This is where I live

L'Escala-Empúries

For information about activities taking place in and around L'Escala please visit the website of the

British Society of Catalunya - Emporda Branch

L'Escala ia a small town with about 6,000 inhabitants, on the Costa Brava, in the north-east of Spain. Looking at a map of Spain, it is about two hours' drive north of Barcelona. The coast in this area is really beautiful, small sandy bays between rugged rocks and cliffs. Until the arrival of tourism in the 60s L'Escala was a small fishing village, now the fishing industry has become second to tourism, which boosts the population to about 50,000 in the summer months. L'Escala mainly attracts families who stay in villas or apartments. There is plenty of opportunity to practise all kinds of water sports.

The historic ruins of Empùries are less than a mile from L'Escala. It is here that the Greeks arrived hoping to expand their trading activities in about 500 BC. They built a first settlement, the Palaiapolis, on an island which is now Sant Martí d'Empùries, later they built a new town, the Neapolis, on the mainland and called it Emporium, (meaning market) and shared the land with the local Indiketas. In 218 BC during the second Punic War, the Romans arrived at Empùries under Scipio and later, under Cato they built a military base. Until the decline of Empùries in the 3rd century AD, due to the growing importance of other towns like Girona, Barcelona and Tarragona, the three civilisations, Indiketas, Greeks and Romans all lived in the same small area. Today you can visit the remains of these settlements as well as the museum that shows some of the artefacts from that time. Excavations on the site have still not been completed.

L'Escala is renowned for its anchovies which are still cured and salted in the same way as the Romans did them two millennia ago.

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Customs and Festivals throughout the year.

January 5th: The Three Kings, who arrive by sea (weather permitting) are eagerly met by the local children. The Kings disembark onto the main beach and then ride through the town on horseback. They stop at the Parish Church to bless the live nativity scene and are then invited to give a short speech from the balcony of the Town Hall before handing out sweets to all the children. That night the children all go to bed hoping that when they wake up in the morning the Three Kings will have left them some gifts, however if the child has not behaved well during the year he may find he has been left a lump of (edible) coal!

Carnival is celebrated the weekend before Ash Wednesday. The fun starts on Friday evening when King Carnestoltes arrives in the town and declares that during Carnival "tot s'hi val" (anything goes!). There are dances every evening each requiring a different fancy dress costume. On Saturday the children all dress up and parade around the town before going to a children's dance. On Sunday there is the main parade with floats and lots of colourful costumes. The festivities end on the Tuesday evening with Carnestoltes being burnt and the symbolic burial of the anchovy.

Sardanas are the local dance. It is one of the few national dances that is actually danced by the townspeople themselves rather than by a group. An orchestra known as a "Cobla" accompanies the dancing. The participants stand in circles and by listening to the cues given by the music know what step they should be dancing at any given time. Sardanas look deceptively easy to dance!

April 23rd: Dia de Sant Jordi (Saint George's Day). Sant Jordi is the patron saint of Catalonia and the day is celebrated throughout Catalonia. The legend has it that when the famous dragon was slain, a rose grew from its blood. To celebrate the victory over the dragon Catalan men give the woman they love a red rose on Sant Jordi's day. In return women buy their loved ones a book. Over recent years the Catalan custom of buying books on Sant Jordi's day has become fairly international and in many countries of the world April 23rd is known as "International Book Day".

See THIS page for more information about the history of Sant Jordi

Triumirat Mediterrà is a market that is held in L'Escala in June. What makes it special is the fact that the whole market is "set" in 30BC. Traders are dressed in Greek or Roman dress, the Tavernae sells drinks that would have been available at that time and all products must be compatible with the era. During the days leading up to the market there are plenty of related activities and many restaurants offer a special Roman meal, serving similar food to that which the Romans at that time would have eaten. On the day of the market activities include several gladiator fights and an auction of slaves. 

La nit de San Joan is June 23rd. It is a night when people build bonfires and have firework displays. Families and friends get together for a special meal traditionally accompanied by "cava" (champagne) and "coca", a type of cake.

Festa del Carme July 16th This is the day on which the town pays homage to its senior citizens. There is a boat parade which brings many of the town's "elders" to the beach from where they are accompanied by their grandchildren or other relations to the church for a celebratory mass, followed by more festivities lasting all day.

Gegants Giants and Capgrossos originate from the Corpus Christi processions. Nowadays many Catalan towns have "giants" which are brought out on high days and holidays. There is an annual "giant" meeting in early September every year in which all the local "giants" come to L'Escala for the day and parade around the town.

These are L'Escala's "giants", Pere and Maximeta. Here they are standing either side of the church door behind a "carpet" of coloured sand made on the day of the Festa del Carme. The Catalan insignia is represented in a sea full of fish and with small groups of people dancing Sardanas.

See also http://www.costabrava.org/ing/fe_index.htm for a somewhat dubious translation of their page about festivals.

Nearby places worth a visit:

Salvador Dalí: Figueres (his theatre-museum), Port Lligat (his home), Pubol (the castle he bought for Gala)

Figueres: An attractive town, home of Dalí's theatre-museum as well a other museums and galleries. Also a good shopping centre.

Girona: A beautiful city with mediaeval Jewish quarters, Arabian baths, wonderful cathedral, etc. Great shopping centre too.

Aiguamolls de l'Empordà: A nature reserve which apart from having swampland flora and fauna has re-introduced storks, deer and other species into the area. Well worth a visit. A delight for bird-watchers. Near Sant Pere Pescador.

Tortugues: This centre in Garriguella has many species of tortoises. In a beautiful quiet setting next to a sanctuary.

Museu d'Art Naíf: On the outskirts of Figueres. Just off the main road between L'Escala and Figueres, after Vilamalla. A huge pink building clearly visible off to the right, from the road.

Vicenç Folgado's Collection of Old Motorbikes: A surprising collection of motorbikes dating from the 1920s onwards. All beautifully restored by Vicenç himself. Upstairs one of the most magnificent miniature train sets I have ever seen. You can also see his collections of old toys and Scalectrix. Free entrance. Almost opposite L'Escala petrol station.

If you've reached the end of this and are still interested in finding out more check out any of the following links to sites.

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