Our winter experiment is coming to a close as we have to vacate our rental apartment by late June. The idea was to see how we fared wintering on the Costa Brava as we’d never done anything like this before.
As with most people who reside in Girona, the coast is always viewed as either a day trip or a summer holiday destination. Whole sections of our former neighborhood La Devesa, decamp to second residences. Those lucky enough to have had savvy grandparents who bought way back when prices were affordable are reaping the rewards.
Once the tourists leave and winter sets in there’s little attraction to remain, especially for the whole winter and into spring. Empty streets, closed shops, bars and restaurants add to the ghost town feel. The few places that decide to stay open here in L’Estartit aren’t always the most inviting, and the odd few that you’d prefer to go into tend to open only at weekends.
Some days you might have the whole beach to yourself but the damp cold or windy climate will mean your stay is short. November, December and January were the bleakest.
That’s not to say that you won’t experience periodic outbursts of fine weather, a nice respite when it happens.
For some, this type of voluntary solitude is no problem, for me it felt a tad strange moving from busy little Girona. When I had a reason to visit the city I felt elated, a nostalgic pull.
Still, we had to wait until around Easter in early April to notice a distinct rise in reopenings of shops and bars, with a symbiotic increase in tourist visitors. Now in June, the hot weather spell is back with a bang. The beach is buzzing, welcoming and ready for the summer onslaught. Can’t walk the dogs on the beach anymore, but there’s a fenced-off beach area in nearby Els Griells urbanization.
I might venture back in early July to check out their long running Beatles Festival, highlights will include the band’s former barber. The one from Penny Lane?
