Venture into a Deep Cave

Cap de Creus is where the Pyrenees meet the sea — the easternmost point of the Iberian Peninsula, and the wildest stretch of coastline in Catalonia. This is geology laid bare: the pyrenean granite intrudes through ancient metamorphic rock, sculpting an alien landscape of rugged capes, arched sea caves, and coves that can only be entered from the water. In 1985 the entire peninsula was designated a Natural Park to protect its extraordinary ecosystem, and today it remains almost entirely undeveloped. The boat journey north from Aiguablava follows the Costa Brava in full — past the artist villages of Llafranc and Calella de Palafrugell, rounding the lighthouse at Cap Roig, continuing up through the broad bay of Roses before the coast becomes dramatically wilder and Cap de Creus appears. The lighthouse, completed in 1853, sits at the very tip. Below it, the crew drops anchor in a sheltered inlet for a swim in gin-clear water before exploring rock arches by tender. On the return, the boat calls at Port Lligat — the small bay where Salvador Dalí built his house — and, if time allows, ties up at Cadaqués for coffee ashore.

Cala Marquesa · sea cave