Our Long Journey to Costa Brava’s Cataques

I have repeatedly heard about the beauty of the 125-miles stretch of beach north of Barcelona called Costa Brava (“wild coast”). For that reason, we made a conscientious decision to get up early and catch the Sarfa Bus to Cadaques (the northern most Costa Brava town, recommended by both of the local guys at the concierge desk). Early for us was 9am - which mind you, is a few hours later than what is typical for us in Hawaii. We rushed to the Barcelona Estacio Nord via taxi, and bought 38 euro each roundtrip tickets between Barcelona and Cadaques. The bus was already at platform 28, so we loaded our backpacks and were on our way. The ride stopped at Porta de la Selva, another beautiful and popular beach town along the coast, prior to finally stopping in Cadaques. The 2.5-hour ride took us through the picturesque Spanish countryside and up a winding, steep road. The resort town of Cadaques is much smaller, and less lively than we were expecting it to be. Of course, it has its signature Baroque church, Esglesia de Santa Maria, and the artist Salvador Dali’s House/Museum is also one of the main attractions. But beyond that, there isn’t much to do besides relax at one of the three rocky beaches.
We found Plaza Cadaques Pizzeria Restaurante overlooking the water and had pizza for lunch. While eating, we noticed how many French-speaking people were at the restaurant. Cadaques nearly borders the southern part of France, so it is apparently a popular vacation destination for the French, not just the Spaniards. Lunch was good, but the constant second-hand smoke wafting through the warm air, combined with jampacked outdoor tables made the dining experience less than desirable. We can’t get over how many Europeans smoke. I would guess that 95% of all Europeans smoke, and that’s terrible to say. But every time we eat out, more occupied tables have cigarettes on them than do not. They also do not have anti-smoking laws, let along no-smoking sections at restaurants or bars for that matter. But I knew that before I scheduled my trip, so I’m hoping 2-months of smoke exposure won’t drastically impact my long term health.
It was blazing hot down at the beach, and there were no umbrella/chair rental places because the beaches were rocky not sandy. We are definitely spoiled in Hawaii. I have been to many beautiful beaches along the multiple European coasts during this trip, but none come close the beauty of Lanikai beach down the road from where we live. Although I didn’t jump in, Boyd mentioned that the water temperature was quite a bit cooler than at Sitges. Without any kind of shade to relax under, we laid out for only a couple of hours then headed into the small town to find a hotel with a spa. A massage sounded really good right about then, but no luck. Everything was closed on Sunday, so our second best option was hanging out at the beach bar and drinking more beers and sangrias! We tried to catch an earlier bus back, but missed it by a half an hour. Our 7:30 bus ride was scheduled to arrive in Barcelona’s Nord Estacio by 10pm, but the 45 minute delay was caused by both inclimate weather (it was rainy and stormy) and the fact that our bus driver was pulled over by the police for nearly running over 5 bicyclists on our way out of Porta de La Selva. By the time we arrived at Barcelona Estacio Nord, it was pouring rain. We took the metro down to Barrier Gothic and found Taller de Tapas, a tapas restaurant recommended by my DK Eyewitness Guidebook.
Luckily, our Hotel Pulitzer beach towels saved us from getting too drenched on our walk from Jaume I Metro station to the restaurant. When we arrived, I immediately noticed the clear air within the interior of the restaurant. It was one of the only non-smoking restaurants we’ve been to in Barcelona. We ordered Calamari Andalusian style, Sauteed mushrooms, Cured Ham, Pa amb Tomaquet (bread with tomato), Grilled Costa Bravo prawns, and Chicken Pancetta tapas. The meal wasn’t as good as we were expecting, but the non-smoking atmosphere more than made up for the mediocre cuisine. Once we left, it was still drizzling but free taxis were hard to come by. After a 15-minute walk, we found our way to Placa de Catalunya, and returned to Hotel Pulitzer to prepare for an even earlier start tomorrow.

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