Our final stop in France started out a little chaotic, and ended up being one of the loveliest areas we have visited. Our very first HomeExchange in this country, two summers ago, was in the small Catalan town on the north side of the Pyrenees, Sainte-Léocadie. This one, on the west side, had a similar feel, but with the added benefit of being near the sea.

The rural setting and shadow of the mountains did create a problem. This home had no WiFi, and almost as little cell service. We had calls and deadlines for work, we didn’t plan this week to be a vacation, and we thought if we did, we might have chosen another destination. Now that I’ve been here, I’d be happy to vacation in Sorede, but Monday, it was a wild scramble to find a way to work. Driving around to find enough cell service to connect, buying SIM cards for various mobile carriers, searching hotels, coworking spaces, and finally, finding a solution in moving from the hosts’ holiday home to the small apartment above their main house, which was well connected and still had plenty of space for us, plus a lovely mountain view. Now, onto the fun!

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Our first day was the coolest on forecast and we got even cooler at elevation, by tackling the peak we could see from our balcony, called Pic du Néoulous. It splits France and Spain, and the hike took us through both countries, with views of the French coastline on one side and the Spanish Pyrenees to the other. 

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The coastline called out to be hiked too, and we got to explore several little segments on different mornings. One took us from an old dynamite factory to a rugged lighthouse, another from the small beach town of Le Racou to touristy Collioure with a castle, military fort, numerous art galleries and a lively weekly market.

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The most fun hike started in Banyuls-sur-Mer, a wine and artist community, and traveled through a marine reserve. All involved lots of swim stops, and we carried our googles to see more sea life, especially in that reserve, than I’d ever experienced in the Mediterranean. While lacking the color of tropical fish and coral, the density of life was no less. 

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We also took a couple more relaxed beach days in the closest town to our home, Argelès-sur-Mer. It was another of those long, expansive beaches you could walk for hours. We got one more chance to wind surf here, which was fun, with lighter wind but bigger waves. 

One of our most fun outings was a Dali-themed full weekend day trip to Spain. We started at one of the most fantastic and memorable museums I’ve visited, the Dali Theater Museum, which he designed and cluttered with art. I always liked his surrealism but didn’t know its depth. We got to see so many different styles and some pieces that have to be experienced in person, like the May West Apartment. 

The town of Figueres didn’t have much going on beyond the museum, so after a nice tapas lunch, we drove out to the Costa Brava, the Spanish continuation of France’s Côte Vermeille. This town, Cadaquès, was much more charming and had an easy, mostly-paved seaside path and another Dali site, his longtime home which you could also tour. We didn’t, but snapped some photos as we walked by. We strolled the town, got ice cream, climbed up to the hillside church and back down to the water for more swim breaks. 

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Spanish dinners are served even later than French ones, so we had to kill time before we could acquire more tapas. We drove a little ways north and stopped at one more random town, strolled its streets, and then finished our scenic drive after dark. It was great to enjoy a short stop in Spain.

The whole Catalan region, like our visit to Basque country last year, has a culture distinct from either France or Spain, influenced by both, with some of the most fun cuisine leveraging seafood and spice. At the end of this stay, we had to return to the Spanish side, just to get to Barcelona airport and its international flights. Now we part ways, N back home, while I make one more Mediterranean stop.