We went to the beach in the afternoon. To beautiful Sant Pol beach
Found the sandy part has been further eaten away by the sea and the beach itself is now a narrow strip with a sheer drop into the sea. But it was beautiful and peaceful as always
The cormorant was sunning herself on the rock and there was only one man up on the cliff top gazing down on the naked bodies.
I spent three hours falling in love with this previously unexplored part of town
The street names are wonderful……fraternidad, llibertat, venus, progres.
Most have wonderful metalwork
What is this for do you think? At the bottom of the front door
Bars, independent shops that still manage to survive in a huge expensive city
home birth centres, peaceful squares, old ladies gazing down from balconies (gone in now)
It felt a bit like Stoke Newington where I lived in London for 15 years. What do you think this little door is used for so high up in a huge entrance?
A part of Barcelona to really live and work and be creative
Here a little roofed sanctuary on the corner of the street opposite
When I was finished, after crosssing Diagonal, I walked back down to Passeig de Gracia.
A different world where they sell dresses which when worn by any normal shaped woman would help her look like a strange pink lampshade!
I flew to Glasgow for a Scottish wedding and had a wonderful time seeing family, at last having something to celebrate after the last sad year since my brother died.
I love Glasgow Central station
Bonnie stayed here in Granollers and it was lovely to return from my trip and have her meet me at the station. But I noticed almost immediately there was something wrong with her. She was too hot, a bit subdued, off her food. The week before she had been attacked by several ticks. Probably picked up after we walked the same path as some sheep – or it could have been the goats – who knows – they are hard to avoid here
I took her to the vet and was shocked to find her blood tests showed extremely low platelets and aenemia. Erlichiosis – a tick borne parasitic infection of the blood.
She had to stay in hospital overnight – she was too tired and weak to protest. Very scary but so good to have the wonderful Lauro Vets so close to home. It is 24 hour with an animal hospital and vets who speak English! I know I can communicate in Catalan but in an emergency – it was so good.
The antibiotics started to work very quickly and late the next day she was able to come home
I decided to change her onto a raw meat diet and since then have been scouring the shops for cheap meaty chunks that she can gnaw through like a wolf. And liver and tripe and other strange things.
I had come home to sunshine in Granollers and the day that Bonnie went to hospital was Sant Jordi – the Catalan patron saint of lovers. The streets were filled with stalls selling books
or roses – here’s my lovely friend Azucena helping out on a stall.
Normally I love this festival but this one was rather over shadowed for me.
I just wanted Bonnie home and safe.
Somehow living here in a strange land makes us even more close- she is always there for me
Friends arrived from France, seeking sunshine and warmth. No sooner had they settled in than the skies darkened and the rain started. And I came down with flu. Fever and chills and body pains and weakness. Bonnie and I stayed at home together, resting and recovering.
Finally we all felt strong enough to go to the beach
It was cold and windy but the Ona restaurant at Premia del Mar never lets you down. Lovely food and they are always so welcoming to dogs. We sat inside of course! Then had a refreshing walk.
Suddenly it was May 1st
here mainly celebrated as the day of the workers but for me always a pagan celebration of spring.
But it was still raining!
Finally the weather changed in time for our boat trip to watch seabirds. We went from Badalona on the Quetx they have bought and restored and now use for sailing lessons
We didn’t see too many birds, not compared to trips on the Scillonian, but it was peaceful to be out there on the sea on a calm and sunny day.
And now it is almost time for my birthday – it looks like it will be raining again from the forecast but I got used to that when I was young – Scottish bulls aren’t bothered by a bit of weather!
Then the drive down the bumpy sandy lane, through the woods until the sanctuary of Sant Nicolau comes into view. Getting out of the van there is a smell of pine and herbs and a cuckoo is calling.
Dogs come out to greet you first. Bob is a deeply satisfying mountain of a dog with gentle eyes and large strong paws which he folds one over the other when he is lying down. Lucy is steady and solid and calm. And at the moment there is another guardian of the house – Nero is waiting to be rehomed in Germany and is having the best time of his life so far, chasing balls in the garden here.
Bonnie made an instant friend. They have a shared love of chasing balls
We arrived and settled in and just as I felt myself start to relax completely, Bonnie got sick. She’d been off her food and slightly peaky for days but that first night she began vomiting and was getting very thirsty and troubled.
So off to the vet the next day who diagnosed gastroenteritis – an inflammation of the whole digestive system. We went to the Canis vets in Figueres who were wonderful and calming for my anxious nerves. I hate it when an animal is sick and with Bonnie I am especially good at worrying and catastrophising. It is almost a year since Blue died here and I want to believe that Bonnie is still young and strong but she will be 11 in June!
Several injections and a few pills later she began to perk up and we drove to the sea to cook up some white rice and chicken for her invalid lunch in the van. She was very hungry – it had been three days since she had a proper meal.
We stopped at Roses, parked beside a little sandy beach and went for a walk along the rocks
It was lovely but oh dear, look at that hill covered in houses and flats. They are so tightly packed in together that you feel dizzy looking at them. However often I see the coast-line developments here, I can’t stop myself asking “How could they do that to such a beautiful place?” I actually feel it was criminal. Money and greed must have been the motivation and the extreme beauty of the beach and the sea only makes the ugliness of the buildings more painful.
However, it was a great day. The sun was shining and Bonnie got stronger and happier by the minute.
The sea was a little too cold even for me to swim in but the sun is shining and the birds are singing lustily at the Mas. Cuckoo cuckoo cuckoo cuckoo cuck!
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!
