Travelling by foot lets you engage with the unfamiliar environment in an intimate way. Photo / P.K. Stowers
Lace up your hiking boots and discover north-east Spain by foot. P.K. Stowers pays homage to Catalonia.
Mention hiking in Spain and it's hard not to think of the massive pilgrim trail, El Camino, that stretches across the north of the country to Santiago de Compostela.
But thankfully for those who want to experience Spain's historic villages, spectacular scenery and remarkable food and drink, that 775km monster is not the only hiking option.
Day 1: Today our eight-strong group is starting the Catalan Classic - a seven-day self-guided tour of the eastern Costa Brava and hinterland. We've got good walking shoes or hiking boots and are ready to take on all Catalonia has to offer.
After a two-hour train ride east from Barcelona, we arrive in Flaca and are met by Mick, the local representative for Headwater - the tour company organising every detail of our excursion (available through Adventure World travel in New Zealand). Mick is British and seems every bit the professional 20-something traveller. As he drives us to our hotel, he explains some of what we can expect.
"Tomorrow there's a diversion you can take. It lengthens the hike quite a bit, pushes it over the 30k mark," says Mick. I look around the van and can't help but notice no one else is enthusiastic.
"Does it lead to anywhere interesting," I ask hopefully. "Like a ruin or a lookout point?"
"Nope," he replies. "You should only do it if you like walking."
Strangely enough, I do like walking. There are many faster and more convenient ways to reach a destination but I have always found that the chance to traverse the environment and engage with it is a special thing. There is also a sense of achievement you don't get from using mass transit. Regardless of my initial enthusiasm the group decides we will take the shorter option.
For our first night we stay at the family-owned Hotel Garbi in Calella de Palafrugell - a beautiful, unspoilt town built on the shoreline. After a short walk around, and dinner at a tapas restaurant, we head back to the hotel.
Day 2: Calella de Palafrugell to Castell d'Emporda
We are out by 9, driving the short distance inland to Mont Ras, where the hike starts. Most of today's walking will be in Les Gavarres - a series of gently rolling forested hills abundant with cork trees.
Headwater does not provide a guide but it does virtually everything else. It arranges picnic lunches, collects our main bags from the hotel and delivers them to our next overnight stay, and best of all provides copious notes on each walk, including directions, historical notes and points of interest. According to today's description we should see ancient dolmen (like a single section of Stonehenge), historic farmhouses and plenty of birdlife.
As the hike continues I find it's a blessing having these directions. As well as helping us not get lost, it makes the journey feel like an exploration rather than a forced march.
Once we have cleared the forested hills, the final hour of day two is across fields and through two small villages to our hotel, a 700-year-old restored castle, Castell d'Emporda.
Photos: Hiking in Catalonia, Spain
The Catalonian national flag flying high atop the castle remains at Begur. Photo / P.K. Stowers
Day 3: Rest day
The tour lasts seven days and is built around three long day-hikes, with a rest day following each. This can be customised depending on how long you have to stay in the region. Headwater can organise tours lasting three to 10 days - customised to your level of fitness - and has options for cycling or kayaking. On the rest days, if you feel you haven't done enough walking yet, the company provides directions for local walks taking in scenic spots and towns.
The promise of a sunny day around the Castell d'Empordia's swimming pool and bars proves too much of a temptation for half our group, who relax or make the very short walk to La Bisbal, famous for antiques and ceramics markets.
With three others I travel by taxi and train to the excellent Salvador Dali Museum in Figueres and the residence of his wife Gala in nearby Pubol - two parts of the famed Triangle of Dali.
Day 4: Castell d'Empordia to Begur
As reluctant as we are to leave our glorious hotel, the promise of walking through open countryside - no hills till after lunch - and a number of mediaeval villages is enough to get everyone started early.
After 90 minutes or so we come to Peratallada, a beautiful village with a chaos of tiny cobbled streets and stone houses surrounded by a well-preserved defensive wall dating from the 12th century. Photo opportunities abound and the group slows to a crawl. To a tour group from the other side of the world, the fact that such ancient buildings are not only in such good condition but are still used and lived in seems amazing. It is a similar situation in Pals, some 90 minutes further on. We stop for lunch and to sample the local sangria.
For the last part of our hike the group decides to go the long way home, via the summit of Quermany Gros, with 360-degree views of the countryside. The going is steep and without but after 40 minutes we agree the views were worth the extra effort. It doesn't leave us with much energy for the remaining two hours to our hotel at Begur. Thankfully most of the walk is beneath cooling pine forest.
The beautiful Costa Brava resort town of Tamariu. Photo / P.K. Stowers
Day 5: Rest day
Begur is a tranquil hilltop town with many bars, cafes and restaurants. We stay overnight at the Hotel Rosa, a pleasant three-star venue owned by the chef of the Fonda Caner Restaurant next door. Even if you don't stay at the hotel it is worthwhile visiting the eatery: the meal was easily one of the best in we had in Catalonia.
Rest-day options in Begur include exploring the town and its shops or a short walk to the remains of a 17th-century castle that overlooks the Mediterranean coast. It's a clear morning when I head up and the view stretches to the French Pyrenees in the far distance. Other options include a four-hour hike around the region or the nearby beach resort of Sa Riera.
Day 6: Begur to Calella de Palafrugell
There was a rumour going around that the sixth day would the hardest of the hiking days. I found it the easiest - largely because I was distracted by amazing scenery. Until now we have taken in some great sights but this final spectacular section takes in a portion of Catalan's famous Cami de Ronda coastal path along the edge of the Mediterranean, through numerous idyllic coves.
Once you leave Begur, there is a 90-minute walk to the small coastal resort of Tamariu. We stopped here for an hour or so to swim in the Mediterranean and take in the beauty. Then we launched into the coastal trail for real, picking our way across the rocks of the cove and up into the hills. Some might consider this portion of the hike tricky - there are some reasonably steep ascents (and descents), but overall, this is the shortest of the three days' hiking and there are many stunning places to stop and rest.
From Tamariu we make our way to the viewpoint at San Sebastian before dropping down to the beach town of Llafranc and back to our starting point of several days ago, Calella de Palafrugell. Understandably our group takes its time getting back to our hotel for the night: once we hit the beach it's hard to resist another swim and some light refreshments to celebrate our extraordinary week.
The seven-day Catalan Classic Walk is priced from $2185 a person and includes six nights' accommodation, breakfast, four evening meals, wine service, route notes and maps. The route marking is excellent. Just when you begin to wonder when the next waymark will pop up, it appears reassuringly. A reasonable level of fitness is needed.
Near the summit of Quermany Gros with the Catalan village of Puig d'en Pou in the distance. Photo / P.K. Stowers
CHECKLIST
Getting there: From New Zealand, KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) offers 17-weekly flights with its codeshare partners Malaysia Airlines and China Southern, and 77-weekly flights with its Interline partners. To book call (09) 921 6040.
Further information: Adventure World's Catalan Classic departs every two days until October 20, with further tours planned for 2015. For more information, call 0800 899 111.
P.K. Stowers travelled to Spain with assistance from Adventure World Travel.
The trendy spot is just six minutes from the Waikiki beach.