Trixie Traveler in Catalonia: Day 5 - Peratallada to Cadaqués

Today dawned bright and beautiful after our rain of yesterday afternoon. It doesn't get light in this part of the world until about 7:30. We get going a little after 9:00. Initially, we ride through more cornfields, apple orchards and large stands of some kind of palm trees. We stop for coffee after 20 km or so and have fun meeting a couple of older men on bikes from Great Britain. The one, maybe both, live in Spain. They are funny and fun (see picture) and interested in where we are going. We have seen many, many cyclists on our trip.

At 26 km, we stop to see some extensive Greek and Roman ruins at Empuries. We are once again at the Mediterranean. It is right in front of us. Literature says only 25% of these ruins have been excavated. The Greek ruins are from around the 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st centuries BC. The interaction of the Greeks with the indigenous people and the influence of their culture gave birth to the Iberian culture. Romans started coming around the 2nd century AD.

The landscape is changing and we can see the Pyrenees ahead of us. We will be riding over the Pyrenees this afternoon. We stop for lunch at a place that has barrels of all kinds of wine, sherry, port, etc. in big barrels with spigots from which you can dispense wine into a 2 liter plastic bottle for something like 3.6 euros. Kathy actually buys a 2 liter bottle and fills it with wine which John carries on his bike. We don't finish lunch until 2:00. I am anxious to get going because we have mountain in front of us to climb. At 50 km, we start going up in earnest. It is about 8 km to the top and actually isn't too bad. It is a long, gradual climb with some parts that flatten out a bit to give one a little respite. i actually am not even down in my lowest gear very often. This climb is sort of like Del Valle only longer. There is lots of traffic and no shoulder but I can't worry about the cars. I just have to pay attention to what I am doing and have faith that the cars will be patient and give me room. The views at the top are spectacular! Once you are to the top, you are done climbing. The downhill is very fun as the road is good and smooth. We coast down into Cadaqués, a beautiful seaside community that Salvador Dali painted many times. Our hotel is at the far side of town just up from the beach. We have a nice view from our room. We have cycled 76 km today.

Though dinner is on our own tonight, Philipp has offered to arrange for dinner at the hotel which we will then each pay for. We have a delicious mango salad followed by sliced pork tenderloin and a delicious dessert the contents of which I'm not sure.