It is always very pleasant when you find somewhere extra special by accident and today we did just that. 

We left early this morning to explore on land the mountainous landscape we had admired so much from the sea. The mountain roads  were as exciting as expected, with tight bends, precarious drops and magnificent views. Each turn brought a gasp as it revealed another huge mountain or deep valley. 

The road surface was really smooth and Rick was enjoying the drive despite being in a hired Korean hatchback, you could see him imagining the trip in one of his beloved Ferrari’s . We drove through olive groves, pine forests and picture perfect villages. The old houses, churches and monasteries were the color of the surrounding rock , a pale terracotta. I loved looking down on the roofs as we climbed above the villages a jumble of competing rectangles of different heights, angles and layers. 

Roof tops in Foredulx

This is perfect hiking and mountain bike territory and despite temperatures in the thirties, yet again today, we saw plenty of cyclists and walkers. We wondered at their stamina, just walking a few hundred yards on the steep slopes to take some photos, with the sun beating down, sent us pathetically scurrying back to our air conditioned car.

Around one we decided the trip deserved lunch with a view, although as we rejected one touristy place after another, our priorities changed to just lunch with a loo. As we were about to give up and except the Coca Cola advert bestrooned establishments we were passing, I spotted a sign pointing down a ravine, “Es Guix Restaurant, 600m”. The scruffy track downward looked unpromising but something about the sign had caught my eye. At the bottom we found a little piece of The Garden of Eden hidden in the dry rocky surroundings. A traditional terraced villa built on the steep slope of the cliff, covered in trees, shrubs and flowers with a natural spring-fed pool, no less, at its bottom. It was all rather surreal, we sat eating a delicious lunch wondering how on earth we had ever managed to stumble across such a magical place.