Friday, October 1, 2021

Cadaques, Day 1 of 2

Bike Route: Hipica Can Genassa to Cadaques, 34 miles, 2400 feet of climb

Our farm stay did not include breakfast, so after a nice long downhill, about 12 miles, we decided to stop in Figueres for food. That was a little weird.

Figueres is a pretty big city, and we were on a bike route through it. As we made our way down some stairs at the end of a park, a young man and three young women followed us, crowding us and making us uncomfortable.

We got on our bikes and continued down the street several blocks to a cafe. Ken went in to order while I watched the bikes. (We always take turns if we can't bring the bikes in with us or lock them up securely out of the way.) 

While Ken was inside, the same group of young people caught up with us, and the three girls pushed their way inside the cafe. The young man stood across the street watching them.

A minute later, customers inside the cafe started yelling and the girls ran out and down the street, followed by the young man.

Ken came out and explained that the girls had tried to grab everything they could inside the cafe--phones, a laptop--but the customers stopped them and they didn't get anything.

That was it. The customers and proprietor continued as though nothing had happened. We got our coffee and food, ate standing up outside with our bikes, and took off for Cadaques.

That is the first time we have felt at all uneasy in our entire trip.

In Cadaques, we found a great little restaurant just a block from our apartment, and ate a late lunch while waiting for it to be time to check in. This has become a good habit: eating our big meal while the restaurants are open for lunch (between 2:00 and 4:00), and then snacking in the evening.

Our apartment was not comfortable. It was advertised as a charming, renovated old stone cottage. It was damp, the bedroom had a very unpleasant smell, and the shower was extremely small with a soggy wooden floor. Fortunately, we had lots to do outside and the weather was good. We spent as little time inside as possible.

It was fun to come down out of the mountains and see Cadaques ahead, a circle of white buildings ringing the cove on the Mediterranean. 

Cadaques from the beach.