The coast near l'Estartit

On our winter tours, we like to make a stopover in northern Spain on our way home.
This time, we enjoyed three days in L'Estartit and couldn't resist exploring the area on foot.

L'Estartit is located on the coast near Figueres and Girona, a little further south of Empuriabrava.
The walk around the harbor area and the town itself is very interesting, with its sights and attractions. Equally interesting is the nature reserve behind Els Griels, with its impressive beach scenery, not least because of the Illes Medes mountain peaks rising from the sea.

To get in the mood, we'll start our hike from the campsite on foot, heading towards the town promenade. This section of the trail follows very easy-to-walk paved and cobbled paths for about 7.5 km.

It's perhaps a good 1 km to reach the starting point on the promenade. A small pine park welcomes us there.

We follow the promenade along the small stretch of beach with the harbor area behind it. It's not very busy, so we can better focus on the smaller details and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Directly behind the harbor, the path leads to the El Molinet viewpoint. While beautifully designed properties line the left side of the path, the right side offers unobstructed views across the sea to the Medes Islands, which imposingly complete the landscape.

Beyond the bend, the El Molinet peak comes into view, where the path ends at a larger clearing. This is a fantastic viewpoint with information panels about the local marine life and its diverse wildlife.

After a while, we turn around, head towards town, and take the opportunity to stroll through the market square. The typical atmosphere sparks our interest in local products.

We then conclude the first part of our hike by walking back to the campsite and relaxing for the rest of the day.

The next day is perfect for hiking the second half of the coast near l'Estartit.
We start again from the campsite on another roughly 7.5 km long trail, but this time in the opposite direction, along the coast southwards from Els Griels.

The sand on the beach is a bit coarser than what we're used to on the Costa Blanca. While hiking, you feel like you're sinking a little deeper into the sand, which makes progress somewhat difficult.

This undeveloped and seemingly untouched stretch of nature radiates an incredible energy. The motivation is strong to walk to the nearest river mouth and capture the atmosphere in photographs.
The result is fantastic portraits with an incredibly beautiful backdrop.

From the river mouth, a small path leads back a few meters inland, parallel to the river, into the La Pletera bird sanctuary.

A little further on, we come across an observation point, the Mirador de la Pletera.
From a small, slightly elevated wooden hut, we enjoy a sheltered view of the nature reserve in all directions. Even though it's not currently breeding season, we still get plenty of sound from the local birdlife.

We savor the panoramic views for a while before strolling back to the campsite and letting the day wind down.