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  3. L’EMPORDà DE VICENç PAGèS JORDà

L’Empordà de Vicenç Pagès Jordà

montgri

The Empordà consists of at least a territory, a myth, and a mental state. I will only refer to the first.

Most of the Empordà is a land of passage. Those that live there permanently follow certain routes, which take them to work and family. Visitors on the other hand are drawn to the established landscape and archaeological destinations. Often the most interesting and genuine places are outside of these, not very far away, possibly at a different time. I have chosen four of these places.
The citadel of Figueres may be a well-known destination, but I recommend a walk around the walls on a day of Tramuntana. The walk may be uncomfortable, the gusts of ice-cold wind penetrate your clothing, the noise prevents conversation, a shelter is nowhere to be found, and nobody offers you a drink. Yet when you come back you are so charged with wind energy that you will be six months younger.

The terraces of Platja d’Aro are very popular in summer, but they are to be recommended early on a spring morning, before the holidays, when the waiter lazes between empty tables. You can sit down facing the sea and let an hour go by without any nuisance from other guests. You can watch the breakers, the ebb and flow of the foam, the endless breathing of a tired sea. Far away from the daily bustle you can take decisions that are not urgent but vital.

If you want to meet other people you can go shopping at the Límits, the part of La Jonquera on the French border. In only three little streets, hundred of citizens from our neighbouring country carry around large bags full of tobacco and alcohol. The shops exhibit T-shirts with cheeky messages, knives of all sizes and styles, utensils for smoking marihuana, and any gadget barely within the law. Like the Panama Canal, Els Límits is pure frontier, full of surprises and possibilities.

To seek out enviable solitude you could climb the Montgrí range; it’s big enough to get lost in, yet small enough to find the way back. If you arrive early in the morning with a rucksack full of water and food, you can spend all day there, trying out paths at random. You’ll come across sand and rocks, woods and pastures, Hoopoes and squirrels, and perhaps even a boar. To stop for lunch in the shade of an oak is an exquisite and savage pleasure.//

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