Begur - An Autumn by the Sea - CycleBlaze

December 9, 2018

Begur

Another day that didn’t go exactly to plan, but another totally brilliant day of riding.  This tour has been incredible for its diversity, with each day unlike any other.  We have an easy itinerary today - a flat 30 miles skirting the Bay of Roses and crossing flat lower Emporda, followed by a stiff climb to the hilltop town of Begur at the end of the day.  We planned to make fast work of the ride and spend the afternoon on a walking tour of Begur.  That’s not how the day rolled out though.  It was slower going biking through the flats than we expected, mostly because we kept finding reasons to stop and stare.  

Still, we were on track to arrive in time for at least a bit of a walk until we added almost ten miles to the day on a dead end at an impassable creek at the sea.  The last hour of the ride was just a bit stressful, as we crafted a new route on the fly without being certain of its length.  We half expected to arrive in Begur after dark, but we made it in just before sundown.  No tim to look around, but maybe in the morning.

So we didn’t see much of Begur, but we did see and enjoy the very fine restaurant at our hotel.  Rachael enjoyed an excellent cod, and I had what may have been the best meal of the tour in a wonderful barbecued duck with raspberry sauce.  Unfortunately I forgot to take the camera down to the table, so we have no proof to offer.

Dinner included a pleasant surprise - a visit with Peter, from southern England.  He shared our table with us, and we enjoyed a very pleasant meal and conversation and the chance to sharpen up on our fading English language skills.

I still playing catch-up with the blog for a bit, so I’ll stop here.  If I hurry and wrap this up, we’ve still got a bit of time to walk around Begur this AM.

Looking south along the Bay of Roses
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The day got off to a slow start, as we are stopped almost immediately at the waterfront by a pair of parrots nest building in the top of a palm tree.
Heart 4 Comment 3
Bill ShaneyfeltI didn't know there were parrots in Spain! Seems they might be monk parrots.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monk_parakeet

Learning stuff all the time!
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5 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Bill ShaneyfeltYup. Monk parakeets are introduced from South America, apparently through released or escaped pets. They’re well established in Spain now, and widely regarded as a nuisance or worse.
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5 years ago
Bill ShaneyfeltTo Scott AndersonSigh... Invasives, yup, same old story. Cute/pretty, etc. escapes or intentionally introduced without natural population controls found in native environments. People sure mess things up
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5 years ago
We watched this pair (the other is off gathering materials) for about ten minutes, swooping in with new twigs and adjusting them into place.
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Jen RahnI could never build such an elaborate home using just my mouth and feet.

What a feat!

Beautiful birds, too.
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5 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Jen RahnI’m not so sure, Ms Grumby. You strike us as uncommonly talented. We could use you on our coming fixer upper project.
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5 years ago
In Roses
Heart 3 Comment 1
Bruce LellmanGreat silhouette of Rachael.
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5 years ago
There’s a well marked bike lane along the waterfront for much of the Bay of Roses. I imagine it gets pretty crazy in the warmer months, but it’s very pleasant now - even on the Sunday of a long holiday weekend.
Heart 4 Comment 0
Oh, wait - we have a late contender for favorite horse photo of the tour. Same mountain, different country.
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The bikeway we’ve been following (EV8 again, I think) brought us here. No way.
Heart 2 Comment 3
Jen RahnIf only you'd had those hip waders ...
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5 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Jen RahnOr som undaunted porridge. L&C would have gone for it.
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5 years ago
Bruce LellmanScott, your readership needs some big time excitement. A video of you crossing this would have been great.
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5 years ago
We’re cycling today through Baix (lower) Emporda, which is just as brilliant as Alt Emporda was. Very flat, crossing wetlands, reedy country and I think rice fields. Beautiful this time of year.
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Along the Bay of Roses we find the best view of the eastern Pyrenees.
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Rachael helps us see how tall the giant cane grows here. Looks like she’s a bit chilly this morning.
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Pastry break, Sant Pere Pescadore
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Lunch break, Sant Martí de Empúries. What an incredible spell of weather we’ve landed in here!
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Biking is such hard work! This guy woke up a minute later, crying. The two parents rocked him back to sleep by gently rolling the bike back and forth.
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The ruins of the ancient city of Empúries. Founded in 575 BC by the Greeks, it was later occupied by the Romans. It was abandoned in the Middle Ages because its indefensible position left it vulnerable to marauders.
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Potty break, Empúrian style.
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Montgri Castle, partially built between 1294 and 1301, was never completed.
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Storks and more storks! We’ve never seen them as frequently as we did today. We must have seen well over a dozen scattered across the fields. Such a photogenic bird - they rank up with the flamingos, in our estimation.
Heart 6 Comment 2
Jen RahnMaybe you'll be able to get a photo of a stork initiating fligh - to rival that incredible flamingo photo?
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5 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Jen RahnI was pretty close, actually. I just couldn’t bring myself to posting 2/3 of a stork.
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5 years ago
Heart 3 Comment 0
Not a quarter mile earlier, I was starting to despair about finding a decent plane tree shot for the day. I wonder if we’re moving out of its range. I may need to start looking for a surrogate species.
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We stared at this path for a few minutes, going back and forth between it and the map. The choices: continue on, for what looks like two miles before we come to a road again; back up and continue south to the beach, where the map indicates a trail that crosses he mouth of a small stream; or backtrack several miles back to the main highway. Tough choice.
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So we decided to test the crossing at the beach. We failed the test, and now are even further off route. Not the wisest decision, in retrospect. We ended up adding about 8 miles to the day, and using up much of the remaining daylight.
Heart 1 Comment 2
Jen RahnYou two have been very well-behaved (and admirable!) touring cyclists this year ...

I'll bet Santa has a couple sets of extra hip waders he could fit in your Christmas Panniers(??)
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5 years ago
Rachael AndersonTo Jen RahnI hope not because Scott would make me carry them. I sure appreciate all your witty comments. You should be a comedy writer!
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5 years ago
The fruitless detour had its benefits though, because these were beautiful miles. Was it worth eight miles to bring home this photo though?
Heart 4 Comment 0
No problem! There’s still plenty of light in the sky when we reach Begur, a hilltop town. Where’s Rachael, you ask? Straight ahead, on the other side of the cliff. The climb up was a 12 percenter for about two miles.
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Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 3,309 miles (5,325 km)

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Comment on this entry Comment 1
Bruce LellmanI really like the local music with the videos.
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5 years ago