Sant Feliu de Guixols - An Autumn by the Sea - CycleBlaze

December 10, 2018

Sant Feliu de Guixols

Today began where it left off last night - with a conversation over breakfast with Peter, our new British friend.  Peter is an interesting man, with more than a passing interest in bicycles.  He and his wife took a commercial cycling tour in the Chilean Lake District years ago, and he recently drove the support van for a group of cyclists riding the stages of the Tour de Yorkshire.  Rachael and I have been begun tentatively planning our own tour of England next summer, and we exchanged addresses with Peter so we can kept in touch and possibly meet up then.

Today’s ride is another really short stage.  At just 23 miles, we made plans for arriving in Sant Feliu in the early afternoon and having lunch at a cafe there before taking a walk.  Our room won’t be ready until after 4, so we expect to have a decent amount of time to look around.

As usual though, nothing really quite goes to plan.  We make very slow progress at first, and by noon have only covered ten miles for a blistering average of 6.5 mph.  This is likely a new record for us.  We’re held back by a mix of terrain and road conditions.   The coastline from Begur to Llafranc is very rugged, and the roads near it are very convoluted and steep.  We spend all of our time either descending slowly or grinding out short but excruciating climbs, sometimes on foot.  Our route is always very quiet, but also very irregular: normal pavement is followed by dirt and sand is followed by crumbing asphalt.  We don’t really start making substantial progress until we descend into Llafranc and leave the rugged cape behind us.

A last look back up at Begur. It’s a steep haul, no matter which approach you take.
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Aiguablava, the first beach south of Begur
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After our steep drop from Begur, we have an even steeper climb out the other side to cross the ridge between us and Tamariu. Excellent cross training, so of course we’re pleased.
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The drop down the other side into Tamariu is nearly as steep, but unpaved.
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Tamariu. We came this way for nostalgic reasons, because we stayed overnight here in 1996 on our first pass through the region. I remember this visit well, for two reasons: the climb and descent were awful, and it was my first and last experience dining on cuttlefish. I have no plans for a repeat. And seeing Tamariu twice is enough also.
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Beautiful, but a bit gaudy. Makes me think of a cheerleader’s pompom.
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Bill ShaneyfeltAppears as though it may be Mexican bush sage.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/teresalaloba/6325870270
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5 years ago
Andrea BrownTo Bill ShaneyfeltConfirm. Salvia Leucantha. What a lovely plant.
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5 years ago
We have seen yellow ribbons everywhere in Spanish Catalonia - on buildings, spray painted on the pavement; but this is the most concentrated display. They’re a symbol protesting the continued imprisonment of the leaders of last year’s independence movement, and have become very controversial.
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Climbing through a graceful stone pine forest, steeply of course, south of Tamariu.
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The bark of the stone pine has a beautiful, distinctive pattern.
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The Sant Sebastian lighthouse, one of the most powerful in Spain, sits on the rocky cliffs between Tamariu and Llafranc.
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A series of beaches separated by low headlands lies ahead of us. The first two, visible here, are Llafranc and Calella de Palafrugell. Beyond are Palamós and today’s endpoint, Sant Feliu de Guixols.
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A much easier, tamer option for biking south from Begur would have been the flat inland route through Palafrugell, viewed here from the coast road north of Llafranc.
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Gent Del Mar, a seaside sculpture in Llafranc
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The back half of the ride is more normal and generally on pavement, and we spend the rest of the day cycling through one nearly empty resort after another.  We start keeping up a reasonable pace, but we’ve taken too long up to now to plan on completing the whole ride before lunch.  Arriving at Palamós a bit after one, we stop into a cafe for a quick meal before continuing on.

On the waterfront, Calella de Palafrugell
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Leaving Calella de Palafrugell, another white town with a Greek feeling.
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We come across another rough patch for a half mile. Dirt, sand, narrow, hard to keep to the middle. Oak trees with holly-like leaves threaten on both sides. Scary.
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Crazy traffic on the bike trail. A tense situation, but we stay cool, don’t panic, hold our lane.
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Jen RahnWhew! Glad you came out unscathed.

That congestion rivals downtown Portland on a Friday afternoon!
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5 years ago
Palamós is well defended. It’s a nice feature for a coastal resort that the tourism agency should market more strongly.
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Andrea BrownI feel safer just seeing that cannon.
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5 years ago
The waterfront promenade in Palamós looks quite bikable, but actually it’s irregular enough so as to be pretty awful. Dirt would be better.
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Palamós
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We arrive at our inn a bit after three thirty.  Not too bad, and we still have daylight left for a bit of a walk.  It’s not practical for both of us to take it though, because no one is at the inn when we arrive and we are expected between four and five.  I need a bit of credit with Rachael for a number of reasons, so I volunteer to wait around for our hosts while she walks off on her own.  I sit on a bench outside for about an hour reading a book until they finally arrive a bit before five.  Rachael returns from her walk about an hour later, and then we walk down the beach for dinner at a nice Italian place.

It’s the end of the road!  Neither of us can quite believe that after over three months on the road we’ll bike into Girona tomorrow afternoon, the last stop on the tour.  We’ll be there for six nights, taking day rides, getting our bikes serviced, taking the train to Barcelona, and preparing for our flight out of here.

In Sant Feliu de Guixols, waiting for the hosts to arrive. I sat outside for nearly an hour, while Rachael went for a hike. Not a bad wait - pleasantly warm, with the continuous screeching of monk parakeets coming from the palms overhead.serving as background music.
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The flamboyant casino, Sant Feliu de Guixols
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Our hosts arrived not long before sundown, so there wasn’t much lihght left for exploring the town.
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Ride stats today: 23 miles, 1,800’

Today's ride: 23 miles (37 km)
Total: 3,332 miles (5,362 km)

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Steve Miller/GrampiesNnooooooo! Don't end your tour yet. We are all having too much fun. Unless, of course, there is another on the near horizon.
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5 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Steve Miller/GrampiesWe’d be happy to keep going ourselves, and just keep moving south along the coast. The Schengen police won’t have it though, so I guess we’ll have to move on. Hopefully something will come up worth talking about.
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5 years ago
Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Scott AndersonI know. Damn that Schengen zone.
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5 years ago
Jen RahnGreat video, Rachael! And I found myself clapping along with the Flamenco music. :0)

Also, it can't be that the tour is almost over!!

What will keep me entertained and inspired now?

Looking forward to the last few entries.
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5 years ago