Dennis Hollingsworth

AIRCAT 2019: Field Trip to Dali Country

The Costa Brava is defined by the spill of the Pyrenees into the Mediterranean Sea. North of Barcelona, Tossa de Mar defines the southern extent of the craggy coast of the Costa Brava and Cap de Creus defines the northern extent up to Portbou at the French border. AIRCAT took a day at the end of the program, right before the installation of the inaugural exhibition. It was a stressful decision since we were focused on pulling the show together, but it was the last chance to see the breadth of the Costa Brava and the land of Dali too. Besides, the museum's de-install schedule to clear the exhibition space couldn't be rushed, so we would have been panting at the doors ready to get it on, irritating the staff. A bad look.

So we looked at the wild coast instead. The roads accessing this region don't follow the coast, so we had to take the highway via Girona up through Figueres (Dali's home town and the location of a museum dedicated to him), past Empuriabrava (sky diving country) and Roses into Cadaqués and Port Ligat, Dali's famous home. The geology of the region is stunning, rivaling... even exceeding Salvador's fantastical imagination. Cap de Creus is a short hop east. All of the visitors, us included conducted themselves as if we were in a cathedral, pious and gobsmacked.