El Escala

Pulled into this town because (1) I heard that there was a big fleet of minitransats here, (2) there is apparently a nice store here that might carry the windvane cable I need, (3) the French meteo service claimed that there would be Force 7 to Force 8 winds in the Gulf of Lyon, with gusts up to Force 9. Just for reference, at Beaufort Force 9, on land,"construction/temporary signs and barricades blow over." Since Guizmo is not attached to the ground like a construction sign and it's certainly no barricade, it's a safe bet that it'd get knocked around pretty hard (though veterans tell me that the boat is designed for these conditions and would be fine). It'd be too risky to go out in such winds, though without the windvane cable, I would at least not know how bad it is out there and feel less anxious in the boat. In any case, I pulled into El Escala and found a nice spot in a bed & breakfast.

But before doing so, I stopped at one of the nicest bays in the marine reserve between El Estartit and El Escala. There was a freshwater spring in the rocks, and I went swimming in ice cold water. Here is the pedestal in front of the "grotto" that I swam to. I thought I'd climb the pedestal for the siren look.

Ice cold water springs from beneath the cave, carves the rock and freezes swimmers in its path

Here are two pictures from my swim. 

Early on, in style, when I still had energy and a core body temperature above 65 degrees Fahrenheit

Later on, the face of abject fear and abandonment of all aspirations to style

I made a rope ladder to climb back onto Guizmo. It works very well, but then again, I was so cold I would easily have flopped on board, salmon style, to get to some warmth. By the way, there was finally a hardware store in El Estartit that carried the kind of gas canister that I needed for the camping stove I took to Guizmo, so the tea and crackers on board the boat were excellent.

Random view, with an abandoned windmill on the hilltop

One of the many grottos around El Escala and Isles Medes

Other than that, this part of Costa Brava is really interesting, with caves, natural arches and lots of fish. Of course, there are countless flying fish. Guizmo scares them into jumping out of the water. They get to be very big around the Spanish coast, and can travel for 50 meters or more in the air. There were a couple of sunfish on the way. These are giant fish, as big as a small carpet. They have a way of gently sticking a fin out of the water as if to say hello, just like the sailors in other boats. There were two episodes where I saw a giant splash, but missed the beginning of the show. I suspect they were large bonitos.

Not much to see in El Escala, a sprawling city with a low occupancy rate, except the few sculptures 

Evening stroll or a metaphor?