This morning we got a late start, which was pretty nice in that everything was laid-back and flexible. With running every day – even though I love love love it- it’s quite nice to sleep in, eat a leisurely breakfast and have time for it to digest before heading out. It is now only us three Americans for the remainder of the trip, so I think Pablo gave us a lot of leeway for getting started today!
We ran for close to two hours right from the house around the area, stopping briefly at the beach in Pals, then winding back through the forest to the house. We hopped in the car and headed to our next trailhead. We have had a combo of running from location to location, as well as driving a bit to start some of the runs. Today our drive was about an hour. The road to the trailhead was windy and very foggy! It was not the best day for views, but the fog was interesting in itself – shrouding the hills along the coast with it’s misty veil. As we ran, our eyelashes gathered water. We were soaked from the humidity, though it was neither hot nor cold. An interesting perfect temperature amidst the moisture-laden air.
The trails were steep and challenging on our second run of about 7.5 miles today. Pablo left us after a couple miles so he could drive the van with our luggage around the long way (on roads; our running route was more direct) to the beautiful coastal city of Cadaques. Each day we are outfitted with a hand-held GPS device and a phone so that we can follow a route he programs on the device, and he can track us by a GPS app within the phone. He can also call the phone (or we could call him), if need be. He has a great system in place, and says it’s the work of about 6 years of running the trails all around this area of Costa Brava (a huge span around which to run trails), combining routes, and devising smart and safe ways to take groups of people into the hills and along the coast. It’s quite amazing. I feel very safe and at east with his plans and the way he handles the group. Even today, in fog through which we could barely see 25 feet, with the GPS in hand and a phone in my backback, I knew we would make it to our destination. It also helped having Chad and Sally running along with me!
He was about 30 minutes behind us when we arrived, so we walked around town looking in a few shops. Our hotel is right at the edge of town on the water. Pablo will be staying overnight here with us in the hotel tonight and tomorrow. All other afternoons once the run was done he would leave and go home to Girona, then he and Cristina would meet each morning. As we now get farther from him home, he stays with us the entire time and Cristina will be at home with their 4 kids. They make a great team!
I will try to add more photos from today later!
