Day 55 - Cadaques

Another day on the Dali discovery trail. Cadaques was Dali’s home for more than 50 years. He and his wife lived and extensively added to and landscaped what was originally a tiny and very modest 2 room cottage. It’s right on the beach of a beautiful little bay called Portlligat on the Cap de Creus peninsula, on the Costa Brava of the Mediterranean Sea. So for me it’s also significant - it will be my last swim in the Mediterranean - rather appropriate I reckon and a special way to close my Epic Mediterranean Odyssey.
Getting there by bus took about an hour from Figueres. I had an early start and caught the bus at 8:15. My entry into the house was scheduled for 10:30 - first opening for the day. We were split into groups of about 10-15 and assigned a guide for the interior part of the house tour. It’s well managed in terms of controlling how many people are in the house at any one time and they keep you moving - but it was pretty quiet first thing so had time and space. Their house was transformed into a multi level very interesting internal layout design for its period. It ended up being very big - but interestingly only one bedroom. Apparently they didn’t like to have guests stay overnight. His studio was great to see. Large but not warehouse massive. Tall ceiling and nice natural lighting from large windows to the east and north. What was interesting was the system he set up so as to paint large canvases. He actually had a wide thin slot in the floor right adjacent to where his painting was fixed to a metal frame that could be raised and lowered on pulleys - thus enabling him to paint standing or sitting at a comfortable height - then he could move the canvas up and down through the slot as he progressed. Very clever really and would have taken a bit of planning to incorporate into his overall design for the house.
Their landscaping and garden features were amazing as well. Very extensive sprawling paths amongst an olive grove on the top of a rocky hill. All sorts of creative and interesting spaces to entertain and enjoy. Way too much for 2 people - not sure how much work Salvador and his wife Gala actually did themselves on the property - probably none. Way too busy painting and making art. I stayed for over two hours and had a very relaxing walk around the outside areas - just enjoying the lovely elevated sea views. The little bay is very beautiful and great protected flat water.
So of course after the house visit - it was time for my last swim. I ended up walking to another little bay further north around the peninsula. The beaches were pebbles and small rounded rocks - not too bad on your feet - but certainly not sand. It was a warm day - not hot - very comfortable heat and only a very gentle breeze. The water was really quite warm - well into the twenties - clear - rocky bottom with seagrass type weed patches. No sign of any fish. And it was shallow for a long way - I swam for well over 100m out and it was only about 2 .5m deep. I walked to the next little bay further north which was again very pretty and very private.
By this time I’m getting hungry / hangry so decided to return to Cadaques for food and drinks. I was surprised how busy and vibrant it was down by the water. A lovely long esplanade lined wall to wall with restaurants and a bit of fashion / tourism retail traders. And it was busy - but not crazy busy. There was a 2nd hand market - a bit like Bittern but a little more upmarket if you know what I mean! Found a seafood restaurant with a great view and importantly accessible power to charge my phone. My battery is discharging way too fast and the phone is too warm - something going on. I had a beaut meal of grilled sardines again. Getting a taste for them and quizzed the owner, when paying, about how they cooked them - so I’ll definitely be trying some on our charcoal grill (Tess will be thrilled!! Haha).
By this time it’s 5:30 so I set off to catch my 6pm bus back to Figueres.
All up - a bloody great day again!!
Tomorrow I’m on the move back to Barcelona. Yay really excited - my 3 nights stay will be insane. I’ve got a fantastic location for my digs right central and walking distance to most of my target interests.Read more