Hola supermercado, hay un banco por aqui? Let’s get Spanish! Yep, we just crossed the Pyrenees and we’re now in Catalonia, Spain! And we passed some beautiful lands to get here…
We left Camping La Fief near Alès and continued our way through the southern foothills of the Cévennes. The smooth riding we’d had in the previous days quickly ended, and we found ourselves riding some nice and rocky trails in garreau country – mostly limestone plateaus, ridges, and gorges. The flora was also very different to anything we’re used to, and we were inundated with the delicious scents of wild rosemary, lavender, and thyme. We harvested some for our meals at night! Suddenly, the trails were also lined with cacti and Aloe Vera plants, and lizards, big and small, were crawling between them. Spiky plants would occasionally cut open our legs and feet, but we felt so lucky to be riding here. We were really in the South of Europe now.
The landscape changed again completely when we reached Lac du Salagou. The lake is famous for its red ruffe soils – an iron-rich sandstone which gives the whole area a distinctive volcanic, almost Martian vibe. There was a campsite right on its shore, and we decided to profiter and spend two days there. We were lucky since the place was pretty quiet due to the touristic low season. We were feeling serious vacation vibes, and we spent our time walking along its shore, bathing in the sun, and cooling off in the lush water of the lake. There was a nice beach bar too.
It was hard to leave the place, but we were also excited! The Mediterranean was getting closer, and we had our eyes set on it. We pedalled across this Martian landscape following some technical MTB trails. After that, we were mostly riding gravel trails between the vineyards of the South, crossing many little towns. The whole area is dominated by winegrowing, and it was hard to find good spots to pitch our tent for the night. The small woodlands we did find were too wild to camp in, so we hid in one of the winery domains and cooked our meal there. We pitched the tent at dusk and thought we were golden – but at three AM we heard the sounds of huge harvesting tractors nearby. We didn’t expect them to start that early. We were too alert to sleep after that, so we broke camp and had an early start to the day. We biked to the nearest town and had our coffee there instead! At least we didn’t get caught.
We soon reached the Mediterranean coastline after that. Unfortunately, we couldn’t climb over the massif fronting it because it was closed off due to the recent forest fires near Narbonne. Instead, we needed to detour around it to reach the sea. It didn’t matter, reaching the Narbonnaise en Méditerranée felt like another milestone of the trip, and we enthusiastically ran to the sea to dip our toes in it. We were elated to have made it there.
We biked along the Mediterranean Sea and passed several lovely seaside towns, such as Gruissan and La Palma – which, as the name suggests, is indeed dotted with palm trees! The coastline is filled with coastal lagoons (étangs) and salt flats (salins) that provide a safe haven for wildlife. We relaxed two days in La Palma to hike along the salins and swim in the sea at plage La Rouet. The winds are relentless in this area. The wind actually gets funnelled from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea through the Pyrenees. We would get sandblasted when we got out of the sea, and despite the warm temperatures, we were pretty cold during our time there. We got out our binoculars and saw hundreds of flamingos roaming the salt flats. We’d spot plovers and gulls, and there were kingfishers everywhere we looked. A spectacular place.
We climbed back into the hills towards Perpignan, fighting those same winds. The views were awesome from up there, but the riding was really rough! We caught our first glimpse of the magnificent Pyrenees in the distance, and the Mediterranean was still visible too. The strong wind gusts would push us off our bikes during the steepest climbs. The top of the pass was the worst. The frame bags acted as something of a sail, and we had to fight against our bikes to get to the other side. However, once we did, we finally had the wind in our backs, and we reached Perpignan in no time after that!
Perpignan is an interesting city because it’s both French and Catalan. The Catalan flag is seen everywhere, and we were surprised that people also speak the language. It’s also very close to Spain, the Pyrenees, and the Mediterranean Sea. We had dinner in the city, and I was so hungry after all that climbing that I ordered two main courses after my appetizer. I was still hungry after that. We spent the night at a Warmshowers host, and we slept inside in a real bed for the first time in three months! Needless to say, we slept like babies.
We crossed into Spain over a low pass in the Pyrenees. We were happy to find a beautiful, open clearing in the woods up there. One of our best spots yet! It was full of beautiful cork oak trees. But we didn’t sleep much. We spotted some huge wild boar at dusk. Of course, the clearing was full of acorns, and they love those! The whole night was filled with their grunts, growls, oinks, and snores, and we could hear them munching away. I got out of the tent three times, but after that we gave up and just let them have at it. Don’t worry, we survived.
We’re currently in Sant Llorenç de la Muga – a beautifully preserved medieval town in the foothills of the Pyrenees in Catalonia. We’re surrounded by rivers and mountains in the lush river valley of the Muga river. We spent the day roaming around the village before starting the steep climb towards Olot tomorrow. Spain is the second most mountainous country in Europe, and we’re super excited to explore more of it!
