Woof!! This is the Costa Brava at its best - 30 miles north of the touristic pap you'll find in any holiday brochure! We're staying in Llançà - a small fishing town set within a bay, right at the end of the Pyrenees mountain range. Sunshine and 30 degree temperatures this afternoon have given way to cloudy skies and, believe it or not, some rain. But it makes little difference to the holiday atmosphere.
We picked up our rental car this morning in Montpellier - a silver Ford Ka... with air conditioning :-) After heading out onto the autoroute, it took about three hours to reach our destination. We're in the middle of the French school holidays so the traffic was a little heavy. But apart from a two-lane section outside Perpignan, things moved pretty quickly. We passed Sete and L'Étang de Thau where TV chef Rick Stein and his crew ended up in their French Odyssey canal journey. It's quicker to grasp the geography of the area by looking at a map, than for me to explain.
The Languedoc-Roussillon region of France (vineyards on both sides of the motorway as far as the eye can see) gives way to the Spanish border at Col du Perthus. Whilst the traffic is slowed to 50 kph at the frontier, noone is remotely interested apart from a couple of Guardia Civil casually watching the proceedings. No passports are required and the traffic moves on south without stopping.
We're over the Pyrenees now, albeit only reaching an altitude of 1200ft. After another 20 minutes, we leave the A7 and settle up the tolls. The journey from Montpellier has cost about 18 Euros - which can be paid either in cash or by credit card on the exit slip road. A further 20 minutes on the N260 takes us to Llançà. Our hotel is just north of the town, in a small bay graced with a sandy beach. There are no Brits here - only Spanish and French, perhaps escaping from the vast areas of their respective countries that are not fortunate enough to have a seaside nearby.
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