To Roses

November 4, 2024

First a look back to three days ago, or 45 years ago. In a comment, Rich shared with us that he rode his moped up to the Monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes long ago, beating us by nearly half a century. As evidence he supplied the photo he took looking up the clock tower, commenting at how much it looked like the one I took. He’s right.

Not much change in 45 years. Rich’s is on top.

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Team Anderson is on the move again today, inching its way toward Barcelona and the flight home in a little over two weeks. Barcelona isn’t that far away now, but at the rate we’re going we might miss our flight. Today we’re relocating to Roses on the opposite side of Cap Crues, a whopping 14 mile ride; and we’ll be here for three nights before the next big jump, to Figueres.

Our host in Llançà, who you’ll remember is also a biker, asked where we were headed today when we handed over the keys. When we specified Roses he asked if we were going the obvious way, to El Port de la Selva and then over the crown of the cape. Nope, I indicated by making a flat, panning motion with my hand - we’re taking the low route. He proceeded to make us feel wimpish by describing the ride he took the day before yesterday: to Roses via the high road, and then back to Llançà via the even higher route - up to the monastery.

Which is fine with us. When we were younger we were more ambitious too.

A frightening encounter on our way out of town.

It’s overcast and on the cool side when we start out, but it won’t remain that way. About halfway into the ride the skies clear and the day heats up, but less than an hour later when we roll into Roses it’s overcast again and lightly sprinkling. That’s a lot of change in under two hours!

The first five miles are on the busy N road, the coastal highway, and in addition to the traffic they come with a climb. It’s a reasonably modest one fortunately, aided by the fact that we have a modest tailwind leveling it out somewhat.

We’re on the N-260 for about four miles as we leave town. It’s the coastal highway and carries some traffic but it’s worth it to avoid the climb over Cap Creus. Fortunately there’s a reasonable shoulder the whole way.and the drivers are respectful.

Once we’re over the top and descending toward the coast again I stop us for a look back at that fortification I noted on the descent from the monastery. I didn’t know what it was at the time - it doesn’t really register as a feature on the map - but I managed to identify it since then as the 11th century Quermançó Castle. Now essentially a ruin after was largely destroyed by Napoleon’s troops two centuries ago, it’s now in private hands and not open to visitors.

It’s interesting that the castle was a favorite of Salvador Dalí. He had a deep affection for it and was very familiar with it as it is positioned on the road nearly halfway between his home town of Figueres and his coastal home in Cadaqués. He had several ideas for the castle including creating a natural pipe organ in the castle which would have been "played" by the traumantana wind that constantly blows in the area. Another was to house a rhinoceros in the basement purely for tourists to come and view, and a third was to acquire the ruins of the castle and make them into the residence of his wife.

This is the unidentified fortifiction I passed on my way down from the monastery. It’s been identified in the meantime as Quermançó Castle, a fortification dating back to the 11th century that Napoleon’s forces occupied and then destroyed on their way out the door.

Castell de Quermançó (Salvador Dalí, 1977)

Off the busy N-260 now, we enjoy a long, straight shot as we drop toward Roses from the high point of the climb.

The sky surprises us by clouding over by the time we arrive in Roses and bike along its long waterfront looking for lunch. Along the way I hear a familiar raucous sound and look up in the palm trees looking for the monk parakeets making it. This is one of the few new birds in Spain I’m still holding out hope for seeing before we fly home, and I’m delighted they’re here. There’s not time to stop and try for a photograph - we want to find a table, and on top of that Rachael’s anxious to make use of the bathroom - but I’m confident I’ll get other chances before we leave. Monk parakeets call attention to themselves and are very easy to find if they’re around, even if it’s sometimes hard to get a good shot of them hidden up in the fronds.

Checking out the palm trees along the waterfront for the monk parakeets I hear chattering. Three of them just flew off ahead of us and I was hoping they’d have been caught on video, but no such luck.

#288: Monk parakeet. This shot is from the following day, but I’ll include it here.

Sound track: Fall Out, by Gerry Mulligan and Paul Desmond

It’s just starting to sprinkle when we settle on a restaurant on a back street a block off the waterfront. We lean the bikes against a wall and take our seats at a covered table next to them, thinking that if real rain occurs we’ll go grab our panniers and pull them under the cover with us. Fortunately that doesn’t happen though and the showers stop almost as soon as they start.

We’re staying at another apartment here, this one just a few hundred yards from where we had lunch and just a half block back from the waterfront. And it’s as suitable as the one we just left in Llançà, checking all of our boxes: a kitchen with coffee maker, a washing machine, a separate bedroom, a covered deck for the bicycles, and an elevator so we don’t have to carry them up to the room.

After we’ve settled in and Rachael’s returned from the store I walk along the waterfront for awhile, partly just to look around and partly hoping for a look at the monk parakeets. That doesn’t happen, but something better shows up - a young, almost white European shag. Shags are relatives of cormorants, looking generally the same with some minor differences. It’s another one of those species I’ve been holding out hope for, wondering if I’ll go through the entire year without seeing one.

On the waterfront, Roses. We stayed here six years ago, but I’d forgotten the way the town climbs up that hill behind it, one of the foothills of Cap Creus.

I’m sure there’s a reason that Roses has its artillery aimed across the bay at L’Escala. I should read up on that.

Looking across the wide Bay of Roses. I think that’s L’Escala on the far left, marking the opposite end of the bay.

Roses, with one of its long fishing piers in front.

Trinity Castle serves as a backstop in case those cannons aren’t sufficient.

The end of the fishing pier, with Empuriabrava across the water and a variety of birds on the rocks. Actually though it’s probably not really a fishing pier, in spite of the fishermen working it this evening. There’s a parallel breakwater right next to it, so maybe they’re some sort of loading channel.

#289: European shag. I’ve been watching out for one, but was lucky to focus the camera on this guy just because he’s so light (an immature). Note that he’s smaller than the great cormorants around him, has a slimmer bill and a more sharply sloped forehead.

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Today's ride: 14 miles (23 km)
Total: 4,612 miles (7,422 km)

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Carolyn van HoeveHey Scott & Rachael, you're not going to enjoy what you see when you look at the news this morning. Grim. Perhaps you need to start looking for a bolt hole somewhere there.
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1 month ago

Scott AndersonTo Carolyn van HoeveIt’s grim alright, but not news to me at least. I woke up about every half hour last night to check the status so I’ve seen it coming ever since the early returns.

Say, do you have a spare bedroom down there?
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1 month ago

Carolyn van Hoeve The one consolation we have is that we live in New Zealand.
And you’re very welcome to our spare bed! It’s a long way from Europe though. I think the better idea is you buy a place in Spain that we can all crash in! Ha!
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1 month ago

Karen PoretTo Carolyn van HoeveHi Carolyn;
I don’t know you ( or anyone, really) but with your last name, are you either of Dutch descent or married to someone with a Dutch last name.? My point of noting this is I would move to The Netherlands, but my good friend, Janneke suggests “we are all alike now with our various countries”..
Second comment is my older daughter would move to NZ, but my younger daughter would move to Switzerland.
I am not happy either, but at least I live on the “left coast” and in a mostly blue state. ( blue mood now, but it will become a rainbow soon enough)
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1 month ago