Not yet completely overwhelmed by masses of tourists, this little seaside fisher settlement (of about 2,800 residents) on Catalunya’s brave and rocky Costa Brava can still seem like an authentic small Catalan town–assuming you avoid the high and mighty summer season in July and August. Thankfully, it has not yet turned into a messy mass of open-air markets for flamenco dolls, Barça football (soccer) jerseys, and refrigerator magnets.
Yet.
Why? Well, it is a bit isolated from the main tourist shipping lanes for one thing, walled off from the rest of Catalunya by low mountains. There is no train service, although there is bus service that comes over the narrow and winding roads. Most tourists, like us, arrive in their automobiles, then park and walk about town. There are no huge high rise vacation apartments–although other rentals certainly abound.
Perhaps the two biggest attractions: The unique and bizarre house where Salvador Dalí and Gala lived for many years (actually in Port Lligat, 1 kilometer away), and the nearby Cap de Creus Nature Park (maybe 15 kilometers to the lighthouse at the end of the road), a geologic wonder.
Here are some test images (Sony RX100ii) from the area…
Two by two near the Cala Nans (Little Beach of the Dwarves, maybe?) lighthouse, a worthwhile, scenic, and fairly casual 3-4 kilometer walk (7-8kms round trip) from Cadaqués:
Far de Cala Nans, #3. Cadaqués, Catalunya, 2018
A close-up of the now solar-powered light house. In the 1860s, the original materials to build this structure were floated over by boat since the track and foot trail along the coast was (and still is) too rough:
Far de Cala Nans, #2. Cadaqués, Catalunya, 2018
Looking across the bay at the lighthouse from the previous pictures. Having plenty of seabirds in flight definitely adds to the mood in these images:
Far de Cala Nans, #3. Cadaqués, Catalunya, 2018
A close-up of the sea stack reveals a ship on the horizon and a gull in close proximity…serendipity:
Far de Cala Nans, #5. Cadaqués, Catalunya, 2018
Back in town, an example of Salvador Dalí’s omnipresence. Here, he is stuck to the side of the town’s museum with his famous mustache floating weightlessly into the air. The Església de Santa Maria is visible at the top right and is well worth a visit for the incredibly detailed and somewhat strange altarpiece (check out the two colorful fishermen at the base). I think it is about the most interesting “small village church” I have ever seen. I have no idea when you might find the doors open as I happened into it–so good luck with that. Think karma and leave a contribution for their maintenance fund:
Dalí in Cadaqués, #1. Cadaqués, Catalunya, 2018
Yes, he can be found in the most unlikely of places. Here, we have a lurking “Diver Dalí” eyeballing a Scoopy scooter:
Dalí in Cadaqués, #2. Cadaqués, Catalunya, 2018
This statue on the waterfront is probably the most photographed Dalí monument in town–and naturally everyone poses beside it in a mirror image of the artist’s posture. The two gulls happening by (can you find the second?) was not all that accidental as colonies abound:
Dalí in Cadaqués, #3. Cadaqués, Catalunya, 2018
The double-torched Statue of Liberty below is not the original sculpture but a faithful copy of Dalí’s unusual 1972 work. The two torches held high seem to shout, “Liberty, dammit!” (Duality, in general, seems to be a consistent Dalí theme…perhaps related to the always-present ghost of an older brother, also named Salvador, who died as an infant? Dalí reincarnated?)
During our visit, the statue was covered with Catalan flags: the one-star and yellow and red-striped “Estelada” symbolizing Catalan independence, and the frequently seen (these days) “Freedom for the Political Prisioners” flag referring to the Catalan politicians being held in a Madrid jail (and others still in exile), for their role in the unsanctioned October 1, 2017 independence referendum:
Statue of Liberty. Cadaqués, Catalunya, 2018
The First of October (2017) Referendum…Neither Forget, Nor Forgive. And that is the Spanish riot police you see there with their helmets and batons–symbolizing the violence used during the Referendum. You’ll see similar “independentista” signs and grafitti all over Catalunya, but especially out in the rural regions. Many towns have even placed an extra placard at the entrance to their village that essentially says, “This is a village of the Catalan Republic”. Barcelona, being much more cosmopolitan, with migrants from all over Spain, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, is much more divided on this independence question, at least according to my informal survey of the grafitti and signs I see there:
We Will Not Forget or Forgive. Girona Province, Catalunya, 2018
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