Before those days gently slide away into the past I want to write a little about the rest of our trip to Els Ports and the Delta.
The campsite began to fill up on Easter Friday and as it wasn’t very special staying there we decided to move on. There was nothing wrong with it but I’ve become fussy about campsites after visiting so many in the past three years and this was one of the ones, for example, with no toilet seats!
We thought we’d set off early and have breakfast before going to hear some drumming.
The van had other ideas
Luckily a campsite is a great place to find experts in almost anything and we had two car mechanics arguing over what exactly was causing it to refuse to start.
Then there were at least 12 people who helped push-start us and we were off to visit Vallderoures a beautiful walled town over the border in Aragon, with a castle and church and a bridge leading into the old central square
There was a special Easter celebration of drumming at 11am and even with the van problem we got there in time to find a shady parking place very close to the town but far enough away so that Bonnie wouldn’t be frightened by the sound of 100 drums.
Everything was easy and we went first to look for a cafe with wifi and found one overlooking the river and the town
Thank goodness we had ordered our breakfast before finding out their password was ‘vivaespaña’! While this sounds innocent enough to any British person who remembers the song, to a Catalan it is a code for something not so light-hearted!
By the castle there is a garden with a Via Dolorosa – a walk taking you past each station of the Cross. Here is the fourth one – Jesus meets Mary on the road.
Later we drove to the coast meaning to find a campsite by the Delta. But Ampolla was full and too much of a culture shock after our quiet walks so we continued east to Ametlla del Mar. There we found one of the best campsites in the world. It was dark when we got there but the following morning we woke to find the sea only minutes away down a quiet cliff path and the sound of the waves all around us
I liked Ametlla del Mar very much – even though the Tramontana was blowing and the internet wasn’t working in the campsite and the harbour cafes were a bit expensive. It was one of those places where you arrive and immediately start planning when you can come again!
Oh and the campsite is called Camping Nautic!
On Sunday we set off for home but it was so hard to leave that we took a little diversion to a Naturist beach. And had our first swims of the year! No pictures – sorry!
Amettla de Mar looks lovely and so does Vallderoures. I love how there are so many beautiful old towns all over Catalunya (and Spain in general really) There’s always somewhere new to explore!
you are brave swimmers! Brrrr, though the sea has been looking absolutely beautiful these days!