Walking The Camino de Ronda - Platja d'Aro to Palamós
Tower near Palamós
Start: Platja d’Aro Beach, Girona, Spain
Finish: Palamós Old Town
Distance: 8 km (5 miles)
Elevation Change: +71m /-65m. Net +6m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other Routes Touched: N/A
After a worky week in Barcelona, Timi and I headed North for quiet weekend together. We also got our 2nd unexpected microadventure of the week.
The hotel was on cliff just off the beach at Platja d'Aro. After checking in we wandered down to the small bay to find that the Camino de Ronda went straight through it. With only 6 weeks to go until our Camino Portuguese trip, we had to check it out.
The Camino de Ronda is an old coastal route that connects villages on the Costa Brava. At 43km, its just over the length of a marathon. As much as I was excited to do it all, we we there to relax so we opted for a shorter taster version.
After completing a short section on the Friday between our hotel and Platja d'Aro beach we returned the next day for a longer stretch. On Saturday we headed North to see how far we could get in a few hours.
The first few KM ran along jagged cliffs and through beautiful quiet bays. This was off-season and there were very few people around. There was a stunning photo opportunity at every corner so we took out time. The route, or at least the part that we walked, is very well maintained and signposted.
The second half of the walk, from the beach at Sant Antoni de Calonge was flatter and busier. In summer this would be packed with tourists. Even now there were enough places open to find a nice local place for lunch and some not-horrendous 1 Euro wine.
On finishing lunch we chose the church that we could see in the distance as our end point. This was the Parròquia de Santa Maria del Mar in the heart of Palamós Old Town. By the time we arrived here it was getting dark and locals were out for the street markets. It was a nice way to finish an unexpected mini-Camino before taking a taxi back to the hotel.
I've got a good feeling we'll be back here too. Not just to finish the Camino de Ronda though. When we arrived at the harbour at Palamós they were setting up for a Trail Race the next day. We spoke to one of the organizers and took down some details. Looks like Spain will be more of a feature of future trips!
