4 months Spain. Between Catalan-speaking, loud and wildly gesturing Spaniards, with my broken Spanish and the uncertainty of not being understood? Those were my first thoughts when I accepted the internship at the Costa Live Magazine in Empuriabrava got. However, the anticipation of eternal sunshine, combined with the exciting and varied work of a journalist, quickly increased – curious and always looking for a new story. I’m still overwhelmed by the warm welcome from the local youth – which I was supposed to get to know on the first weekend: the conversation worked perfectly – patiently in Castellano instead of the beloved Catalán.
The first day at work was a road trip along the wild coast with Tijana and Joe, which I won’t soon forget. From Torroella de Fluvià we went via Empuriabrava to Roses, a small seaside town that in the summer thousands of tourists to the Costa Brava lures
We drove through the small alleys full of people, crowded moped drivers and constantly braking tourist cars. Swearing and forever pushing on the gas – thank God we had a Spanish license plate and thus the silent permission for it – we also meandered through the hustle and bustle and only had a quick look at the beach promenade, which, surrounded by palm trees and small bars, already was heavily attended in the morning. The turquoise green in the sun glittering sea had already shaken awake and patiently endured the cheerfully splashing, screeching children. Now I understood why August is once lovingly called the “Time of the Terrorists”.
Am Punta Falconera, a “typical vantage point on the tourist track”, I took my breath away for the first time. Standing between cactus and olive trees, the vastness of the sea stretched out in front of me, the horizon behind the veil clouds in front of the foothills of the Pyrenees, I could only guess. One step too far and you would have disappeared into the depths of the cliffs. I had a feeling of freedom and such bliss that I would have loved to have captured everything to share it with my loved ones at home. But such a vastness and beauty of nature can only be grasped with the naked eye, so that the heart can really understand it.
We continued on a busy pass Cadaqués, past steep slopes. A lonely donkey delighted in the stillness and ate of the dried grass, an eagle glided through the air without even flapping its wings once, and the feeling of boundless freedom did not leave me. From the car alone, I had such a good view of the foothills of the Pyrenees and the sea to France that I completely forgot the time and place. Only now and then I could see small houses in the middle of nature on the slope. Even a small bodega, overgrown with climbing plants and moss, stood at a crossroads and invited to a break.
But that lured us Cap de Creus – The easternmost point of the Iberian Peninsula. It went past an observatory that was enthroned on the highest peak of one of the mountains, omniscient that this had to be not only one of the most beautiful places in the world, but also in the entire universe. The landscape to the cap changed abruptly – where olive trees and cacti had previously stood, a kind of volcanic landscape stretched out: reddish stones and only a few, dry plants as far as the eye could see. How quickly the flora adapts to the height of the mountain …
our way to Cadaqués led us, among other things, past the former domicile of the world-famous surrealist artist Salvador Dali – today’s museum “Casa Salvador Dali” in portligat. Not far from this are the summer residences of many well-known business people and once again we realized how popular the Costa Brava is with both its tourists and its connoisseurs. Back with many new impressions and ideas, I look forward to hikes in the Pyrenees and visits in small remote bays, towns and cultural sites. More of that here soon.
Marie
