Postcard from CATALONIA

Over 10 days, we travel from Barcelona along the spectacular coastline up to the mountainous Pyrenees through dramatic gorges and vine-striped highlands. Our first night out of Barcelona is east along the coast at 1935 Hotel & Apartments, which is a great introduction to Catalan cuisine: salt cod fritters with red sweet peppers marmalade and lemon purée; sautéed artichokes in garlic sauce with Paletilla ibérica de cebo; and lamb’s lettuce salad with apple, parmesan, walnuts and raisins. Yum!

We walk down the steep and narrow cobbled streets of Cadaqués, admiring the white and blue buildings and the wonderful sweeping waterfront. It was proclaimed by Dali to be ‘the most beautiful town in the world’, and while nowadays it is a popular

Destination

seaside bolthole for wealthy Barcelonians, the town still retains its age-old charm.

Later on, we stay at the beautifully restored 12th-century former rectory in volcanic La Garrotxa Natural Park, where there are wonderful views across the oak-wooded valleys and hills.

Nearby is Castellfollit de la Roca – perched atop a 50m-high crag, originally formed by lava flows thousands of years ago, this small village is a spectacular sight from a distance, even more so against a backdrop of the brilliant morning light. We amble around the town in the sunshine, stopping to climb the bell tower of the 13th-century Sant Salvador church with its wonderful views of the town’s jumble of terracotta roofs snaking down the outcrop and into the distant hills.

While here, our favourite activities are kayaking and birdwatching on the Ebro River with local guide Eloi Balsells, who works for local company En Blau, and cycling along the car-free greenway around Horta de Sant Joan.

West of Santa Pau, we stay at the 14thcentury Mas Garganta, a simple, comfortable casa rural with a wonderful farmhouse kitchen and huge fireplace. Despite the evening chill and the roaring fire indoors, we can’t tear ourselves away from the valley views and instead sit out on the terrace feasting late into the night, vowing we will return to this special place.

For more information, see Green Traveller’s Guide to Catalonia