Hiking Palamós Through the Splashing Waves (03/04/2024)

I woke up feeling very homesick,  but Mom gave me the advice to just distract myself so that I wouldn’t have time to think about it. So I got up and showered, and while I was in the shower she made me some delicious eggs with ham and cheese, and that helped.

After breakfast we got ready to go out on a hike that we would walk to. We departed and headed towards the hike, well at least, five of us did. Griffin had decided that instead of going on the hike, he was going to go over to the local soccer fields and train. (Parent note: today's hike was part of the Camí de Ronda, the trail stretching along the Catalan coast which we had hiked part of near Tossa de Mar a few days earlier. Our plan today was to hike from Palamós north to Palafrugell and back, which we thought would be about 12 miles roundtrip.). Anyways, on the way to the start of the hike, we stopped at the Dia and picked up some croissants, which we promptly ate.

The start of the hike was a viewpoint that overlooked the ocean next to a marina, and the hike would take us along the coast away from the marina.

When we arrived at the trailhead, Kayla wasn’t sure how much of the hike she’d be able to do, but once we started on the hike, she was just fine, because even though the main trail was right along the cliffs, there were trails that went more inland and then met back up with the main trail farther down the coast where it wasn’t so cliffy.

The main trail was directly on the cliff and so we had a beautiful view of the coastline and ocean.

The trail went on for several miles and hit several sandy and pebble beaches, and the water was crystal clear and a beautiful blue-green color. The waves were quite large and several times when we went down and climbed on the rocks on the beaches, the waves would bash against the rocks and splash us.

After hiking for a couple hours, Connor and Kayla decided to turn around and head back to one of the many beaches we had passed. A little while later, I decided to turn around and walk back towards the beach as well. On the way back, however, I decided to take what I thought was a shortcut and one of the trails that Kayla had taken that didn’t go along the coast, but the little paths just took me through dozens of prickly bushes that scraped up my legs a lot, and then it dead-ended. So I had to go back through all of the prickers just to get back to the normal trail.

After I had made it back a ways, I caught up to Connor and Kayla who had explored a little side trail that turned out to be a little underwhelming, and then we continued back towards the beach.

Once we arrived at the beach, we spread out the pareo and sat down. If it was any warmer, we would’ve fallen asleep, but as it was windy and the sun was hidden behind the clouds, it was a little chilly. We still stayed at the beach for a while before deciding to head back to the apartment.

On the way back, Connor and Kayla decided to go to the Aldi and get a soft pretzel, and I decided to just head back to the apartment.

I got back to the apartment and hung out with Griffin, who had gotten back from the field a little while before that, until Connor and Kayla returned. About 20 minutes after that, Mom and Dad returned from the hike. (Parent note: Matt and I completed the entire hike. About 5 minutes after Gage turned back, the trail became absolutely crazy - up along very steep ridges, then plunging down to hidden beaches, and then back up to the cliff top. At one point we traversed a very skinny beach, dodging the waves as they lapped up against the cliff, and weren't sure whether we should continue forward or turn back. Deciding that we would definitely get our shoes wet if we turned back, we pushed on, climbing over rocks and through tunnels to get from beach to beach until we finally found stairs taking us back up. It was super cool! We decided for a shorter and more inland path for the return, since we were fairly tired and it was getting late. It seems the kids miss out on the best hikes!)

We then figured out dinner, which was frozen pizzas for most, burgers for me, and mom was going to make something for herself. (Parent note: my usual assortment of sauted veggies, along with a delicious beer flavored with tequila, agave and lime, to celebrate the massive number of miles covered today. With some gelato for dessert, of course!)

While dinner was cooking, Connor did some more job research.

After dinner we played some cards and then watched a movie until everyone went to bed.

Happy birthday Grandad!!!🎉🥳