Our s a i lboat, the J o l ie B iche. At the m ar ina in Pa lam ós .

Sailing the Costa Brava Coast in Catalunyamonkeysandmountains.com /sailing-costa-brava-catalunya

Howareyoursea

legs?” asked the captain as our group of bloggers boarded the Jolie Biche at the marina in Palamós. I hesitated andscanned the Mediterranean sea for signs of white caps that would test my sea legs. Seeing nothing but flat sea, Ianswered “fine” as I hopped aboard ready to explore the famed Costa Brava coast. Boasting over 200km of pristinecoastline, it stretches from the French Border down to Blanes, a beach town just north of Barcelona, where I had beentwo days ago exploring the Gothic Quarter.

The

J e l lyfis h hang ing out by our s a i lboat before our depar ture a long the coas t

Thefirstthingthat

immediately caught my attention were the jellyfish hanging out less than a meter from the boat. Although that would be itfor our wildlife sightings for the day, it’s also possible to see dolphins, and even whales in season. And the one fish, I’mdying to see – a moon fish! The possibility of seeing a moon fish alone justifies a diving trip in Costa Brava alone, but Idigress.

While there wouldn’t be more wildlife today, there would be:

Rugged cliffs that plunge into the sea!

Cas tle ru ins a long the Medi ter ranean coas t

Castle ruins.

s andy beaches o f Ca le l la de Pa la fruge l l

Sandy beaches and pristine turquoise waters

Secret hideaway for the rich and famous tucked out of sight for ultimate privacy among Costa Brava’s numerous naturereserves.

Opportunities to brave the crystal blue but chilly Mediterranean waters in sheltered coves. I chilled out instead somemight say chickened out. But here, it was September after all! Tony from Contemporary Nomad is much braver than Iand dove right in.

Cale l la de Pa la fruge l l Coas tl ine

There would be medieval coastal towns and former white-washed fishing villages serving the catch of the day.

And

At Lla franc our des tination for s om e coas tl ine h iking and lunch.

And

perhaps most importantly, after a few chilled out hours of smooth sailing, I knew there would be a seaside lunch at HotelRestaurant Terramar in Llafranc, waiting for me. Nothing beats a fresh seafood paella. And although I learned the secretto making a perfect paella in a previous visit to Catalunya, it tastes so much better when you don’t have to make ityourself.

I

Fres h s eafood pae l la a t Hote l Res taurant Ter ram ar in Lla franc

I

enjoyed simply taking in the views. The serenity of being on a boat and doing absolutely nothing for a couple of hours.Something I rarely ever do. That was the best gift that Tela Marina could have given me.

Logist ics of Sailing the Costa Brava Coast:

Our route took us fromPalamós to Llafranc, (click the link to see the map) and took a couple of hours. A longer tripcould easily be arranged. It’s worth going to Port Lligat, home to Salvador Dali’s house. Trust me, you’ve never seen ahouse like his. Fortunately it’s now a house museum so you can go inside. Also near Port Lligat there’s also the whitevillage of Cadaques, where Picasso used to spend his summer vacations. In my opinion, it’s one of the prettiestvillages along the Costa Brava coast.

Sailing classes are also plentiful in Costa Brava including in Palamós which has one of the best marinas along thecoast.

Thank you to Catalunya Tourism for making my sailing trip possible. As always, all opinions expressed are my own.

About Laurel

Laurel Robbins is a free-spirited adventurer, award-winning travel blogger at Monkeys and MountainsAdventure Travel Blog. Many hats, one travel obsessed Canadian in Germany.