It was my goal to leave Spain today. My route would take me inland slightly but then back out to the coast to cross into France through the backdoor, so to speak.
I’d picked up a map from the tourist information office the day before so I had a visual representation of my route and distance as opposed to my usual guess work or reliance on the GPS. I went through a few more coastal towns before heading inland through the mountains.
You can keep following the coast but I’d figured it looked more direct to go inland and cut the corner off. As soon as I headed inland I’d started to climb a winding mountain road.
On the descent into La Bisbal D’Emporda I was joined by a swiss cyclist out on a Saturday circuit. He rode with me for a bit, asking about my trip, the usual. He was impressed with the speed I was keeping, although I did have the wind behind me and I was going downhill.<\p>
I then followed a dual carriageway all the way to Figueres, what I considered the last big town before reaching Spain. So I drew out some money just in case I didn’t see another bank.
To get out of Figueres was a bit complicated so I relied on the GPS. It usually does a good job, but it didn’t want to take me on the N260, the way I had planned. Instead it took me east to the coast then up into the mountains. The only reason I can think it would do such a thing is because the N260 doesn’t allow bicycles, yet when I finally got to Llanca an
d joined the N260 there was no indication that cyclists weren’t allowed. By this point it was too late anyway, and I had had some beautiful views of the coast while climbing up into the mountains.
Next stop, France. Spain had one last sting in the tail with some huge mountains. I’d thought that perhaps the Pyrenees my fizzle out at the coast but I was wrong.
Hasta Luego Espana. I’d spent so long there it was sad to leave. Spain has some amazingly friendly people to name just one of its many charms. I’ll be back soon, just not on this trip.
For some reason I’d imagined the land to flatten out over the border crossing, as if to mark the border between Spain and France. Unfortunately the mountains were still ahead of me and I had many more climbs before finally reaching my destination for the day, Argeles Sur Mer.