Cadaques, Spain, November 2012

Cadaques is a former fishing village in the north eastern corner of Spain along the Mediterranean almost at the boarder of France. The area is called the Costa Brava, due to the wild landscape and weather. During the winter, the wind, called the “Tramuntana” whips off the Pyrenees Mountains and churns the Mediterranean Sea to a “boil”. Fisherman have lived here since ancient times, the only way in and out of the town was by sea. Now a steep windy road connects the Cap de Creus to other places along the coast. Driving in and out of town in the daylight is highly recommended. We made the mistake of arriving just dark fell. It was fast as the sun dropped like a rock behind the mountains. Our GPS was not well equipped to the streets of Cadaques. At one point, we were heading down a tight narrow dirt road with high stone walls on either side, the car barely fit through! A man on a motorcycle assured us it was safe for vehicles-dirt bikes, like the one he had perhaps.  A second pass to find the hotel had us taking a small narrow street that turned into a staircase. We had to back out several hundred meters in the pitch black night. After finding the hotel, we parked the car and did not get back in until leaving two days later.  Good thing Cadaques is a nice small town with plenty to keep us busy.

Cadaques has a walled medieval part of town that is dominated by Santa Maria Church. Santa Maria was built between the 16th and 17th centuries. The church itself is gothic style, but the newer altar piece is a giant work of Baroque sculpture. You can put a euro in the box, press a switch and the altar lights up. It is massive; over 23 meters high with multiple carvings and scenes dedicated to Our Lady of Hope.

An interesting tidbit of early 20th century history is that almost a third of the town’s population immigrated to Cuba, approximately 1200 people. A number of those who made their fortunes came back and built the elaborate houses in Cadaques that you see around the harbor and lining the hillsides. 

Cadaques has scenery and light that artists have appreciated and made famous. Salvador Dali is perhaps the most famous artist of the town. His family visited there often during his childhood and he made is home in the next town over, Portlligat. Artists who spent time creating in the town include Pablo Picasso, Mei Fren, Angel Planells, and Marcel Duchamp among others. Several galleries and workshops are present with their works circulating. We visited a gallery of an elderly gentleman who is a local photographer that spent much time with Dali and was permitted to capture his daily life on film. Many of the intimate photographs are on display in his shop. If I were a bit savvier, I would have probably recognized many other celebrities and artists in the photos. It is an interesting look at the history of the time period. 

We took a fairly short hike (6-7 km round trip) on the Cala Nans that leads you to a light house. All along the trail, you get beautiful vistas of the town, the cliffs and the sea. Cadaques is surrounded by park, so longer trails are available. You can connect trails and go from town to town along the coast, or use Cadaques and a base for out and back day trips. I recommend that so you have the opportunity to come back for dinner or tapas and an early morning coffee and pastry. Try Cadaques in the off season, as there are about 2000 residents, but many, many more visitors in the summer. We went the first weekend in November, and had a wonderful time.