25 November 2022 - Cadaques
Miles driven today = 53
Total Miles to date = 3,974
Today was our last full day in Spain, so we decided to make the most of it. We took the C-31 north from Palamos, passing around Pals with its interesting looking castle and also through ToĊroella de Montgri, which also boasts some ancient fortifications and a tower high on the hills above.
We then took the minor roads past San Pierre Pescador and admired the honey coloured stone farm buildings, which are a feature round here, in the autumnal sunlight.
At the resort of Roses we picked up the GI-614 which snaked its way for 10 miles over the mountainous headland to Cadaques. As we dropped down into the town I pulled over at a viewpoint to let a delivery driver past, so we took the chance to jump out for a photo opportunity.
We headed for a car park a little way out of town and initially thought we were going to be denied as there was a height barrier in place. But we noticed another motorhome already parked up and then spotted a sneaky side entrance so we crept in.
Due to its isolation and the steepness of the surrounding hills Cadaques has remained relatively unspoilt by the mass tourism which has affected other parts of the Costa Brava.
We walked down the steep lane to the town's main beach and followed the promenade around, looking across the bay toward the main part of the town.
There were several of these stepped pillars in the water and we weren't sure what their purpose was but the seagulls seemed to enjoy them.
In the oldest parts of the town there are a number of quaint, steep, cobbled streets.
Lots of interesting buildings too. This one near the seafront is a hotel.
This was the view across the rooftops from the front of the main Church.
Unsurprisingly, being so attractive, Calaques has attracted the great and the good in the past. Picasso and Einstein both spent time here among many others. But Calaques is most famous for being home to Salvidor Dali. There is a statue of the surrealist in the middle of the town.
Dali actually lived in the neighbouring hamlet of Portlligat. We couldn't walk there easily from the van due to roadworks so we drove to a much closer car park and joined a number of other motorhomes there.
We got lucky. You are supposed to book in advance for guided tours of Dali's House in your language of choice but there was a tour in English due to start in 10 minutes, and we were the only ones on it. While we waited we admired this nearby boat with a tree growing out of it.
When he first moved here in 1929 Dali bought a single fisherman's cottage. Then over the course of the next 40+ years he bought and massively extended 6 adjoining cottages to create one big rambling home with lots of quirky rooms and corridors.
When you come into the entrance hall you are greeted by this stuffed polar bear.
The next room is the library with more taxidermy on display.
This was Dali's studio with 2 unfinished works. Notice the hoist system the piece on the right is held on. This allowed Dali to lower large pieces through the floor so he could always paint from a seated position.
As you would expect, Dali collected some pretty odd stuff like this snail clock, although the table was of his own olive wood design.
The bedroom with amazing views out to sea. Dali's wife Gala passed away here in 1982 at which point Dali moved out of the house and never returned.
Gala decorated the dressing room with lots of photos of herself with Dali as well as numerous celebrities.
Through a discrete door in the dressing room you enter this fantastic domed space. If you stand in the centre of the room your voice becomes significantly amplified but anywhere else it sounds completely normal.
In the courtyard almost everything is painted entirely white.
In a little grotto you are greeted by this winged rhino.
This is the view from the garden terrace.
The gardens had several examples of Dali's fixation with eggs.
This figure was created from an old boat, driftwood and rooftiles.
Beyond the gardens are some traditional olive terraces.
Finally the rather strangely shaped swimming pool.
The pool is surrounded by several fountains and seating areas.
And one more stuffed animal to admire before you leave.
We had intended to retrace our steps to an aire in Roses this afternoon but the vans in the Portlligat carpark all looked settled for the night so we have decided to stay here for a freebie. A review on Park4night reports that wild boar have been spotted here as recently as 4 days ago. We've not seen any sign of them yet but our final Spanish sunset of the trip was pretty spectacular.
Comments
Post a Comment