective and are therefore in need of a respectable craft, Roses is the place for you!  Never have I seen such an outstanding collection of procurable sea-faring vessels all snuggled together in one place.  Some for sale, some for rent, some for trade, etc.  I imagine the options are as limitless as the supply.  In fact, the one single scenic overlook on the GI-614 headed towards Cadaqués provides an excellent view of the vast marina that is Roses.  Also, every now and then, you might see some actual roses growing in the orchards and vineyards along the way.  I presume, however, they are present to encourage bees more than sailors.  

Allita was able to successfully navigate us around the town of Cadaqués and to the Camping Cadaqués campground I had previously identified as a possible overnight location for us.  Sadly, this particular campground closed in March due to the pandemic and has not since re-opened.  Given the strict requirements for reopening such a business, it seems reasonable, if disappointing, that some might not afford a positive cost-benefit analysis.  So, we drove back into town and decided to explore our options.  

• 

• 

• 

At this point, I will remind you that I had rented a van for this trip.  We were supposed to be camping and we needed the extra space in the event we had to sleep inside the vehicle, for whatever reason.  So we had a rather large minivan (which sounds like an oxymoron).  A van is not a typical Spanish vehicle.  One does not see many SUVs, minivans, trucks, or large, 4-door sedans driving around the Spanish countryside.  In these little towns, even the delivery vehicles appear to be skinnier designs that can barely carry two passengers and have magical, Mary-Poppins-esque cargo areas capable of transporting more goods that seem physically possible.  These are people who drive small, thin cars because they drive on small, narrow streets.  In some cases, they aren’t actually streets, they are more like paths that have been worn over time and are now part of the regular thoroughfare.  Many of them are paved, some are cobblestone or rock, and a few are just dirt.  Almost none of them have street signs that provide any sort of identification and you can forget using your GPS.  

• 

• 

• 

So, here I was driving this robust van through the tiny, winding rastells of Cadaqués so we could “get a feel” for the place and “look around a little” (I’m quoting my mother, by the way) before we finally settled down for the night.  The van came equipped with a navigational assistance feature that I could not figure out how to disable.  This feature is accompanied by an in-dash camera system that displays the outside peripheral view and also has a digital outline of the vehicle that lights up using a color-coded scheme to warn you when you are approaching something the sensors can detect.  It could be a bush or a building.  It could be on any side of the vehicle as the system covers the entire perimeter!  The car can be in drive or in reverse.  As long as the vehicle is in gear, the system is functioning.  Also, the system will emit a loud “beep” to remind you of impending doom in case you missed the flashing, color-coded lights and the camera image.   The beeping becomes more insistent the closer you get to the object the sensor detects.  I confirmed this through repeated testing.  In fact, driving this van through downtown Cadaqués was a little like playing a video game inside the car.  There were frequently flashing lights and lots of beeping, and I was cursing while Mom and Allita laughed and pointed at things nearby.   Fortunately, there were no lost lives, but I surprised a number of people, including one waiter who popped out in front of me while I was trying to squeeze the van between his restaurant and the outdoor tables.  Honestly, I was on the road.  I swear it.  

[rastell: a street with a steep slope which is formed with pieces of slate stone placed in a vertical position] 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Finally, when I had experienced all the driving fun I possibly could, we adventitiously arrived back at our origin and I created a parking spot in front of a lovely-looking hotel.  We remain disappointed that we were unable to camp in Cadaqués because we now can not proclaim this a “camping trip”.  Still, in retrospect, I have to admit it was nice to spend one evening in a complete room with a semi-solid mattress and a tub in the bathroom (see Roughing It – Platja d’Aro for related details).  Not to mention the air conditioning.  The hotel manager was even kind enough to store our small cooler bag in her kitchen refrigerator overnight so that we didn’t immediately need ice.  Finally, the location of our hotel was also excellent and it included a private and secure parking lot.   In the end, I was delighted to walk a short way to the marina, locate a lovely restaurant right on the waterfront and enjoy some tapas and Tinto at the end of a very long day.   

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Early the next morning, after a light breakfast, we walked through Cadaqués to the neighboring village of Port Lligat where Salvador Dalí had a beach home that is now a museum.  This was actually one of our main reasons for being in Cadaqués.  Yes, the Casa Blava is pretty and blue.  Yes, the Church of Saint Mary is large and lovely.  Yes, the marina is quite picturesque.  And, certainly, Dalí isn’t the only notable visitor to Cadaqués.  Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró and Walt Disney were also here – to name a few.  In fact, this little city is so quirky and unique, so like Dalí himself, that it seems appropriate it be linked to him in our minds.  One store we passed sold only pots – no seeds, plants, books on gardening, watering containers – nope, only pots. A local restaurant had repurposed old tractor parts as tables and chairs. They even have a statue of Dalí standing with his back to the marina and beach, looking up at the little town and smiling his strange smile.  It was a fantastic walk, up steep slopes, down rocky trails and through narrow alleys overlooking houses and yards.  We were able to see so much of Cadaqués that our walking tour felt almost personal – like we were sneaking through someone’s backyard – and, in a way, we were.  Every house was built up the hill so that each ended just as another started and they were stacked, literally, one on top of the other.  The best view of the city was found standing in the middle of an olive grove just as we popped over the top of the last hill. 

• 

The first time we left Cadaqués was to travel to the point of Cap de Creus which is the eastern-most point of the Iberian peninsula.  Another good reason to be in this area.  This drive was not unlike the drive into Cadaqués although the road was more narrow, which is a feat I did not previously think possible.  Just as we came around one particularly perilous corner overhanging a shear drop-off, we met a massive RV!  To this day, I have no idea how we survived that moment.  Furthermore, I have no idea how either vehicle got through unscathed and continued forward as though nothing of any great significance had occurred.  Thankfully I returned to my corporal state quickly enough to resume management of the vehicle and pretend all was right with the world.  The inside of the van was eerily quiet until Mom announced “Well, we’re officially on vacation now!”.  She was making reference to a nearly identical experience we had on a trip we made many years ago to Portofino, Italy with my uncles, Larry and Jim.   Portofino, Italy is like Cadaqués in that it is also built on the side of a steep mountain that ends abruptly in the sea and possesses only one narrow road into and out of the town.  I met a city bus in a hairpin turn and we were in the inside lane with the mountain on one side and the bus on the other.  Just like the last time, I didn’t even slow down when I saw the RV – I just said a little prayer and hoped for the best.  Another once-in-a-lifetime experience that I have repeated.  Go figure.  

• 

• 

• 

We enjoyed our visit to Cap de Creus.  Mom didn’t leave the car, but Allita and I got out and walked around the lighthouse, saw the official “eastern-most point” marker, took some photos and left.  We ate lunch and then hit the road to Figures.  This would be the last time we would leave Cadaqués and drive around Roses.  It would also be our last view of the Costa Brava as we made our way in-land to the official home of the Dalí museum (where the man himself is buried) and eventually through the Volcanic National Park to Esponella.  Thankfully, the roads evolved into highways with multiple, wide lanes and no cliffs. What a relief.  

• 

•