Lap up the secret Costa
NOW this is a pub! You’ll find Mirador de la Badia propped up on wooden stilts far out at sea in a wide, shallow bay. You can only reach the spot by handing a few coins to a local boatman. The little-known Mirador is one of the highlights of Spain’s forgotten region – a secret stretch of the country’s Mediterranean coast.
A 50-mile strip between the Costa Dorada and Costa Blanca wasn’t considered worth developing back in the 1960s. There are no big cities here, between Valencia and Tarragona. The sluggish river delta and sleepy old farming towns and villages must have seemed unattractive.
Recently, however, tourism officials have realised that this is an area of unspoilt beaches and wonderfully authentic villages and landscapes. And this is just what many of today’s tourists want, instead of the overcrowded Costas.
So they’ve produced a batch of new brochures and given the area a new marketing name – the rather grand-sounding Terres de l’Ebre, or the Land of the River Ebro.
On my first morning here, I sat on an empty beach near the little seaside town of Ampolla and wondered how long it will take for the Terres de l’Ebre to appear on the radar of British tourists. After all, it’s a doddle to get here and prices are low.
The only downside is that, compared to nearby Costas to the north and south, there are fewer facilities. It’s good that you won’t find backto-back hotels but it does mean it’s harder to find places to stay, and English isn’t widely spoken.
I found it easy, however, to tour the Ebro area with Headwater, one of Britain’s top activity holiday companies. The Ebro Delta is certainly a perfect destination for a relaxed cycling holiday – it’s flatter than Norfolk and a good deal warmer. I cycled along quiet country roads to find whitewashed villages with family-run restaurants where the only words of Spanish you need are ‘paella, por favor’.
Up in the hills, the cycling got a little harder but views were even better. In Tortosa, I stayed in the crumbling Gothic castle that’s now a state-run parador hotel overlooking the old town and the Ebro.
Further upstream, I stopped at the gorgeous riverside village of Miravet, a favourite of artist Salvador Dali, where a seemingly impregnable Crusader castle looms over a bend in the river. Locals told me that Dali tried in vain to buy the castle as his home.
Further to the west, the Terres de l’Ebre scenery becomes more like the backdrop to a cowboy film, with dusty savannahs dotted with stark vertical rocks and mountains. I explored the winding cobbles of Horta de St Joan, finding medieval stone arches and doorways full of potted geraniums.
Picasso stayed here twice and had a little studio above the village square. They say this is where he invented cubism. There’s a charming homely museum with some of his sketches – exhibits that must be worth millions.
Back at the coast, I asked a local guide to take me somewhere special for lunch. I was surprised when she led me to a jetty. A few moments later, about half a mile from the shore, we tied up alongside one of Europe’s most extraordinary cafe bars.
I clambered on to the Mirador’s simple wooden platform in the middle of the sea to be served chilled sparkling wine in a plastic cup.
The only other customers jumped from the wooden deck into the calm turquoise sea for a swim before lunch. Meanwhile, my waiter clambered from the decking of the bar to haul in a rope covered with fresh mussels for me to eat immediately alongside fresh oysters.
This marvellously unpretentious taste of unspoilt Spain reminded me of some bars in more exotic locations in the Caribbean or Far East. But, like the rest of the Terres de l’Ebre, the Mirador is much easier to get to. It’s only a 70-minute drive south of Barcelona airport.
There were only half a dozen customers at the Mirador when I visited… but I wonder how much longer it will be as quiet as that.