Backpacking Spain's Costa Brava

Image Gallery [1] Vineyards and olive groves dot the Costa Brava coastline. [2] Black, golden-eyed goats are among the few residents of Los Molinos. PHOTOS BY THE AUTHORS

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Here's a report from a couple who beat the dollar crunch and still had a fine European vacation...

In spite of inflation and the poor exchange rate abroad, our recent five-week backpacking trip to the northern Mediterranean's Costa Brava (the "rugged coast") cost us only $50 a week, including train travel, camping fees, and—our most expensive item—food!

A CHANGE OF PLANS

The grim reality of the U.S. dollar's weakening hit us as soon as we arrived in Luxembourg last June. Food, even when we prepared it ourselves, was especially high-priced, and train travel—once a particularly inexpensive means of transportation—called for major outlays of cash.

So, after one week of unplanned-for expense and disappointment, we abandoned our original plan (to backpack in the Swiss Alps) and headed for Spain's Costa Brava, a mountainous coastal region that extends from the northern border towns of Cerbere and Port Bou to Blanes, which is 175 kilometers to the south. The entire area is dotted by a string of relatively small resort and fishing villages, usually linked by railroads and a limited bus service.

While riding the train from Geneva to Port Bou, we drew up a rough itinerary, relying upon brochures and maps we'd obtained (free) from the Spanish National Tourist Office (Dept. TMEN, 665 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10022).

We noticed that, curiously enough, there were no camping spots anywhere back in the mountains. Later, we learned that access to the Pyrenees in that part of the country is limited—and, at times, prohibited—by Spanish law, so pitching a tent on undesignated ground will occasionally invite arrest and legal action. (Spanish authorities are particularly adamant about this point.)

At 6:00 a.m., after a 12-hour trip, we arrived in Port Bou and boarded a transvia, the special low-cost Spanish train. It soon became apparent that inexpensive rail travel in Spain requires an adventurous spirit, great patience, and a willingness to keep asking questions and getting nowhere. Above all, the traveler must be favorably disposed to walking if all else fails (which it often does).

CONTENT IN COLERA

After a short ride, we got off at a dilapidated hilltop train station, where a sign proclaimed (with characteristic rural Spanish candor), "Colera ... a place of small importance". It was a qualification that we would come to disagree with completely by the time we left the quiet, lovely seaside village.

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