With the need to venture back to Italy for a wedding, it was the perfect excuse to take advantage of a summer in Europe. With no plans, we decided to book a flight somewhere random to begin our adventures. And what better country than Spain to soak up the beginning of the summer warmth.
We flew into Barcelona late so we wandered our way through the city with our 15kg backpacks until we reached the beach. Finally, we could rest and relax our legs, so we chilled out on the sand until the sunrise.. a wonderful welcoming to Spain !
It wasn't here that we stumbled upon the unexpected treasure though.. The next couple of nights were spent camping in the mountains and by the coast (a little north of Barcelona). With all that we had on our backs and each step forward being our next location, I was already in love with this ultimate feeling of freedom. We had nowhere to be, no plans and nothing booked - we just wanted to make it back to Venice within a couple of weeks.
On the third morning of our backpacking journey, we decided to take a short train ride to an adorable little seaside town called Blanes (to move further away from populated areas). It was here that the magic really began - we trekked for over an hour from the train station, sweating and ready to cool off. When we emerged from one of the streets onto the main esplanade, we looked out at the sparkling turquoise waters and just laughed with happiness.. This is what we expected from Spain !
There was a rocky outcrop with some stairs leading up to a lookout that overlooked the town. I ran up the stairs so I could soak in the view and while I was up there I could really see just how brilliant and clear the sea was. So our morning was spent repeatedly jumping from the rocks into that amazing liquid blue. And then we continued ! At this point, we were still wandering aimlessly. We passed cute cafes, a botanic garden (Spanish botanic gardens are basically full of cactus and it's so cool), beautiful streets lined with summer flowers, endless beaches and even a castle.
We had been cruising the stunning coastline for a couple of hours, stopping wherever we pleased - there was so much beauty to admire at every turn. Then an old, rusty metal door under an archway came into view.. so the pathway beyond it was obviously our next option.
We stepped through the arch and looked back over the little town in the distance and it was at this moment that Filippo turned to me and said "Yesss, we must be on the Cami de Ronda !". He remembered the name popping up somewhere during his research before the trip. This was our direction now...
WHAT IS THE CAMI DE RONDA ?
If you’ve never heard of it then let me explain what the Cami De Ronda actually is... It’s a walkway/hiking trail that stretches along the Costa Brava (the northeast coast of Catalonia, Spain). It starts near Blanes and ends up near the border of France and was built to try and control smuggling back in the 19th century. These days it’s one of Europes great hiking opportunities. Even if you wouldn’t choose to hike it, the coastline would make an incredible roadtrip..
It winds its way through small towns, fishing villages and along steep cliffs overlooking the glowing sea below. You can expect buzzing towns with restaurants and bars full of delicious food to keep you going - the beaches are decorated with umbrellas and towels. Europeans are pretty professional when it comes to soaking up every bit of sunlight possible. My favourite part was the water.. it's so fresh and clear and an intensely deep aqua colour.
By the end of this day, we had trekked from Blanes to Tossa De Mar. I absolutely fell in love with this little town ! We found a quiet corner on the beach to unwind, eat, swim and enjoy our surroundings. I climbed some rocks which were towering over the beach below and was rewarded with a kick-ass view (can you spot the castle to the left of the town ?). We camped out again and woke for sunrise...
We decided we would give hitch-hiking a chance but after waiting for an hour, that idea faded and we stuck with the plan and followed the route out of town which was headed towards "Saint Feliu de Guixols". This was tough because we had so much weight on our backs and it was a steep, strenuous climb - but I guess that makes the rewards so much better. Being so in love with the outdoors, I was really waiting for that proper nature kick.. and hoorayyy we finally got it ! This stretch of the trail was unbelievable.. this adventure was quickly exceeding all of our expectations.
Finally, we felt a little more off-the-beaten-track and out in the Spanish wilderness. We found ourselves trekking along steep cliff edges where we would stop and just soak in the views. In the photo below you can see somebody relaxing on their stand-up paddle board surrounded by turquoise waters. So dreamy ! This should give you a feel of how high the cliffs were.
The trail leads you up and down, along the rocky coast for hours and even reaches a beach where you can stop for lunch and a well-deserved swim before you head off again. If the whole trail doesn't seem like a good option for you, I can recommend taking a morning or day to explore the section out of Tossa De Mar (because it will eventually take you to the little cafe/restaurant and then you can turn back).
So on we trekked, but at one point we realized that the sun would set before we reached the next town and we needed to restock our food supply. So we climbed back to the road that winds along the mountains and stuck our thumbs out. We had a really lovely guy stop to pick us up.. He even bought us a drink when we reached the next town - I love meeting people like this.. it makes travelling so much fun. After a nice chill and a grocery shop, we hiked onward into the afternoon. Eventually, we found a beautiful section of a rocky cliff to set up our tent for the night (I honestly thought we were going to roll off the edge haha). What do you think ? Would you sleep here ?
The next day was spent walking, walking and walking.. it was quite a mission but we managed to cover a lot of ground and I just kept falling more in love with this Spanish coastline and the small cities in between. The streets are full of colour and balconies that overlook what's going on below. The architecture between different countries in Europe is so fascinating.
We passed a little town with some old castle ruins to explore and when it decided to rain we just sheltered ourselves in the castle until it passed.
We wandered further through a tiny fishing village only accessible by walking or boat. The village was so beautiful with the doors and windows painted different colours and the boats to match. It got me wondering what it would be like to live like this. This section was so full of nature with a rough coastline to explore. We finally found the most incredible little corner to pitch our tent - it was a tiny beach named Cala Bona. We were completely alone, not a soul in sight. Just us and the stars and the waves. Feeling so free !
On we hiked the next morning.. this was one of my favourite parts of the trail ! Picture a beach, followed by another beach, followed by another beach, cliffs and more sparkly blue water. Still very secluded and remote with more staircases leading their way down to the beaches.. but suddenly.... a fence. We were in the middle of nowhere so we just walked around the fence but soon realized we had just snuck into the back of a beautiful botanic garden. Then we had the challenge of finding the entrance.. ofcourse we stopped and admired all of the weird and wonderful flora.
Now we were back to civilization as we wandered through a couple of small towns in search of a cafe to enjoy breakfast. The town resembled a similar setting to Greece (what I imagine it looks like) with the white buildings against the dreamy, blue water. We laid out our tapestry in a little corner of the beach, made ourselves some sandwiches, had the most refreshing swim and a shower (after being nothing but salty for days) and just soaked up some sunshine in this most beautiful location ! How insanely gorgeous is this little town... it's called 'Calella de Palafrugell'.
We wandered our way around the corner (still following the trail) and it lead into Llafranc. But it had now been a few days that we were trekking our way up towards to French border and realistically we needed to be making more progress because our goal was to get back to Venice at some stage (and had quite a long way to go). We really wanted to hike the section of the trail up near Roses but decided to leave the trail and find a way into France. We were happy with the ground that we had covered, and WOW... this was truly one of my most memorable journeys on foot. When you set no expectations and just go with the flow, that's when the most fun happens (that's what I think anyway). Maybe one day I'll have to return and complete the section that we cut short. Thank-you Spain !
GENERAL TIPS
If you're hiking it, pack enough food just in case you don't reach the next town
Pack something a little warm because Europe can still get those cold nights even in summer
A phone sim for Europe is the handiest thing you can get as soon as you arrive (Google maps is my fave)
Pick a safe spot to camp (if you're camping) and make sure you clean up after yourself
There are hills, be prepared (don't pack heavy as we did)
Sorry, I don't have any recommendations for accommodation because we camped.. but I can just say that being out in the elements is an amazing feeling ! I hope you get to the Cami de Ronda one day if this has sparked an interest for you and I also hoped you've enjoyed this post about my journey.
Much love guys ! Lexie
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