Roses to Cadaques to Roses

September 27, 2023

By Boat, Not Bicycle

We woke up to another day of fabulous weather and an itinerary we were both looking forward to. We were also very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the breakfast buffet at the hotel. Scrumptious. Not a ten jammer, but more than adequate.

View from breakfast. There was an organized bike tour in the hotel. They are getting a lift out of town before they start their ride.

First order of business was a little attention to the CN’s derailleur. We walked together to the first bike shop to find it permanently closed. I was keen to see La Ciutadella - The Citadel - so sent Keith on his merry way to the other two bike shops. He wasn’t as interested in the archeological site as I was so it seemed a good use of our time.

Well, as it turns out the place was simply unbelievable. While Keith was on a fruitless search for a bike mechanic I was wandering around the site in a state of astonishment. I mean that. First was the fact that there was hardly anyone there, which meant my imagination was free to, well, imagine. The place was also huge. They sent me off with a good map and comprehensive English explanations of what I was seeing. Most tourists come here for the beach I presume, because this was absolutely world class and should have had people lined up to enter. The excavated ruins date from the Greek foundation in the 4th century BC to the nineteenth century.

First up, some shots from Keith’s solo adventure investigating the bike shops of Roses. None of which had a bike mechanic.

Hopefully that is bait. Certainly not a keeper by BC standards.

Meanwhile, I was exploring the unique and historic setting of the Citadel. It contains archeological remains from the last 13 centuries. The surrounding wall, a military fortification, dates from 1543.

Part of St. Mary’s church from the 11th century.

Part of the monastery dating from the 10th to 15th century.

To literally have it all to myself was such a privilege.

Well, you can predict what happened next. After my description Keith decided he had better see it too, and he wasn’t disappointed. There went the morning and it was an excellent use of our time. Lunch and a little shut eye were next on the agenda, before it was time for the boat to Cadaques.

I told the CN tonight what a brilliant guy he is. Not only was it terrific to see Cadaques, but seeing the coastline by boat was also pretty darn great.

The coastline was dramatic and the boat maneuvered a ways into a cave.

We were back in Roses at 7 PM, in time for tapas for dinner and a last wander of the old town pedestrian area. Keith had to drag me back to the hotel. I find it so fantastic to have these warm evenings and towns that are just getting going about 9 PM. It has been a full day. We are really enjoying this slow travel.

No sunset picture tonight but this is the right colourway!

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Jacquie GaudetI chose Roses as our Mediterranean beach stop on a future itinerary because it’s in a convenient location. It seems there will be something to do even if it’s not beach weather.
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