Day 4: Tarragona to Montblanc, Spain, 25 miles; 97 miles total

The highlights for today's ride proved to be our first significant climb and fine food.

Montblanc, a medieval walled city, was to be our Monday destination, but we cycled leisurely along the Mediterranean Sea and avoided the heavily traveled coast highway. In general, coastal roads are busy; inland roads less so.

That’s the flexibility and beauty of minimally-planned bike touring. We could have reached Montblanc today by a more direct route, but it would have required a late arrival, perhaps 6-7 pm, depending upon riders’ strength. However, Tarragon was interesting, well worth more time, and we opted to stay there overnight.

Hotel Astari in Tarragona, 3-star, proved excellent and central; just 80 euros for twin rooms. The clerk gave us excellent departure directions, very helpful in larger cities. On the way out we stopped for breakfast and cash.

Today’s route was mostly over a 2000-foot coastal range. We paused to tour a Roman aqueduct just outside Tarragona, and then resumed climbing for the first 20+ miles. Near the top we stopped for an excellent lunch at Les Espelmes, then descended into Montblanc. Photos largely explain the rest.

—Route for Days 1 & 2. A little climb to lunch on day #2, similar to a ride up Hyalite Canyon south of Bozeman, but tougher for those accustomed to living at sea level in Wisconsin and Maryland.

—Dog of the Day

—El Pont del Diablo. Remains of Roman aqueduct that supplied water to Tarragona, perhaps 5 km north of Tarragona.

—El Pont del Diablo. 

—Harvesting Almonds. They seem to select and harvest trees individually rather than harvest entire groves. Or, perhaps different individuals or families own different trees.

—John at the Summit Sign

—Lunch at the top of the pass.

—Roasted Vegetables and Cod.  Beautifully presented, the fish was perfectly cooked, topped with the roasted vegetables, mostly zucchini, red peppers, and vegetable chips. Just 11 euros. All of our meals were excellent. 

—Classy Signs

—Arriving at our Montblanc Hotel. Hotels and businesses in villages like Montbalnc are less obvious. We might be following GPS directions until someone realizes that we are standing in front of our destination. Locals have known the location of the establishment for centuries, so who needs signage.

—Romanesque Church in Montblanc, about 1300 AD. 

—Nice Address Sign

—Bakery Sign for the non-Reader 

—Bread Loaf #1

—Bread Loaves #2 & 3

—Festival Poster #1

—Festival Poster #2

—Montblanc, Spain, Passages #1

—Montblanc, Spain, Passages #2

 — Montblanc Medieval City Walls. Nearly all remain intact. Many apartments are built within the walls to reduce construction costs.

—Romanesque Church, circa 1300

—Montblanc, Spain, Passages #2

—Carlos on Toast. Carlos, our host and innkeeper, gave us a thorough, 10-minute demonstration and detailed explanation regarding how to prepare toast in Catalunya, 1) Peel the raw garlic clove; 2) Rub in around the outside of the toast first, then the middle; 3) Cut the "special Catalunya tomato" in half horizontally, pinch, then rub both halves into the toast; 4) Lightly salt; 5) Pour on "special Catalunya olive oil" and then smash into the bread with a fork; 6) Lay on "special Catalunya thin-sliced special Catalunya ham" on the toast; 7) Cut in half; 8) Fold in sandwich; 9) Eat

—Carlos With Roasted Zucchini and Red Peppers. Carlos displayed properly roasted zucchini and red bell peppers. Both are roasted in a 500C oven to drive off the water. Once peeled, the are served in alternating red-green stripes, drenched in "special Catalunya olive oil."

—Carlos Sells the Local Tempranillo. Excellent, pretty much what we have been buying in the supermarkets. 

—Post Dinner Photo. (left to right) Me, Carlos, Stuart,"The Big Boss" (How Carlos always referred to his wife), John, Stephen