We stayed overnight, to see if it was possible to get another flight in France, but it was not to be. Targasonne is impassable and the wind was forecast to pick up in Cerdanya, and on arrival at Ceret it was clear it was already blown out. We didn’t want to sit around waiting, so we headed to the beach.

We’ve never been to the coast immediately north of the Spanish border, but had heard nice things about the villages, so we headed to Collioure. It’s stunning. An old port with beautiful old buildings and a nice relaxed atmosphere. Everyone seems to either run a restaurant or an art gallery and the houses are painted nice colours and have lots of arty touches. We sat around in the sun, making the most of our last day before the packing and cleaning frenzy starts tomorrow.

Next stop was Banyuls, which isn’t as nice. Lots of modern buildings and more of a resort feel. We had our lunch there, but it was so windy that we jumped back into the car to continue our tour.

We didn’t bother stopping at Port Bou, just across the border in Spain. It is completely dominated by the railway and its buildings. Franco decided to make the gauge for Spanish trains different to French ones so that it would be impossible to invade by rail. This means having to change trains at the border, and Port Bou is the last stop in Spain. I have bad memories of having to change trains in Irun at 2am when I went inter-railing as a teenager, so we skipped the trainspotting opportunity.

The next village is Colera, and although I’ve always wanted to go there, its name does it justice. Another place to drive past with a clear conscience…

See photos of today.

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