Cadaques

The town of Cadaques is one of the most geographically isolated towns on the northeastern coast of Spain known as the Costa Brava. It is located on a narrow and hilly peninsula jutting out from an otherwise relatively smooth coastline. The road there alone is worth the trip, unless of course you have a tendency to get carsick. Hundreds of concentric stone walls create a staircase of the surrounding hills to make them suitable for growing olive trees. The walls look ancient and must have taken incredible amounts of time to build.

The patterns formed by the stone barriers resembled a painting by Salvador Dali, which is perhaps no coincidence since Cadaquez was Dali's birthplace. The town is visited by hordes of tourists who come to see the various local museums showcasing his work and life. Cadaques is also home to some of the most crowded and uncomfortably stony beaches I have ever seen. After doing a very brief tour of the town, I went off on a small coastal path following a rocky shoreline and enjoyed my first swim of the trip.