We sped away from Figueres this morning on easy roads (mainly C31) across flat countryside. Mostly farmland with wheat, corn and some olive trees. It was quite windy, which kept us cool.

We reached Palamos, about 80km away around midday.

I have never seen so many hotels in my life. The whole town consists of one high rise after another. It is ugly from the back. When you come round to the beach it is nice with white sands and a long promenade, palm trees; cafes and restaurants. There was also a cruise ship docked in the bay. We stopped for a coffee and then on our way again.

Between Palamos and Sant Feliu de Guixols it is continuous tourist entertainment area – we passed a fun fair, endless apartments; sex shops, other shops of all types, camp grounds etc etc.

From Sant Feliu de Guixols we found ourselves on a windy coastal road without much traffic or any buildings. This was a scenic route around the coast. At this point the coast falls away into cliffs down to the sea without beaches. The next 20km took us just as long as the first part of our ride, as it was a up and down climb around the coast. It was extremely pretty but also hard work.

As you can imagine we were pretty tired out by the time we reached Tossa de Mar – our ride was altogether 119km.

We were very pleasantly surprised by the town which, despite its name, is one of the most perfect seaside holiday towns I can imagine. If any of you are wanting to holiday on this coast; come here. See the pictures at http://www.tossademar.cat. We could easily spend more time here; but I am afraid we will be off in the morning again as Barcelona calls.

We have very basic accommodation here (a pension), in the old city. The city has medieval walls dating from the 14th century – they look like a castle next to the beach. The old city has wonderful shops to explore and many restaurants vying for your custom. We had a lovely meal, including Paella, in the old city – very reasonable and friendly service too.

So far we are finding Spain cheaper than France and Germany (which were already cheaper than NZ). The accommodation seems to be cheaper by around a third.