Aigua Blava, Spain, June 2012

The Costa Brava is the northeastern costal region of Catalonia, Spain, starting from Blanes and going north to the French border.  Ferran Agulló, a journalist born in Girona, referred to the rugged landscape of the area with the name Costa Brava in 1908.  After Spain began recovering from their Civil War in the 1950’s, the area was promoted by the Spanish Government and locals as a tourist destination.  Until that time the beaches were mainly used for Sunday leisure pursuits for the local people.  With the overcrowding that the Côte d’Azur was experiencing, there was a need for less crowded beaches.  Soon this area became a popular destination.  Now tourism is the principal business of the area.


On our most recent drive from Barcelona, we decided to go off the beaten path and experience the Costa Brava.  The area is rugged and surrounded by farms and vineyards.  Fields of sunflowers were already in bloom in the end of June.  We had a hot tip from an ex-pat colleague that Aigua Blava is the place to go for the most unspoiled and beautiful beach scenery.  The drive was nice, but as we got closer to our destination, we began a descent towards the beach.  Not realizing that we were heading towards the bottom of a very steep hill with a small parking lot.  Of course, the parking lot was full on a Saturday afternoon!  Getting out proved to be very difficult, mainly due to the lack of power of the small car and the fact that we were pinned in by a bus that actually thought it could turn around at the bottom.  I popped the car out if first gear twice, stalling and slipping ever closer to the bus!  I had to give up, put on the parking break and turn the car over to my husband.  He had his turn, and on the second try, managed to spin out, toss up a bit of gravel and get us up the hill.  Using the bus as leverage to push us off, I do believe! We were still determined to see the sights, so we found a spot at the top of the hill, parked the car, hiked down for a rewarding view and a delicious lunch.