Travelled : 45 miles from Sant Joan de les Abadesses to Figueres, Catalonia.
Visited : Salvador Dali Musee, Figueres, โฌ44 (double).
Stayed : Superescat Car Park, free no services, N42.26041, E02.95093
Budget : 38 days at โฌ81 per day.
You may have noticed I have been referring to these places as being in Catalonia rather than Spain. Catalonia has a rich heritage, separate from Spain. While I was well aware of the Spanish Civil War, it’s only when you see the memorials in small towns that you realise the Spanish actually bombed villages and towns all over Catalonia (often with the help of their friends the Nazi). Since arriving some days ago we started noting the flag of Catalonia rather than the flag of Spain flying on public buildings, hill tops, houses, flats basically everywhere you turn. We have seen people marching in the streets holding rally’s etc in every town we pass. A referendum on separation from Spain happens shortly and unlike the Scottish it’s obvious the Catalonians will vote with their hearts rather than back pockets and seek to be a separate state within the EU.
Anyway all that aside we do the usual housekeeping and continue east from Sant Joan de les Abadesses. We decide to take what the Rough Guide describes as the scenic route, the N260. It is scenic I suppose but I spend most of my time wrestling the Hymer through bend after bend as we follow the river through the mountains. Pam doesn’t notice the view as she’s afraid to look most of the time. Luckily enough no one else has read the Rough Guide and we pass 2 cars and one truck in the hour before we exit the mountains and join the highway. As we roll along at 100 kph on the dual carriageway we start trying to remember the last time we actually drove on an A road. It’s been almost a month given our Midi adventure.
We turn off into Besalu for lunch, it’s only a small village but given a glowing report in the Lonely Planet Guide. Finding a parking spot in the shade is a challenge but we fluke it and head off for a walk. Out of the Pyrenees now, the midday sun has a real intensity. The shady narrow lanes of Besalu provide relief from the midday sun and there is a cooling breeze. As it’s lunchtime the shops are shut and the bars are open. There are few people about as we walk, the lanes are very clean and tidy. The houses well maintained, pots of wax plants in full flower sit or hang here and there. Suddenly we hear a noise, it’s a petit train (a fancy tractor made to look like a rail engine towing 3-4 carriages behind it). It has at least 50 noisy Americans on board, I don’t know what’s noisier, the train or it’s passengers, they turn the corner and disappear and so with it the noise. It’s another camper car lunch then back on the A26.
Forty minutes later we arrive in Figueres, it’s a large town. Our camping books and data base only show a supermarket carpark has approved over night parking for campers, so we stop there and have a quick look before heading off to find the tourist office. The Dali Musee in Figueres is what where looking for. Back to the supermarket we park in the shade around the corner, unload the bicycles and head off into the Spanish traffic. Well actually, we decide to ride on the footpath instead. It’s only a kilometres or so and we find it easy enough, in fact it’s a bit hard to miss. As you could imagine it’s a very unusual musee, in fact the precinct around the musee has lots of odd sculptures and the like. Anyway our tribute to Salvador complete we find a little bar and reflect on our day. At โฌ4 for a beer and Chardonnay it’s a bargain.
Back in the supermarket carpark we have dinner settle in for the evening with two other Dutch camper cars. The supermarket closes at 9pm and it all quiet for the night and it’s free, takes the pain away from the price of the tickets to the Dali Musee.
Michael and Pam
