DJmotortouring

It was an hour’s drive to the small town of Llanca on Spain’s Costa Brava. We were to stay a couple of nights and then cross the border into France to meet some friends who live in the Aude Department of Occitanie.

Together with nearby Cadaques and Roses, Llanca was a tiny fishing village until tourism took over. With 5,000 inhabitants it has doubled in size over the last fifty years but, although it lives in the shadows of Cadaques and Roses, it is a beautiful and picturesque little town with many attractive beaches.

After parking the Van at Camping L’Ombra I set off to Llanca’s old town.

There is little left of Llanca’s erstwhile medieval centre, the town having suffered considerable bombing during the Spanish Civil War but, what remains is concentrated around the Placa Major – that’s the 18th century Parish Church (Parroquia Catolica de Sant Vicenc), the tower of an earlier 14th century church, the remaining tower and some of the walls of the 14th century Abbot’s Castle-Palace (the Torre de l’Homenatge) and the ‘Tree of Liberty’ planted in 1870.

There is also a bar with tables set underneath the huge Plane tree which is the Tree of Liberty and I found time to sit there with a beer to both reflect on what I had seen and plan the rest of my route around Llanca.

After a further short wander around the old town and then the port, I made my way back to Camping L’Ombra. The dogs wanted walking and Vanya and I needed feeding.

I mentioned perviously that this part of the Catalan coast is renowned for it’s food (see last years post on Roses) and we weren’t disappointed with the food served to us at a bar-restaurant named ‘El Floc’, which in Catalan means ‘the flake’. A lady we spoke to down at the port had recommended El Floc for it’s food, service and ambience and she was right on all counts.

El Floc is a modern, clean and very popular restaurant on Avenida Pau Casals. It was busy as we arrived but we secured the last empty table on the terrace at the front of the restaurant and, over the next couple of hours, enjoyed a really pleasant late lunch. The food wasn’t cheap but it was good value, being very tasty and beautifully presented. My starter, Scallops with a Trumpets of Death Parmentier, was outstanding and as for Vanya’s dessert of Strawberry Soup… she adored it.

The next day I set off to explore some of the beaches around Llanca. First I headed south from Llanca in the direction of El Port de la Selva to the beach at Cap de Bol. I enjoyed the walk and would have continued on beyond El Port de la Selva to Cadaques but there was insufficient time. Instead I retraced my steps to Llanca and then walked north along the coast taking in the beaches of Platja del Port, Platja de L’Argilera, Platja de San Jordi, Platja de L’Alguer, Platja Sota del Parador and Platja de Grifeu. There are some 23 different beaches in the vicinity of Llanca and they vary enormously but all have something about them.

The Platja del Port is the largest of the beaches visited during the course of the day, measuring some 425 metres (by 30 metres) between Llanca’s port area and the mouth of the River Valleta. Unsurprisingly, the Port Beach is the busiest of all those in the area and it is lined with bars, restaurants and shops. The sand is coarse but, like the water in this area, it is very clean; so much so that the beach has been awarded a Blue Flag. Further north, the smaller Platja de Grifeu with it’s fine sandy beach also has a Blue Flag and it is my favourite. I sat for an hour outside one of the two bars on the Grifeu just sipping beer and chilling. Most of these beaches are small and are to be found in inviting, unspoilt little coves with crystal clear water and mountain backdrops.

One beach that I didn’t reach but will visit in the future is to be found at the remote pocket sized cove of Cala Bramant, some two miles north of Llanca. Platja Bramant is a small pebble beach with a narrow opening to the sea. It’s crystal clear water offers interesting snorkelling and is best visited in the morning when the tide is high and the beach is quieter.

Reading back that which I have written so far it perhaps appears I have been rather restrained with my thoughts regarding Llanca. Let me explain. The facts are that (i) Catalonia, especially in the north, has many pretty coastal resorts and I cannot, in all honesty, rank Llanca amongst the best and (ii) many of the Region’s towns have considerably larger and more interesting medieval quarters whereas; little remains of Llanca’s old town (not least because of damage caused to the town during the Carlist Wars and the Spanish Civil War) and (iii) as good as the food is in Llanca (and with apologies to El Floc and Els Pescadors), Llanca is a small town with nowhere near enough restaurants to compete with the likes of Barcelona, Blanes, Casamar, Miramar or either of Roses or Cadaques (where Michelin Stars abound). Nevertheless, I like Llanca and I will definitely return to the town.

Out of season, and this is a real plus, Llanca is nowhere near as crowded with tourists as the other towns I have mentioned in this post. Moreover, it offers an almost perfect balance in terms of things to do being (i) it’s proximity to other interesting towns and villages in Catalonia and (ii) it’s walking and/or hiking opportunities along the rugged and rocky coastline of the Costa Brava* and (iii) it’s many and varied beautiful beaches** and (iv) it’s wonderfully fresh food and drink and (v) the warm and inviting welcome afforded by the locals. Best of all, it is a great place to chill.

FOOTNOTES to Llanca Blog:-

* Coastline Catalonia has more than 500 kilometres of wonderfully rugged and rocky coastline, 160 kilometres of which form the Costa Brava and include the Camino de Ronda (and not forgetting the GR 92 which connects Porbou on the French Border with the Pont de L’Olivar where Catalonia meets Valencia). The well maintained coastal paths around Llanca provide for a range of spectacular sights (soaring sea cliffs and impressive rock formations, headlands with scenic panoramas, sheltered bays and shady forests, etc).

** Beaches There are 100+ beaches and coves on the Costa Blanca alone, 32 of them with Blue Flags. Many have all the facilities one would expect of seaside resort (restaurants, bars, deckchairs and showers, etc) while others are hidden and often deserted). The beaches and coves around Llanca are a stunning mix of gently sloping golden sands and sheltered rocky coves, all with clear calm sparkling water. I was going to include ‘warm’ in that description but no… not in June. Not while I was there.

And so to France…

Twelve miles north of Girona and twenty two miles south west of Salvador Dali’s hometown of Figueres, at the western entrance to Garrotxa Nature Reserve, is the small city of Banyoles (Banyoles having been granted city status in 1920). We were in this part of Catalonia four years ago (Tour 4) and stayed at Besalu and Tortella but missed Banyoles. That oversight has now been remedied.

The city is best known for it’s 2 kilometre long freshwater lake, the Lago de Banyoles, which stretches from north to south and has a depth of almost 50 metres. Fed by underground water sources, it is the largest natural lake in Catalonia and recognised for it’s wide range of flora and fauna (including otters, turtles, water snakes and 300+ different species of butterflies) but, it was the 1992 Summer Olympics which brought Banyoles to the world’s attention. It hosted all of the rowing events for the Barcelona Olympics and then again for the World Rowing Championships in 2004 and the Rowing World Cup in 2009 (as well as numerous, lesser rowing events). Going forward, the World Rowing Masters is to be hosted there in September 1925.

We parked up at Camping El Llac in Porqueres, on the south west corner of the lake and just 20 minutes walk from the city which is on the south east corner. Porqueres is known for it’s well preserved 1oth century church (the Eglesia de Santa Maria de Porqueres), consecrated in the 12th century. It is of modest design and contains little in terms of decoration. I read that it straddles a huge Earth Energy Line – an Earth Dragon Line but I don’t pretend to understand what that is all about. The church is, however, a pleasant enough place to visit and it sits in a quite exceptional setting on the edge of the lake.

There’s a flat 7 kilometre path around the edge of the lake but with Porqueres and Banyoles City being no more than 2 kilometres apart on the southern edge of the lake, the walk from the Eglesia de Santa Maria de Porqueres to the centre of Banyoles takes less than 30 minutes (even allowing for time to take photos).

The south east shore is dotted with a number of tiny houses or huts known as pesqueres. These huts were built during the latter part of the nineteenth and early twentieth century and are the ultimate beach huts for wealthy families to use as a base for fishing, boating and swimming in the lake. One now serves as the tourist information office but it was closed as I passed it. It mattered not; there are plenty of information boards positioned around the city and I was intent on exploring the medieval town centre and finding a bar where we could watch England’s second group match of the European Championship Finals, against Denmark. A bar in the old town would serve us well.

It is thought humans may have lived in this area some 80,000 years ago but this is unproven. It is certain, however, following an archaelogical find at nearby La Draga in 1990, that a settlement was formed on the south east edge of the lake as long ago as 5,200 BC. Most of this settlement is submerged beneath the lake but this has worked to the archaeologists advantage because large numbers of different wooden tools (bows, javelins, digging sticks, spindles, ladles, etc) have been recovered, perfectly preserved in the waterlogged soil. Wooden piles, planks and building supports which formed accommodation and storage areas have also been reclaimed and these have facilitated the construction of replica buildings on the site which is just to the north of Banyoles (see below – not my photos).

The settlement was evacuated early in the 8th century (sometime between 711 and 720 AD) when Muslim Moors and Arabs invaded and conquered almost all of Spain but, at least in this part of Spain, the Muslim occupation didn’t last long. Within 100 years Catalonia was free of the invaders (it was centuries later before the invaders were removed from other parts of Spain) and Banyoles began to grow around the Bendictine Monastery of Saint Steven (Monestir de Sant Esteve) which was built in 812 AD. The original construction was destroyed by a Saracen attack in 945 AD but Banyoles survived and thrived on the back of a burgeoning textile industry and the monastery was rebuilt within just 12 years.

It took me no time to find the porticoed Placa Major and on it a lively little bar with a decent sized TV (the Cafe de la Placa) where Vanya and I could eat and watch England play Denmark later in the evening. The football match wasn’t due to start until 9pm which left time to explore the old town.

I didn’t stay long on the Placa Major. It’s a fair sized rectangle filled with Plane trees and edged by numerous stone arches and a few bars. It’s a pretty place and the thought of sitting in the shade with a beer while planning my next move appealed to me. However, a dozen or so school children (part of a brass band I think) were demonstrating their dubious abilities on various wind instruments to doting parents and grandparents. It was the loud applause (wholly out of proportion to the talent actually displayed by the children) which convinced me the watching adults were parents and grandparents but, either way, it wasn’t for me and I took to the streets.

One very interesting feature of the town are the numerous open irrigation and/or drainage canals which were originally designed to both supply the city with water from the lake and provide flood protection. Over time these canals were lost (as one by one they were covered and integrated with the towns sewers) but, more recently (i.e. during the early part of this century), large numbers were uncovered and left exposed as part of a programme towards making the old town more interesting and attractive. They still provide a degree of flood protection but they now also serve as a charming water feature.

Most of the small historic centre is now pedestrianised and it is a joy to wander. I was particularly impressed with how clean it all is. Of course, the open canals may well help in this regard.

It didn’t take me long to find the Church of Santa Maria dels Turers (La Iglesia de Santa Maria dels Turers). Built in the Gothic style and consecrated in 1333, it has been remodelled a number of times (the current facade dates from the 16th century; two aisles were added in the 17th century and; the church’s stained glass windows date from the 20th century) but it isn’t the most handsome of churches and I didn’t stay long. In fact, I returned to Placa Major (the aspiring musicians had left); reserved a table for the evening and; enjoyed a couple of beers before making my way back to the Van.

At around 7pm Vanya and I readied the dogs and I led everyone around the lake and back into town to the Cafe de la Placa on the Placa Major to eat and watch the football. It’s a delightful walk and next time we visit the city I intend completing a full circuit of the lake.

The football match was anything but delightful. It ended in a 1-1 draw (which pretty much guarantees England a place in the next round even though England have one further Group Stage game to play) but, again, England were wholly disappointing.

The return journey to the campsite was pleasant and memorable in that Nala was given free rein to lead us back to the Van in the dark and she did an absolutely sterling job

The next morning saw us depart for the coast. We were heading some 40 miles east to Llanca for our final night in Spain.