FROM PORT GINESTA TO ALTAFULLA, MEDITERRANEANLY

Today, with the forecast for good weather, Claire Fontaine and The Grandma got up early, had a hearty breakfast, got on their bikes and pedaled from Barcelona to Port Ginesta. It is a distance of 20 km that they covered at a sporty pace that allowed them to arrive in just under 90 minutes.

There, they had breakfast again before taking Claire's boat, loading their bikes and starting their sea crossing to Altafulla where they plan to spend this weekend.

The crossing was calm and at a speed of 6 knots they arrived at the Port of Torredembarra just in time to have lunch in the same port before taking their bikes and pedaling towards the Gran Claustre d'Altafulla.

After resting a bit in the Gran Claustre and writing this post, Claire and The Grandma have been talking to Joseph de Ca'th Lon and Alessandra, who are in Cortina d'Ampezzo where they have enjoyed the Olympic curling this morning.

This evening, all of them, despite the distance, will watch the semi-finals of the French Cup, a very special football match for the Northern Star.

Tomorrow, Claire and The Grandma plan to visit the Gaià River Estuary Wildlife Preserve and the Roman Villa of Els Munts, the main reasons for this visit to Altafulla.

Altafulla is a municipality in the comarca of the Tarragonès in Catalunya. It has a population of 5,870.

The town of Altafulla has a beautifully intact old quarter crowned by the Castle of Altafulla, and an old fishing quarter dating back to the 18th century along the beach, called Baixamar or Les Botigues de Mar.

An additional medieval castle on a small promontory overlooking the sea, the Castle of the Marquises of Tamarit (private) is often thought as part of Altafulla, but it is actually located in the neighbour municipality of Tarragona. Beyond the castle is one of the last remaining forests stretching along the sea in Catalonia, part of which is a small nature preserve, under the Tamarit-Punta de la Móra Special Environmental and Landscape Protection Plan.

Altafulla is also home to the remains of the Roman villa of Els Munts, which is included in a larger UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Gaià River empties into the sea here, its last stretch being a small nature preserve and haven for songbirds (Reserva Natural de Fauna Salvatge de la Desembocadura del Gaià-Gaià River Estuary Wildlife Preserve), though due to damming upriver, it carries very little water at this last section, forming a tiny salt marsh separated from the sea by a bar of sand. This wildlife preserve is run by L'Hort de la Sínia, an ecological agriculture, learning and activities centre.

Altafulla has one of the highest median household incomes in the province of Tarragona. 

More information: Visit Altafulla

To sail successfully, you need to observe with great care. 
You need to identify what the wind 
and the water are telling you a
nd then find a way to execute, 
to reach whatever goal you've set, 
be that simply making it home or winning a race.

Diane Greene