Travelers like us, who pack their bags in the second half of September, when almost everyone has returned home from vacation, actually want to postpone the inevitable - the reign of autumn, which with its beautiful melancholy creeps into our lives with the first hints that summer is no more. This year we were looking forward to Spain for a long time. We wavered between Barcelona and the part of the coast that the writer Feran Aguljo called the "Wild Coast" in 1908 - Costa Brava. That strip from the mountainous Spanish-French border to the tame beaches near Barcelona has long been devoid of anything wild, except for the hills above the coast. We decided to settle exactly halfway between the two wishes - in the town of Kalelja. The town is about fifty kilometers from both Girona and Barcelona, so it is suitable as a starting point for tours.
We planned a trip across Germany, spent a few days walking around Cologne, stopping by a crowded beer garden from the area. Michaelmas summer saw us on our way. And then that day came.
High price of low-budget transportation
Since the most convenient plane connection to Girona is from Vece airport - a few kilometers from the Netherlands - we headed there by train. It's not that they didn't warn us, and I also have enough post-pandemic experience with German Railways. The first train was about twenty minutes late, which meant that we had to wait almost an hour for the second train in Krefeld. Then the second train was also delayed by fifteen minutes, just enough to miss the bus to the airport that runs every hour in the neighborhood called Vece. Luckily we left early. Those who had to rush to the airport almost fought for a seat in the vehicle of the only taxi driver at the train station. The same man returned from the airport two more times - we fell into the third round.
Airport buildings of former military airports, converted into stations of low-cost companies, always have something of the charm of provincial bus stations.
The flight as a flight is not worthy of description. But landing while bumping through thick clouds is. Girona welcomed us with rain.
Dozens of agency buses just behind the terminal were loading passengers who, like us, were attracted by the magical call of the Spanish, sorry, Catalan coast. We stared at the raindrops sliding down the windows of the bus, reflecting the headlights of oncoming vehicles. It was getting dark.
A group of elderly Dutchmen laughed loudly. A Belgian woman, apparently over eighty, stopped the bus to find a toilet. Everyone, smiling, hated her when she finally appeared at the door again. And everyone thought that they too would be happy to travel at her age.
Kalelja was the last destination. We crawled into a cheap hotel room - actually a hostel - hoping that the promise that Spain tacitly gives to everyone - plenty of sun - will be fulfilled tomorrow.
Giants, cephalopods, wolves
The morning is dry, the sun breaks through the clouds. We walk through the town whose streets run parallel to the coast. They are intersected by well-built alleys that lead to the coast. In one place, apparently a school playground, we see a multitude of people, and among them – giant figures.
We arrived in Kalelja exactly for the annual town party - in Serbia they would say the town's celebration - which obviously has carnivalistic features. We learn that the celebration is called Minerva's celebration and that it takes place every year on the threshold of autumn - from the 19th to September 23.
Giants and glavonjes - figures of unnaturally large dimensions that people carry through the streets like a snail to their house - are part of Spanish folklore. They were first documented on the Iberian Peninsula in the 13th century in a Portuguese town, and with the reconquest they spread to the entire peninsula.
The figures usually dance in pairs to street music and represent famous local historical figures or some human traits. Kalelja is thus part of a wider and more powerful tradition, which today exists in 90 countries.
What is specific to this place on the coastal strip called Costa del Maresme, once the southern part of the "Wild Coast", is the story of the she-wolf. It goes like this: It was the year 1920. Over good local wine in a local tavern, a local man assured those present that he had seen a wolf coming down the stream with his own eyes. After two days, he told the mayor that he had seen two more wolves. The locals and peasants from the surrounding farms were alarmed. They gathered and started the chase. They killed one animal and displayed it on the veranda in front of the mayor's house for all to see. However, it turned out that they had killed one of several wolves, who lived on a farm above the stream and occasionally went down to the slaughterhouse to eat the leftover meat.
This misunderstanding was hardly welcomed by the neighboring towns, so they mockingly called Kalelja Vučica. Now the town proudly displays its nickname. During the September festival, the "wolf dance" takes place in the main square, and at the entrance to the local cathedral, we found a wooden wolf next to the gigantic figures.
Church street
Carrer de l'Església – the church street, long ago took precedence over the promenade along the coast and the beach, because the city is surgically separated from the water by a straight railway line. The entire coast is well connected with Barcelona and Girona. But the shops, bars, pedestrian zone and corso moved to Crkvena ulica.
It is surprisingly long and substantial for a town of twenty thousand inhabitants.
It is not recommended to drink cappuccino in Kalelja, because one will get white coffee with some foam. Espresso is the right solution. Afterwards, the desire for a glass of wine may arise. And tapas - ham, olives and potatoes with garlic.
Catalans know how to prepare food. But it is wise to ask where the typical tourist traps are, and where both tourists and locals like to go.
Historic center
After a long walk, we come across the main city church from the 16th century, dedicated to Mary and Saint Nicholas. In the small square in front of her, several bars, people talking, time slowed down. In the following days, we knew to come here just like that, to sit on a bench and observe the church facade and the colorfulness of the square.
It is interesting that the protectors of the city are in fact Kirik and Julita, son and mother who suffered during Diocletian's persecution of Christians at the beginning of the fourth century and who are considered early Christian martyrs by both the Eastern and Western churches. Except that in Catalonia Kirik is called Kirze.
A few steps further we come across the square with the Town Hall surrounded by several of the oldest buildings in the town. The most striking of them has preserved its Gothic outlines. This distinguishes Kalelja from many Spanish towns by the sea - it has not completely lost its historical character before the onslaught of hotel concrete.
Just beyond the next square, a typical tourist fair begins, all possible and impossible entertainment devices, including a giant wheel. And on the square itself, it becomes clear why the town deserved another nickname - "Njemačka Kalelja". The cafe with the biggest garden is called Frankfurt.
The lighthouse has no one to wink at
We don't stay in that area where people are loud with beer, we pass through a district of large hotels, some of which are well kept, and some of which are getting a little old.
Our goal is Kapaspre Hill, where a lighthouse has stood since 1859. Although it is a symbol of the city, built on the site of the former tower on the fortress, in the times of radar and satellite tracking of ships, it has become redundant in this world.
Now, in the building, once the lighthouse keeper's apartment, you can learn more about the history of lighthouses. The sky above the lighthouse is magnificent. If I were a painter, I would come here to capture the rapid changes of light, moments of beauty that appear once and never again. I imagine the first glimpse of light from this hill toward the open sea. The fire in the lamp was fueled by olive oil. It smelled different. And the sailor's eyes were longingly looking for that point in the darkness.
From here you can certainly see that Kalelja has a beach several kilometers long. It should not be surprising that after the collapse of the once successful textile industry and decades of stagnation, the town, as well as the entire coast, began to experience a revival in the sixties. Today, there are four tourists per inhabitant.
Museum of Tourism
When a person decides not to go to the beach - that was easy during the first days of his stay, because the clouds and the sun were fighting for supremacy - then he can wander around town without a particular goal. Thus, on the main road that passes above the old city center, you will discover various interesting things. One of them is the former Ljobert-Guri textile factory. The former pride of Spain has long ceased to produce anything. But the space is used. Local radio and television, one school and - Museum of Tourism.
Such a unique undertaking sounds to me like the title of a postmodern novel. The idea is certainly good. The museum intends to study the history of this mass phenomenon, from the first travelers who were considered strange by everyone, to mass tourism, then its economic significance and impact on social transformation. By its very nature, the museum wants to encompass tourism as a cultural phenomenon, and to make it comprehensible. And the thematic exhibition during our stay shows a sense of current affairs - it deals with the consequences of mass tourism. At a time when residents of some neighborhoods in Barcelona are demonstrating against excessive tourism - known by the English name "overtourism", the exhibition could not be more relevant. It seems to me that neither tourists nor the local audience are too interested in all that.
In Kalelja, afternoon siesta is observed in many bars. This should be kept in mind when, with Balkan stomach habits - having lunch quite late - you go to the pubs that have been recommended to you. And we once kissed the door of the Tic Tac restaurant.
The next day we arrived two hours early and enjoyed excellent food and wine. Local wines are cheap in restaurants, and house wine can be found for as little as eight euros per bottle. White ones most often resemble incense, and black ones are strong and racial. In Calella, Spain justifies the voice that beats it.
You just have to avoid spontaneous decisions. Once upon a time, decorated bars were the least worthy of attention.
In the end, we were satisfied that we came to this town. Although we used it as a springboard for further trips to Barcelona, Girona, Lloret de Mar, somehow this small town on the Catalan sea, which has a she-wolf in its coat of arms, got under our skin with its charm.
Bonus video:
