A perfect day in Cadaqués (and without Dalí)
ARRIVE BY BOAT
But not because it is the most original nor because of that gustirrinín that arises among the waves looking at the world from the bow. No. Cadaqués, like everything in this life, improves if it appears 'suddenly', as joys, Petra and good cathedrals do . And there is no better picture than that of this town when the last cliff bends and its houses line up with the beach and with the line of little boats that capsize and purr on the Mediterranean . There you fall in love like a fifteen-year-old. Best of all, it is not an inaccessible dream. Every day (and more in high season) boat trips depart from Rosas and other nearby towns that mix the natural ruggedness of the cape with the calm of civilization.
arrive by boat
GO UP TO SANTA MARÍA
The parish church is, together with that of San Cristóbal (Albaicín), the most beautiful viewpoint in Spain . And also an attainable goal, a little walk that is done with care, zigzagging through those very white alleys that it reminds some of Ibiza and others Andalusia. Colorful shops populate the corners, attracting attention with a bit of craftsmanship and another bit of 'everything at a hundred' art. There is no trace of the rush. This old town doesn't deserve it.
Go up to Santa Maria
WALK TO CAPE DE CREUS
There is something cathartic about this atheistic and natural pilgrimage to the easternmost point of the Peninsula. The path is winding and offers coves and sharp ledges with which the land tears the sea. And of course, the Mediterranean reacts and becomes brave. Added to this constant struggle is the Tramontana and the feeling of being nothing is complete. But one, in the end, is not so alone. East Catalan Finistere It has its lighthouse, its friendly restaurant and its little benches from where to look for an impossible sunset and a calming horizon.
Go up to Cap de Creus
THE BOATS AND CLIFFS OF PORTLLIGAT
Portlligat has the grace of being what Cadaqués was: a fisherman's shelter where they left their little boats moored (or tied, hence their name). It is reached on a quiet walk, overcoming the hill that separates this neighborhood from Cadaqués, and finding that loose verse among so much urbanization such as the **hermitage of San Baldiri (Baudelio)**, a small baroque construction that invites you to stop in the path. It will be because of its comfortable seats. Once down, the panorama is calm, with just a few boats stranded on the stones of the beach and the occasional countryman throwing the rod. Here it is inevitable to talk about Dalí , if only because the cliffs that enclose the bay seem like déjà vu in the eyes of his followers. And it is that they have always been there, in his paintings, in his landscapes and in their anatomies in one way or another.
Boats and cliffs in Portlligat
Gathering at Casa Anita
To this mythical restaurant You don't come to eat alone, or in silence, or with your mobile in your hand. First, because in this kind of artificial cave there is hardly any cover. Second, because the desire of Juanito, its owner, is that gastronomy is not something solemn, but festive . That is why there are hardly any small tables in its dining room and anyone who arrives looking for privacy receives a ruckus. That is why he does not stop suggesting, recommending the fresh fish of the day (forbidden to try something different) of being interested in the diner's opinion (normally very positive) until the meal becomes a pleasant gathering full of anecdotes and the occasional joke.
MARTIN FAIXÓ CELLER
Up there, when the curves lead to other roads also with curves appears Perafita, the home of Martín Faixó, the only winery in the area. But this large farmhouse is not just an unusual rarity, it is a beautiful corner with centuries-old walls behind which a good wine and with a few rooms where you can forget about all evil. Tastings, walks, vines and a beautiful and healthy natural park (Cap de Creus) where the sea and the mountains high five as only black rappers do.
The only winery of the term, in Perafita
SUNSET ON THE BAY
To the sun you have to say goodbye taking the fresh air in one of the terraces that populate the promenade . Here the choice of the place is free, it is more a question of meditating cane in hand and paradise in the retina.
Sunset in the bay of Cadaqués
** SHARING IS DINING (AND LIVING) **
Going to the ** Compartir restaurant ** is quite an event. The preview is fueled by the expectation generated by the names behind this restaurant: Mateu Casañas, Eduard Xatruch and Oriol Castro . Or what is the same, three ex-Bulli setting up an establishment in a town of difficult access (what does that sound like?) but with a nuance: Sharing is in the thick of it, in a typical house of the Girona coast and with a chatty atmosphere. Because that is what they are looking for, that the pleasure of gastronomy is not a silent and religious experience, but rather shared. That the result of a dinner at its noble tables is not a good digestion and a couple of memories on Instagram, but a speech shared with the diner. In other words, a unique result each time.
That is why all the dishes are designed for two (or more), always with modern recipes, with the sea as the protagonist (don't miss the red tuna cannelloni with Mediterranean essences) and with those oriental touches that are so playful. For now, two Repsol suns reward a job that is not looking for a well-known star, but to reinvent dinners in a Mediterranean patio.
...AND NEVER, NEVER, GO ON A MONDAY
The market, in Spain, is still something ugly.
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The sea on the plate in the restaurant Compartir
Restaurant tables Share