Empuriabrava Online Blog and News

Just a reminder that next Tuesday (September 11th) is Diada Catalunya – Catalonia Day. It is a big holiday in Catalonia and all the shops/supermarkets will be closed so get your supplies in before hand.

Remember also that the supermarkets have switched over to winter opening hours on Sundays so are now closing at 14:00.

I went to Empuriabrava Market this morning (as I do every Saturday for fruit and veg).

Before I went I walked the dog. Along the way I was stopped for directions to the market.

When I came back from the market I read a post about how Google Maps can now be embedded into blogs.

So here you go – a map embedded into this post showing how to get to Empuriabrava Market. Talk about synchronicity!

The rain today got me thinking.

What can you do when you are on holiday in Empuriabrava and it rains? Here are some ideas:

• Go on the “Tourist Train” – the road train that drives around town is covered and you can see some of the town.
• Go on one of the covered canal tour boats – you won’t get wet and you will see the canals and villas.
• Visit the little museum in Club Nautic – a nice exhibition that shows how Empuriabrava was built.
• Book a coach tour to Barcelona – you will probably need to know it’s going to rain in advance as the tours are popular.
• Get a bag or bucket and go hunting for snails – yummy!
• Get to Figueres (by car or bus) and shop in the town or go to one of the museums (including Dalí’s)
• Drive down to the shopping mall in Girona (off Junction 7).
• Go to a supermarket, get hot chocolate and whipped cream and rent a DVD from one of the rental shops in town.
• Find a good bar/cafe/restaurant and don’t move.
• Sit on the beach and say “I’ve come all this way for a bloody beach holiday; I’m having a bloody beach holiday.”

Anyone got any other ideas?

PS. The weather should be better by Sunday

The following is a news item from CapCreus Online:

The city hall of Castelló d’Empúries and the manager of the channels (sic) of Empuriabrava, Port Ampuriabrava SA, entered into a contract on 9 August and how to regulate the water routes of Empuriabrava. The owners of anchorages are represented by the society Manteniment control i Supervisió de Marina d’Empuriabrava (MCSME), which opens on 16 August in the first floor of the community centre of Empuriabrava. The partners plan to improve both the aesthetics of the channels and to adapt the services to the needs of the users. The vested titles of the owners of anchorages are not going to change, but in order to finance the planned work they will be required to make financial contributions.

It’s the last bit that I like “…required to make financial contributions.” Is someone going to come round with a tin asking for support or is there going to be a new tax? I suspect the latter.

I hope that all of the businesses in Empuriabrava, especially those connected with tourism, will be asked to contribute as well because it is the canal system that make Empuriabrava unique and without it we would just be a beach.

This section of Empuriabrava Online is now a blog!

Please feel free to join in and comment on the things we talk about.

This year’s fiestas, in celebration of the patron saint of sailors and fishermen, will be held on the 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th of July.

For a full itinerary of events see our Fiestas Del Carmen web page.

For those of you into big cars you might want to pop over to Alberes commercial sector this weekend (7-8 July) to see gigantic 4x4s in action in a kind of monster truck style event. The show starts at 21:30 and lasts for two hours.

One of the biggest problems of getting into Empuriabrava, especially on market day or in the summer, was the bottleneck at the end of Av. Juan Carlos on the junction with Av. Fages de Climent (by Monserrat).

The Town Council have solved the problem at a stroke. Parking has been banned between the bridge and the roundabout and the road into town has been split into two lanes; one for traffic turning left/straight on and and one for traffic turning right.

The new changes came into effect last Friday and I’ve noticed a huge difference both on Friday night and Saturday morning, two notoriously bad times to be going into town. One word of warning though: As the system is new, and as many people don’t know where they want to go anyway, there will be drivers who suddenly switch lanes.

This is a great improvement. Now all we need to do is get people to signal at roundabouts and the traffic will really get flowing!

You might have seen one or two of these motorbikes around Empuriabrava over the last last few days. That is because the Honda Goldwing Association of Spain is holding its 14th Annual Rally in Empuriabrava.

The rally is held on the 15th, 16th and 17th of June and there is a spectacular “Parade of Nations” through town on Friday where all of the bikes in the rally drive through Empuriabrava. The parade starts at 20:00 from the main gate of Camping International Amberes. The parade is well worth watching and the best place to see it is along the beach front.
A program of events can be found at the Goldwing Association of Spain website.

Empuriabrava Beach has once again been awarded the “Blue Flag” for the quality of the beach.

According to the Blue Flag website:

“The Blue Flag works towards sustainable development at beaches/marinas through strict criteria dealing with water quality, environmental education and information, environmental management, and safety and other services”.

Empuriabrava Beach is one of 499 Spanish beaches to be awarded the flag in 2007 – more than any other country in the world!