Secret seaside town the Spaniards don’t want anybody to know about -Cadaques Full Tour
Hello and welcome. In today’s video, I’m going to show you somewhere very unique. The moment I pulled into this place, I realized that I was going to experience something out of the ordinary. It’s not a place I had ever heard of before. But having spent some time here, it’s apparent to me that the Spaniards have kept this little gem a secret so they can have it all to themselves. Take a walk around with me and together we’ll find out what it is that makes this place so special. And it isn’t going to be what you think. [Music] of the hundreds of coastal villages and seaside resorts I’ve visited, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so connected to the sea and to the mountains as I do in this place. [Music] Kadakz has complex geology. The area is internationally recognized as a key site for studying tectonic structures. I love a rugged rocky coastline because the lack of sand, mud, or sediment on the seabed allows for the most crystal clear, perfect waters. And all of the nooks and crannies in the rock make fantastic habitat for submarine life. As a result of the richness of diversity, the area has been designated as a natural park. The underwater environment includes caves, arches, and distinctive rock formations. It’s an incredible place for snorkeling or diving, but if you’re not into those things, it’s accessible to everybody. There are a number of fantastic boat tours going from this place. You can go out and search for bottl-nose dolphins, whales, and I even found a tour where you can go diving with sharks. Kadakz is situated just over an hour’s drive north of Barcelona in the Costa Brava. There are only around 2,000 inhabitants. Although there’s plenty of life today, it’s not exactly busy here. In the summertime and in the holidays, that can increase tenfold. This mass influx of tourism, mainly from the Spanish, does cause some problems. And it’s not unheard of for the police to be by the only car park turning people away and telling them, “No, your name’s not down. You’re not coming in. [Music] [Music] There are a number of reasons why Katez hasn’t really grown very much over the years. It’s obviously a very attractive and popular place and there are many people who’ve built second homes here, but the council or the equivalent of the council have kept a very tight reign on what happens. And that’s certainly been a factor. But I think the most notable reason is that until around about 1910, there wasn’t even a road connecting this little sleepy village to anywhere else. You could only really get here by boat. You could get to the other local towns and villages, but everybody was simply cut off by the huge mountains between them and the rest of Spain. So the population here never really grew apart from a few people who were born here. Very few people could come and settle here cuz they couldn’t even get to it until about 100 years ago. I had the pleasure of driving that road on the way here and it was fantastic. spectacular, beautiful, intriguing, challenging, exciting. But I got to tell you, I spent 10 years building roads and wow. All I can say is I can completely understand why they put off building it for so long. Now, I’m going to tell you something which you might find a bit difficult to take in, but we’re going to talk about what there is to do in Katez really. There isn’t a great deal to do here at all. There’s maybe a couple of little museums, some art galleries, few few little boutique shops, and then there’s a a smidging of cafes and restaurants. But apart from that, there isn’t really anything. There’s no real visitor attractions. And yet, I think that’s one of its greatest attractions. It’s a place where you come with the understanding that this is a time to step back from all of the normal things that you push for, your wants, your desires, and just to accept what you’ve got right now and to be. And everybody’s happy here. It’s amazing. You’re forced to accept that there’s nothing you can do apart from swimming, do a boat trip, and eat and drink. And it’s wonderful. It works so well. I really think it is the secret to the place’s success. Now, a A few moments ago, I did mention that there are a few art galleries here. It’s actually quite art orientated and the main reason for that is because of the list of famous artists, sculptures, musicians, composers, authors that have frequented the place over the years. Pablo Picasso, Joanne Miro, Marcel Dashamp, Salvador Darly, Walt Disney, Damian Rice are just a few of them. Ador Darly had a house in Port Lat, a small village on a bay next to the town. This bay frequently featured in his paintings and he eventually turned his home into a museum of his own design, the Salvador Darly House Museum. Now, I’m not saying that he was the reason that this place became the focus of the art community, but he certainly helped it a lot, and I think that’s a good thing because a few times over the last century or two, Kadakz has desperately needed help. This place has definitely had its share of disasters over the years. This part of Cataloonia is famous for its wine. However, late in the 1900s, a tiny aphid that was native to the United States found its way here. The insect injects a toxin into the vine’s roots, causing the depth of the plant. So, the vineyards were decimated, and this caused an economic decline. Some people tried replanting, but many probably couldn’t. They were forced to reassess and this led to many seeking a more sustainable life in Cuba which was prospering at that time. It’s believed that a third of Katez’s 1200 inhabitants traveled or immigrated there. Many of them experienced financial success and later returned to Katez. These people were affectionately referred to as Americanos among other things. Many of them were able to build large ornate houses in the town, many of which still stand proud today. The Cassa Blue or the Blue House is one of the most notable. It’s a fabulous building to look at from the outside, but it doesn’t stop there. I found this historic listing on Savy’s website when it was previously for sale. Five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and an area of 625 square meters. It’s unique style, the attention to detail, and its location here on this beautiful bay make it a very desirable property. It seems like there was a general lack of confidence in growing vines in this area after the plague decimated the vineyards. This little aphid, it didn’t just destroy the industry around Katez, it ripped through a lot of Spain and most of Europe. So, what appears to have happened is most of the people who formerly grew vines decided that they needed to grow something else. So they turned their attention to growing olives. These people must have faced severe hardship because their income from selling the grapes had gone and olive trees can take 5 to seven years before they actually produce anything that’s sailable. Regardless of this, some people were able to to get going again. What they did to support themselves, I have no idea. But this area had already proven successful in growing olives. So it turned into the main industry. Over the next few decades, most people in the region managed to scrape a living. That is until 1956 when a rare, devastating frost killed the olive trees and ended the village’s long history of olive oil production. Thank you. [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. Remember? I don’t know what [Music] [Music] Another of the highlights of this coastal village is the old town which we’re about to enter. Beautiful. [Music] right here. Yeah. Amazing. Hello. Oh no. Happy morning. [Music] Yeah, I have a clean [Music] 64 Come on, man. It’s slow. Let’s Police. I don’t I don’t All [Music] [Music] right. [Music] [Music] Wow, look at that. That’s incredible. If you find yourself getting a bit bored here and you’ve exhausted all of your ideas, you can rent one of these little boats, have a potter around the bay. [Music] I got [Music] [Music] During the winter months, kacares can is subjected to the tramantana, an impressive wind that blows off the Pyrenees in much the same way as the Mistra blows in France. This occurs mainly when the wind blows from the north. The word traantana translates to beyond the mountains and refers to the cold, dry wind that blows from the mountains towards the Mediterranean. [Music] the chemicals. Here it [Music] [Music] My Look at me. This is just really amazing. [Music] [Music] [Music] Is that your dog? Is that your dog? Well, it’s hers. What’s your name? You have the most insane eyes. I’m not trying to flirt. You have insane eyes. Yeah, but you too like the light and everything. Hey, Patrick. [Music] Hello. [Music] [Music] [Music] Which one? She What time’s coming?
Cadaques in Catalonia is the sort of place everybody dreams of discovering. If you look up picturesque in the dictionary it probably shows an image of this place as an example. Pretty whitewashed buildings enhanced further by pockets of colourful plants and flowers, an Old Town area with its maze of cobbled streets to unravel and a bay so picturesque that it is practically unrivalled.
This place has an atmosphere that feels totally chilled and yet at the same time an undertow of excitement.
It is a very unique place. Explore it with me and discover why it stands out from the crowd.
In this series I set out to discover another side of Spain. Far from the cheesy dj’s, packed beaches and package holiday culture there is a deeper, more personal and honest identity but i had to go “off the beaten track” to really get to know “The Spain I never knew”
See the full list of filming locations by clicking on the link below:-