Calella de Palafrugell
It is impossible to start this trip from Calella de Palafrugell, which is the spoiled child of the Costa Brava, without naming Josep Plan , her favorite son, writer and journalist, and who best knew how to describe all of her beauty (forgive me, Mr. Pla, if you are reading me from somewhere in the universe).
And going back to her lyrics, to the 1966 Quadern Gris and the 1941 Guide to the Costa Brava, one realizes that the Little pleasures of life No matter how much time passes, they remain the same. Calella de Palafrugell it is symmetrical, perfect, exhaustingly pretty and hopelessly seductive.
And you realize when you get to Port Bo , between Port of Malaspina and the Calau beaches , and you see the volts , those pristine white arches that Pla extolled so much. Everything makes sense there.
Because... is there anything more perfect than seeing the sea through an arch? Possibly not, and this is how the journey begins, sitting between the Voltes of Port Bo , contemplating a beach painted with boats, with the sun illuminating the silver sea, the pine trees and the beautiful contrast of the colors of Calella. Oh, and a beer in hand!
Port Bo in Calella de Palafrugell.
OF PIRATES AND FISHERMEN
Located in the Baix Empordà , in the province of Girona , Calella is a small Fisher's town belonging to Palafrugell, an urban center that preserves that bohemian air of the Costa Brava before the arrival of the mass tourism.
It is inspiring to walk through it on winter days, due to its stillness, and even on days when the storm hits (the Tramuntana wind), but it shines especially in spring and with the arrival of summer it is already gleaming.
"The popular ** habaneras sung in Calella de Palafrugell**, always on the first Saturday of July, marks the beginning of the strong season that lasts until the beginning of September", they point out to Traveler from the tourist office.
Its origin as a town dates back to the 18th century, when they began to arrive the Pirates . It was then that the Palafrugell fishermen they decided to settle on the coast to protect it. The first document of it, according to the tourist office, dates from 1746.
The sea and the cork industry made the town grow and put it on the map. the custom of bathe in the sea it came later, in the 19th century, when the popular classes enjoyed Sundays in the sun and Catalan bourgeoisie started building around here summer houses.
Three hotels had already been opened before the Civil War, but it was in the 50's and 60's when it experienced its greatest development: the fishermen stopped fishing and foreign tourists arrived. And luckily, despite what happened in neighboring towns, Calella stood firm against the "urbanization fever".
The coast of Calella.
FROM COVE TO COVE
Since the Gardens of Cap Roig until Llafranc we find eight coves and beaches each with a special charm, typical of the orography of the Costa Brava coastline, rockier and among pine trees. All united by Cami de Ronda , which awaits those hikers and lovers of good views.
Closer to the Castle of Cap Roig, you find the Golfet Cove , very different from the rest of Calella's beaches, with a rugged beauty and less known than the rest, where you can enjoy the views of the Formigues Islands , an archipelago made up of four islets and 12 reefs.
A few meters, Sant Roc beach or El Canyers , unmistakable because it is watched over from above by the Hotel Sant Roc with views of the entire Calella coast, and one of the first to open in the 1950s. Also for its old fishermen's arcades and for the Sant Roc fountain , cataloged as a Singular Asset of Calella de Palafrugell.
Here you will find a bench where you can contemplate it from above. The beach is small, with coarse sand and, although it is perfect for diving, you can also sunbathe and swim.
Port Pelegri It is the second largest beach in Calella de Palafrugell, considering that the others are quite small. This is crossed by two rocky fronts, one of them the Burricaires viewpoint . It stands out for the booths with colored doors at the beginning of the sand, where you will find some restaurants from where you can contemplate a beautiful sunset or the activity on the beach. You can also do it from one of the benches that you will find along the promenade.
On this same beach, you can find the Poseidon Diving Center for snorkeling, boat trips, scuba diving baptisms...
Coves with crystal clear waters.
On your left we find the platform , a small urban beach of 20 meters, more popular with locals and more suitable for families. From Platgeta we continue through the most famous of Calella: the beach d'en Calau, Port Bo either Les Barques beach and the Canadell beach.
The first of them is parallel to Calau street, one of the most touristic. There you will find the C Calella Sailing Lub and a beach of 75 meters of golden sand and a crystal clear sea that you will not want to leave. Both this and the following are perfectly equipped.
adjoining the beach d'en Calau , appear Port Bo or les Barques beach, that next to Port of Malaspina make up one of the most beautiful postcards of Calella. Les Voltes shelter a vaulted walk and an ideal refuge to rest from the sun, eat or have a drink in the fresh air.
It is here where at the beginning of July the summer season with the song of the habaneras , a tradition that has been going on since 1966, whose lyrics evoke the arrival of the indianos, those who went to make the Americas in the 19th century.
An enormous rock, “la Trona”, separates Port Bo from the beach Canadell , this yes, the largest and sandy in town. A few meters from the beach you will find the typical fishermen's houses, the promenade and a viewpoint from the Camí de Ronda so as not to miss a detail.
At the end of Canadell, you will be greeted by the cove of els Canyissos , perfect for diving and contemplating a sea of crystal clear waters.
Do you want more beach? The coast continues north Llafranc, Tamariu Y Begur . You decide when and how!
Wild fish baked in Tragamar.
THE TASTE OF THE SEA
If you are lucky enough to be able to enjoy Calella during the week, you will find silence and calm, I suppose you will know that the delicacies of the sea taste better slowly and without haste. If you do it on the weekend, you will find more people, life and something waiting to eat. But patience has a prize, in this case it is of an incomparable gastronomy.
Walk through its streets, discover the Parish of Sant Pere , its promenade and its beaches, where you will find small restaurants where you can stop time. A noon with black rice or a sunset after a day at the beach on a terrace. That's how summer starts, isn't it?
We suggest Tragamar, on the promenade of the beach of Canadell . This restaurant has not suffered from inclement weather and despite having twenty years open continues to maintain the modern and authentic essence of always. Grupo Tragaluz has been able to give it the necessary touches to offer a varied menu that delights foreigners and locals.
You can start with their homemade fish and seaweed croquettes , the rock mussels with cider water, their bhutan potatoes , or better one Cheeseboard . cheese here? Of course. We tell you: your El Mari cheese , of raw milk from Ripollesa sheep salted with sea water from the Cap de Creus , Roques Blanques raw cow's milk cheese, or Blau Ceretà-Molí de Ger, a blue cheese made from raw cow's milk.
The dishes of the day are the best bet to get to know its gastronomy. For example, a rossejat or fideuá marinera, a Cod pil pil with kokotxas ... and as! the wild fish of the day . We bet heavily on the rascassa fish with baked potatoes, a tasty and juicy variety typical of the Costa Brava.
Life goes by slowly from your terrace, watching the children run around in the sand and how some dare to take the first baths of the season, while we finish with a Catalan cream . This is what the little pleasures in life were about...
The terraces are life.
There are many more options to continue discovering Calella's cuisine. In Port Bo you will find Sol i Mar, a traditional restaurant with top quality products at a good price, ask for their tapas, they will not disappoint you. In Port Pelegri , Fiego , known for its paellas.
Near the Sant Pere square, where shops, ice cream parlors and restaurants are concentrated, you will find Calau Bar and Taverna Ca la Raquel , perfect for tapas.
If you prefer views you can go to the Balcó de Calella , something more sophisticated, and if not on the terrace of Bar 3 Pins , next to the Hotel The Tower and a excellent viewpoint. This is the Calella de Palafrugell with the most atmosphere of all.
Cap Roig Garden.
CAP ROIG, THE GARDEN OF PARADISE
Several routes are possible in Calella de Palafrugell , from the Cami de Ronda until the Route of Josep Pla , which you will find at the tourist office . But if you follow our advice, you will wake up in the Cap Roig Gardens, because there is nothing better than stretching with the breeze of the Mediterranean and this explosion of color.
Located between Palafrugell and Mont-ras are these 17-hectare gardens , more than 1,000 botanical species from all over the world since 1927. It was that year when Russian Colonel Nicolai Woevodsky, a lover of drawing and architecture, together with his English wife, Dorothy Webster, a decorator and gardener, looked for a place on the Costa Brava where make your dream come true.
Cap Roig and its castle were built by the couple in 1931 and finished in 1975. This became their home which, when they died, became the town's legacy and over the years the setting for the Cap Roig Festival, one of the most important in Costa brava.
Follow the path marked out by the gardens, starting with its mediterranean style village with the walls full of bougainvillea, continue along the path of the castle surrounded by colorful flowers and tropical palm trees, which, looking towards the sea, will reveal the Formigues Islands.
Around the castle there are several terraces with views of Calella de Palafrugell and to the sea of small boats: the terrace of the nuns and that of Bassin are for dreaming. Your steps will discover you garden of lovers , the spring and the The Cactus with its formidable viewpoint. Cap Roig surprises you in every nook and cranny and, if you love flowers, this will be your paradise. Discover it one day during the week; take a good book to enjoy it even more.
We tell you a secret and it is that right here is Cala Massoni , a hidden cove that is also called the russian bathtub . The reason is that Dorothy, the owner of the castle and wife of Nicolai (he was a Russian of the couple), used to bathe in this cove.
The far of Sant Sebastià.
ONE NIGHT FROM THE FAR DE SANT SEBASTIÀ
Following to the letter Joseph Plan, There are no better views of the entire coast of Calella and Llafranc than the ones you will see from the Far of San Sebastia , built in 1857. “The Sant Sebastià lighthouse, which is the most powerful in Catalonia, had to go to Begur , the neighboring population. Apparently Palafrugell had more contacts with the political class and, finally, they decided to install it there, in exchange, in Begur they installed another one that they called "the semaphore" because it was a small lighthouse”, they tell Traveler.es from the tourist office.
Right next to the lighthouse viewpoint you will find Far Nomo , a Japanese restaurant, open all year round, with good cuisine, good atmosphere and a very pleasant terrace to have a good time having a drink.
Rooms with views at El Far Hotel.
Even higher up is the El Far Hotel, which will be our refuge. A old renovated 18th century inn and a pilgrimage pass for those going to France, as well as a warm place to have lunch or dinner as a family or as a couple. Their mediterranean gastronomy is its strong point, as well as its rice and fish dishes.
Illuminated by the light of the lighthouse at night, we feel as if we were in a sailing boat , and who does not with the views of the sea that seems to never end? An interior courtyard with a double stone staircase divides its nine rooms, all of them decorated with a Sailor style fun, from where you can see the infinite sea (we attest to that) and the Empordà.
Elevated on the cliff more than 170 meters above the sea, it seems that here nothing disturbs and everything is calm, even breakfast tastes of peace. Walk around its surroundings and follow the marked path that will take you to the Divina Pastora viewpoint.
It seems that this is how they begin summer loves...
This is how summer love begins.