Familiar Flora

We woke to the sound of rain on the tent this morning as a moist warm airmass passes by on it's way north. I think I made a vow a long time ago to never camp in the rain again but it has been broken so many times that all I do now is use a few bad words and just get on with the day. Bobbie is such a good sport it makes it fun and before I knew it she had a breakfast of fresh croissants, yogurt, müsli, fruit and coffee ready for us to start the day with.

Cadaquès is surrounded by Parc Naturel Cap de Creus. It is an incredible landscape of complicated geology altered by wind and water erosion. It would be a great place for a movie set and could easily be another planet. I stopped the car to enjoy the view and realized we were surrounded by plants we knew well but couldn't believe they would be growing so wild and abundantly. Rosemary! Cistus! Spanish Lavender! Statice! Of course, they are Mediterranean natives and this is their native landscape. Granted they are wilder cousins than what we purchase at home but nonetheless it is a priveledge to walk among them, which we did via a rugged hike over terrain our National Park Service would never provide regular public access to because of the danger.

What a small place the world has become with the advent of electricity and the technology that has followed. All along the coast here, within sight of each other are large stone towers upon which fires would be lit to warn the populace of an impending pirate raid. They still stand today even as satellites from above monitor the movements of submarines under the nearby sea. There are stone walls terracing the hillsides that date to Roman times and reminders everywhere of a long struggle by man to eke out an existence in a harsh and dangerous land. It raises the question of whether or not we have become soft in the modern world and have misplaced our priorities. We take so much for granted, everyday...