Spain Day 20 Cadaques

 

Finding a room in Cadaques at the height of the season is impossible. Unless you’re R. He scored a quadruple room with an enchanting blue shuttered terrace overlooking a courtyard filled with olive trees. Bougainvillea, ivy, and grape vines climb the stone walls and drape the edge of our balcony. Blackberry vines twine through a lime tree laden with fruit. When I get home I vow to create a drink with lime, blackberries and grapes and call it the “Cadaques”.

We celebrate with gin and tonics flavored with a lime from the courtyard. Did you know that freshly picked limes have a heady floral perfume? It soon evaporates from the lime but the scent lingers on my hands.

 

Whitewashed buildings crowd above the harbor climbing the gentle hills that rim the bay. Fishing boats bob on anchor and fill the rocky beach. Sleek dinghies with high powered motors press against the seawall; yachts rest beyond the local fishermen’s boats.

 

Narrow alleys created long before cars, just wide enough for a donkey and cart or for a family of four to hold hands and gaze. Lots of charming shops; Ross buys a striped pullover reminiscent of the French navy, I get a floppy hat.

We have a three course meal at the water’s edge; anchovies from Cadaques; fish soup; fish pasta; Catalan flan. Delicious. We wander back to our hotel room stopping to watch the fire juggling and to listen to music from an open air restaurant. The kids play out the last of their energy. Off to bed.

If you’re here be sure to have a fresh mint mojito at Nord Est; browse around Waiting for Richard (Gere that is…ask the proprietress about the store’s name) and try for a room at the Hotel Octavia.  The grocery store across the street carries gin and tonic in case you do some lime pilfering.