Fitness and fun in Catalonia
Jonjo Maudsley discovers why Spain’s tops for athletes
The dirt road plunges through a thicketed stone canyon. Blind bends come one after the other. The bike almost slips out from under me as I shift my weight to skid through a particularly acute turn, whipping up a cloud of dust which floats over the precipice. I steal a glance into the distance, where the trees march towards Catalonia’s topaz coast, far off on the horizon.
Ah, Spain. No wonder this is consistently ranked Europe’s healthiest country, for few other nations can boast that they invest so heavily in sporting infrastructure.
Cycle routes like this one may be just one part of that story, but they are undoubtedly the key chapter right now. Huge projects like the Ruta Vía de la Plata (the ‘Silver Road’, a new route connecting Seville with Gijón, via the Camino de Santiago – another path becoming increasingly popular) have firmly established 2022 as Spain’s Year of the Bike. At the end of the 40th kilometre, I crawl into S’Agaró totally spent but thankful my journey today is only one-way, for I was savvy enough to prep my secret weapon – a shuttle home.
Once a month, the PGA Catalunya resort, a hop-skip from Girona Airport, offers a guided tour of this greenway, with a transfer home. My muscles hot and aching, the sight of Hotel Camiral – PGA Catalunya’s five-star centrepiece – could not come as more of a relief. I’ve already scheduled my tailored recovery programme – a favourite among pro athletes – at the stateof-the-art Wellness Centre, which recently benefited from a €5 million cash injection. First comes 20 minutes in the biomodulation chamber with low-level lasers, followed by a 90-minute deep tissue massage. Now to cool off, and where better than the cryochamber, where at -160°C, I feel my muscle fibres clench like a carpenter’s fingers. Finally, for the benefit of my mind and body, I embrace a 45-minute rest in the oxygen tent, flushing my blood through with the most vital of all the life-giving elements.
The hotel is home to two of Spain’s premier golf courses, and my stay at Hotel Camiral includes a golf initiation lesson. That works up an appetite, and here again, Hotel Camiral is ready to deliver. With dishes curated by famed chef David Vives, Restaurante 1477 lives up to Girona’s heritage of culinary excellence with a tasting menu of impeccable quality.
Refuelled and reinvigorated, I awake the next morning ready to do it all again. After a quick dip in Hotel Camiral’s pool, I head to the gymnasium – its top-quality equipment makes me question my own gym membership back home – before finishing my routine with a lunchtime yoga class.
How to plan your trip
PGA Catalunya’s Keep Discovering PGA package includes a stay at Hotel Camiral, from €610/£523 per night. The two-day Spa-Cation package offers three treatments per person and an overnight stay from €491/£420. Visit pgacatalunya.com. Ryanair flies direct to Girona Airport from London Stansted year-round from £28 return.