Ramble
Quest - Stopping To Smell Roses
I utilize my yogi skills at the Roses Tourist Information, tricky because the four women who work hear don't speak English, are not used to customers this time of year, and really would rather get back to their lunch and conversation. They hand me a map and seem perplexed when I set my pack down and study it. I notice some dolmen icons on the map marked "megalithic" and point to them in query. "Esta dolmen," she says. Now, instead of acting disappointed at not getting any more information than could obviously be deduced from the rock icons I'm pointing at, I enthusiastically reply: "Oh! Dolmen, si!" I look at her with grateful admiration for having granted some knowledge to me. I don't move though, and after a bit she digs around in a cabinet and comes back with a map that shows the rough location of the many dolmens in the hills outside the town. There's even descriptions in English! I know that not one tourist in a hundred ever receives a map like this.
My luck continues when I next immediately come to a restaurant named "La Cala" with nice rooms above: ensuite, with breakfast for 20 euro. It's a bargain! There's even a TV! I discover that the ancient "Bewitched" series is shown in prime time on a major channel. I watch Japanese cartoons, which make a bit more sense to me in Spanish than they do in Japanese.
The Citadel of Roses is the one town attraction, and it's very nice indeed. The Greeks were here, inevitably followed by the Romans, with some churches and large houses built in later. Today it is all ruins inside of the fortress, whose high walls are great for walking along. Donkeys and goats graze in the partially dry moat. Ducks, including some beautiful green ducks, and turkeys peck about in the wet bits. The many ruins inside the walls are completely deserted during my visit, giving the place an eerie, romantic feeling.
I took one long walk along the shoreline, but became disgusted with the over-development of the Costa Brava. So many ugly buildings, and most of them deserted, yet more are going up next door. I quickly headed inland and basically stayed there for the next three days.
Cap de Creus Natural Park occupies the mountains on this little knob of Spain that juts out over the ocean. I take several long hikes through here, past dilapidated wind turbines, an old observatory and radio tower, along a high ridge that overlooks Cadaques. During one hike, I'm on this high ridge with clouds sitting like milk in a bowl to the middle and crystal clear blue skies out to sea. I'd been hiking along the rim of this bowl and sat down on a rock for a break. To my amazement, the clouds in the middle quickly moved off, like watching a time-lapsed movie of a day passing, and in a matter of five minutes, all of the valleys below were clearly visable. It was a completely unforgetable sight!
Ultimately, I visit most of the many ruins and domens (far more of them than are on the map) in the area and had a fabulous time here, definitely some of my best hiking in Spain. I did have two strange, unnerving experiences though. On one hike, I heard someone hunting; shots ring out and I think I can hear dogs as well. I can't see anyone though. Then, a bullet hits a rock about 30 meters from me! I still couldn't see who was shooting! I carefully moved along and never did spot anyone, which is very strange because I believe I would have seen someone who wasn't trying to hide. The other incident was probably nothing but it felt creepy at the time. I was bushwacking through a field and noticed some clothing buried under a bush. I kicked it out and saw it was a woman's shawl. Then I noticed that there were lots of clothing buried in this field. If I looked carefully and kicked over rocks I found all kinds of clothes in the dirt. I figured it might have been an old junkyard, but it was strange that the only things I found here were clothes.
I stopped at to town of Castello D'Empuries on my way out from Roses, planning to spend the night there, but I couldn't find inexpensive accomodation. The gothic Cathedral, with its outstanding 15th century doorway, is the main attraction. After a visit here, I wandered the streets of the medieval center until I had the need of a restroom. Popping into a museum that was conveniently open, I learned that it was a rare free day because of a festival. The Cathedral had been jammed, but I hadn't realized it was a festival day: the Festivity of La Candelaria. The museum turned out to be a 19th century flour mill.