From the Cap de Creus we thought to chase the sunshine, most of which seemed to be well south of Madrid. Toledo looked a good choice but we’d not rush there because the weather forecasts seemed to be changing every day. Our next stop was to be an old favourite, the Nautica Campsite in L’Ametlla de Mar. However, with one thing and another, we were late getting away and so paused for the night at another small town on our way to L’Ametlla called Palamos.
Palamos competes with L’Ametlla de Mar in claiming to be one of the few remaining authentic fishing towns on the Catalonian coast (it certainly has the largest fishing fleet on the Costa Brava) but, I was very disappointed with the place. It appeared to me more like a beach resort (albeit a nice beach resort) and I reported as much on my facebook entry for that day. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
From what I’ve read since, I missed a few things in Palamos which could have caused me to think differently had I seen them. It was an impromptu decision to overnight in Palamos and, in my defence, we were running late but; had I properly researched the place before charging off into the town for a look-see, I think my facebook entry would have been considerably more positive. Sorry Palamos.
I won’t bore you with the detail as to how I went wrong. It will suffice to say that I ended up chasing my own tail and missed much of the town. I don’t know how but, I failed to find the historic old with it’s narrow cobbled streets and small squares and, of course, it’s many restaurants selling the famous Palamos Prawn. For future reference, the old town is situated behind the town’s main beach (the Platje Gran de Palamos) which I thought was nothing but a residential area. Of course I found the harbour, walked the length of the town’s very long mole and noticed the Fishing Museum but didn’t go in and so missed out on a free cooking lesson – entrance is free on the first Sunday of every month! And finally, because I’m getting increasingly embarrassed now, I found a tiny but very tidy, sandy beach to the north of the town (complete with a ruined castle) known as the Platje de la Fosca but; had I continued northwards, beyond the ruined castle, I would have come upon an even prettier beach (the Platje de Castella) and, beyond that, the not to be missed tiny Fishermen’s Hamlet of Cala S’Alguer. I could go on but… spare me!
We will return and next time, I’ll not miss out on the old town, restaurants selling Palamos Prawns, the Platje de Castella, the Sant Esteve de Mar Castle and, especially Cala S’Alguer. Neither will I overlook the 15th century church of Santa Maria, the Mirador del Pedro, the Emporda DO wine route (to say nothing of the celebrated Camino de Ronda – especially the 11 kilometre stretch between Palamos and Calella de Palafrugall). I suspect there is more that I missed but that will do for now.