The Hendaye Diaries: The Gruissan Dairies part 2 –‘They paved paradise and they put up a parking lot’

The Gruissan Dairies part 2 –‘They paved paradise and they put up a parking lot’ Oh I do like to beside the seaside, oh I do like beside the sea. I do like to walk along the prom, prom, prom’. But I hate what continental Europeans do to their sea-side resorts. In the last decade or more I‘ve been to resorts in Belgium, Holland, France, Spain and several other countries and never found a place that was ‘gezellig’ (cosy). Well maybe I’m exaggerating – Bornholm, a Danish Island that is closer to Poland than Copenhagen, Lesbos a Greek Island that is almost part of Turkey and La Gomera, which is part of Spain but closer to Cap Verde, are three places that I have visited that have not had their souls ripped out by tacky tourist infrastructure, but they are exceptions). By and large it seems to be very hard to find coastal villages or towns in mainland Europe that have not been deracinated by the exigencies of the tourist trade. And this is in stark contrast with the UK - where coastal villages and towns such as Polperro or Fowey (Cornwall), Aberystwyth or Tenby (Wales), Oban (Scotland) or Whitby (Yorkshire) seem to retain a timeless charm, or at least a charm that is redolent of a bygone steam-driven era, rather than modern day Mammon.

This I guess is the only ‘red thread’ that I can find from my month long stay in Gruissan. It is a beautiful medieval village with a spider’s web layout (even now after a month here I can get hopelessly lost if I turn right instead of left to find the local shop or trash collection points)). There is a lot of (justified) pride in the local gastronomic patrimony (the wines, the fruits, the fish and the patés) - but it’s also full of tack, too many new-build apartments, too many yacht berths, too many ateliers of artists with, shall we say, limited talents. It sounds like I am having a bit of a bitching session –but that’s far from my intent. Surrounded by four lagoons (étangs), Gruissan (where eels come spend their maturity before migrating back to the Saragossa Sea – if they don’t end up on the Gruissanese tables- to reproduce, and where salt is panned in the traditional manner) and limestone massifs to the north, south and west it is truly a stunning natural environment. On a clear day you can see the Pyrenées to the south and the Montagne Noir (Cevennes) to the north. But it seems to me to have lost (or sold) its soul.

Perhaps there is a paradox here- continental Europeans are able to spend much more time and money on their holidays than us Brits can (its not uncommon to see signs in the windows of bars, barbers or boulangeries in Brussels or Paris saying ‘closed for four – or six - weeks for the summer holidays’. These are not EU ‘fonctioniares’ – though their clients may be- just ordinary working class people, who value their summers). And that means that there’s lots more money available to spend in developing these places as ‘desirable resorts’. And in my eyes, at least, that makes them far less desirable places to visit. It’s a paradox. And I’m aware that it smacks of elitism and snobbery - but I would just rather go to places that have a lower tourist/local ratio. Next stop the Pyrenées. In the meantime a few photos of the local scenery.