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Costa Brava Steep, winding drives are not usually my idea of fun, particularly
My partner Henry and I had spent the morning at Calella de
when I’m doing the driving, but the views on this one are so
Palafrugell, a laid-back fishing village turned seaside town with
spectacular I’m beginning to change my mind. I’m motoring along
genteel, pastel-coloured 19th-century town-houses backing up
a mountainous coastal road, and every few seconds, through the tall,
against the seafront (think a Mediterranean Brighton). In summer,
pine-filled woodlands to my right, I catch a glimpse of the
the beach gets busy, but in the fresh glow of early spring or late
Mediterranean shimmering in the sunlight hundreds of feet down
autumn, it’s a more leisurely affair with toddlers building
below. You could easily be forgiven for thinking this was the French
sandcastles, honeymooning couples admiring the view, and the odd
Cóte d’Azur, because that’s very much what it looks like, but it isn’t.
lone surfer waiting on a breeze. We could happily have whiled away
I am, in fact, on the road between Llafranc and Tamari on Spain’s
the morning there, but feeling energetic, we decided to explore the
Costa Brava. But it’s an easy mistake to make as this is effectively the
Cam de Ronda the winding coastal path which hugs the cliffs, taking
same Mediterranean coastline — just further south. It’s also one of
in coves and bays.
Europe’s best-kept secrets. After a stunningly scenic walk with the Costa’s whitewashed villages For some, the words Costa and Brava may still conjure up visions of
dotting the snaking coast and the hazy blue Pyrenees majestic in
package-holiday hell, but this is the other Costa Brava, a land of
the distance, we were ready for lunch and so made our way by car
idyllic, unspoilt sandy beaches framed by romantic woodlands and
to Tamari — a delightfully compact, horse-shoe shaped bay with
mountains, water so blue and clear you can see right down to the
only a handful of low-rise seafood restaurants, each with its own
ocean floor, lush countryside and exceptional food. It’s also
terrace on the slightly raised seawall just a few yards from the
considerably less painful on the wallet than its more historically chi-
coarse-sand beach.
chi South of France neighbour. My favourite is Es Dofi a small, traditional eaterie at the far western
This is where chic Barcelonans and well-heeled Catalans keep their holiday homes and where in-theknow French come for their vacations.
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end of the promenade with an extensive list of fish chalked up on the blackboard outside, white paper table cloths, and elderly, avuncular waiters.