Spain’s many coasts vary in landscape and beauty, and I was lucky to experience the Costa Brava, located a couple of hours north of Barcelona. The Costa Brava is part of Catalonia, which covers the northeastern tip fo Spain.
Upon arrival, I was immediately reminded of the Côte d'Azur (southeastern coast of France) as I spotted the sapphire blue water and inlets. The footsteps of the Pyrenees mountains create many coves and the land is lush with trees. My host family and I spent the afternoon at Castell Beach, which is one of the only beaches free of hotels and building pollution. This allowed me to see the true beauty of the beach and it's land formations. After swimming (not in Gazpacho, but in the Mediterranean Sea), picnicking, and soaking in the sun, we drove to a neighboring town, Aigua Blava where we ate a typical Costa Brava dinner. The tapas were "calamares a la andaluza," "shrimp de Palamos," and "patatas bravas." I especially loved the patatas bravas, which is my new favorite tapas, and I have already since ordered them in a Barcelona tapas bar.
Our fiesta continued in the small town of Llafranc where we were fortunate enough to stumble upon a Havaneres band playing typical Catalonian music. The band played songs that originated from the fishermen who left Costa Brava and went to Cuba (during the epoque when Cuba was a Spanish colony) while singing goodbye songs to their family. My favorite song, "La bella Lola," is about a sailor boy and his love for a girl. In the story, everybody around waved hankershifs to the pretty girl, and it was reinacted by the crowd waving tissues in the air. Lastly, we ended the day (or began the next because it late) with a nutella crêpe and ice cream before driving back to Barcelona.
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| Carlota and I having fun at the Castell beach. |
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| Dining in Aigua Blava |
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| Typical tapas |
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| Havaneres band in Llafranc |
