What a surprise to us that after not expecting beach at all during our trip, we’ve been in the water more than we thought! Our dear friend Mario, whom we met at the International House back in 2003, gave us a wonderful gift in Barcelona by offering us his car and his parents’ beach apartment in Costa Brava.
Costa Brava stretches from Blanes (which is 60 km northeast of Barcelona) to the French border. The coast is full of rugged cliffs, tiny towns, and many white sand calas and beaches. His house is located in Calella de Parafrugelles, a beautiful beach town that is part of the Circulo de Ronda, a hiking path with many kilometers of trails.The first day we got there we went straight to the beach and enjoyed the almost perfect day, no clouds, 28 degree Celsius and some wind. We tried snorkeling but because of the wind, we had no visibility. Never the less, we enjoyed the sun tanning and swimming. After a nap and a nice shower, we embarked on a walk between the towns. We ended up having dinner at a place called Tony’s and ordered a jarra of sangria and arroz a la caldozo (name?). It’s similar to the Paella but with caldo [broth].
That was the beginning of a wonderful three days and two nights. We continued visiting different towns, beaches and calas, each time being mesmerized by the sheer beauty of nature with high cliffs, blue waters, and soft rocky sand.
On our last day, we found our second retirement home. It’s a cave that is underneath the street of a town and when you open it, it leads to a small beach. When we got there, there was no one, the wind was non-existent, and the sun shining. We started swimming and snorkeling and it was as if we were inside an aquarium. We saw an octopus, fish of all sizes and types, and many corals. The clarity was insane.
We say it could be our second retirement home because of the tranquility of the towns, the great food, and the amazing beaches. However, we were there in October, the off-season. We’re sure that if it were summer, we would have not found empty beaches.