To the coast and Barcelona Nine Ten

A couple of days to catch up on and the end of our Pyrenees travels.

We have had a couple of pleasant surprises in our last two days on the road.
Leaving the Puigcerda and its lonely  belltower, we once again hit the mountains. We were accompanied by many early morning cyclists and bikers, all trying to be on the road before the traffic. Once again the hills were pristine, no wonder that we have seen several mineral water enterprises. Makes you laugh though...surely this lovely water is going into their own catchments, and are they taking it unadulterated from these clear streams and immediately pouring it into a bottle?!A few queries there.  Hope the cows with bells are not too near the streams.
Previously, At Arties, we met some Spanish riders. They suggested that we make a diversion to Cap de  Creus because it was beautiful! Heading to the coast today, we did just that. The Cap consisted of the harshest terrain so far..cactus and rocks. We could also see quite early that this was going to be one of those white-washed popular coves overrun with people. Not our idea of beautiful.  It was also very warm. I know...snow a couple of days ago. Nearly as bad as Melbourne weather. HOWEVER, its saving grace was ...it turned out to be the home town of Salvador Dali!! We happened to lunch next to a lovely retired French couple who told us all about the Dali connection. Although tickets for entry into the house were unattainable for that day...of course...we managed to peak at the exterior, with its  out-there silver heads and egg shapes on the roof. Our accomm for that night was also an unexpected delight. A lovely cove within the pine trees, NOT overrun by too many visitors. Drinks overlooking the cove was special.
So to our final day on the bike. We wandered the coast road that borders the Costa Brava. So many people on bicycles and on many purpose- built paths. We quickly found ourselves on a cliff-hugging road that at that hour of the morning was shared with the die-hard cyclists and bikers. Special clifftop views, but also more lovely coves besieged by humanity.
Our final mountain leg took us to the summit of a range very popular with hikers. We stopped at the eatery. What a find. A family-run affair offering simple local dishes and produce. My asparagus was nearly white with freshness and Tony learned to rub his toast with a cut garlic before adding the rich red tomato slices.  The place was hopping as cyclists, bikers and hikers kept moving through.
And so finally to Barcelona. A spirited highway run back to our original hotel. Tony was very pleased to return the bike unscathed.    Tomorrow we fly to Paris. A small French fix for me! 😊