I had an easy start today and had breakfast in town at a popular coffee shop. Today is my last day in Spain. I’m heading to Perpignan in France over two hills and through some interesting countryside.
I had hoped that the town clock in Figueres had been designed by Dali – melted down the wall maybe – but it wasn’t to be.
The roads were flat, the temperature crisp and the countryside beautiful leaving Figueres. It’s a cracker of a day too – reaching 22 degrees, so I made sure I had my sunscreen on.
I went through farmland, up some hills, sometimes following the Eurovelo 8 and other times on a Via Verde or small roads. It got so warm that I changed into shorts along the way.
I rolled into Capmany, saw the small town square and thought I’d get some food for lunch from the local Tabac / Deli / supermarket / cafe / bar. It sounds like a big place but it was tiny. They told me they could make me a boccadillo (sandwich), so I ordered one to go, one to eat now and my last cafe con leche of the trip. Serrano ham and local cheese on a fresh roll was superb, as was sitting outside in the sunshine.
I had a full stomach for the rest of the first climb on some rocky roads but the views at the top were sensational. I then descended into La Jonquera which looked like a former border town that still makes its money from cross border commerce. If there was one Parfumerie, there were a dozen on the main road. I guess the formation of the EU has changed this place forever.
What followed was a steady climb on a newish road up to the actual border, but before crossing into France there was one more dangerously close pass from a Spanish guy in a white van. He had two lanes to work with but missed me by inches. He may have read my previous comments but was probably just looking at his phone. Good bye and good riddance !
There were two summits to this hill and the second one was the best. It was on a quiet old road, and looked down on the steep valleys below. The downhill was great too. I met a French lady cycling to Barcelona and had a chat. We both couldn’t believe how beautiful and warm it was up here.
I felt the day was done but I still had 30kms to go. The breathtaking part was over though. The last section into Perpignan was pretty flat and on quiet roads and bike paths. At one point, I passed by a lake and the surrounding paths were busy with people exercising and walking their dogs. What struck me was the signage for suggested bike routes and the quality of any separated bike paths. The infrastructure in France makes a big difference to the ease of bike travel. Combine that with the friendly attitudes of the people and to me, this is relaxing.
Perpignan is quite nice. I’m staying fairly close in and the Airbnb is nice but I had to squeeze the bike up the stairs to the third floor. The paint job on the walls looked like I wasn’t the first. After a couple of trips up the stairs, and the day’s hills, I needed a snooze before looking around the town.
