Windy day on the Costa Brava

We shelved our plans to walk Cap de Begur, lest we get blown into the Mediterranean from the cliff tops.  The wind has been relentless all day and is gusting to 77 km/hr tonight.  Wind is nothing new to prairie dwellers, but it feels a lot worse near the sea.

Since this is our last day in the Costa Brava, we didn’t want to venture too far, so we visited a few more villages in the immediate area and found a real gem.

To begin, we drove to La Bisbal d’Emporda, where we dropped into a nice little bar for a café amb llet.  We then checked out the castle, which is not on top of a hill as is usually the case.  There are some old abandoned brickworks factories with huge brick smoke stacks.

Just down the road is the tiny village of Cruilles, which has an ancient tower from the 11th to 12th centuries, it is constructed of ashlar blocks of sandstone.  These towns are really small and only take minutes to explore.

Then it was on to Monells, just a few km down the road.  Monells is our favourite little village, there are so many archways and wonderful buildings of stone.  Since it was midafternoon, when everything is closed, the villages are silent with just a few visitors about with their cameras.

After leaving Monells we went to the large town of Begur.  Begur sits on a hilltop with a terrific  old ruinous 10th century fortress at the very top.  Begur is very near to the sea and the wind on the hilltop was absolutely fierce.  The flag pole was rattling away in its foundation in the stone.  A group of Catalans were visiting the castle at the same time, but they were sensible enough to be wearing puffy jackets while we had ultra lightweight hiking jackets on.

Tomorrow is a travel day as we leave the Costa Brava for points south.  We have loved our time  here, as this area is extraordinarily beautiful and diverse.  The coastal walks in the undeveloped areas provided stunning views of the rocky seashore, all backed by pine woodland.

The interior medieval villages were fascinating, we never tired of the richly coloured stone and brick buildings and streets.  Every village had unique features, we especially appreciated the archways and the little placas.

Finally, the landscape in the more mountainous area of the Garrotxa was beautiful.  The views from the higher elevations were magnificent.

La Bisbal d’Emporda Castell Palau

Cruilles Torre

Monells

An accurate sundial

Begur

According to legend, inhabitants of Castle Street had to offer a glass of water to the feudal lords when they passed by enroute to the castle

Note the whitecaps on the sea and the wind bending the palm leaves backwards 

Begur Castle