Stealing away up the northern Costa Brava, El Mono survived a foggy-night drive on winding, narrow mountain pass to arrive in beautiful, remote Cadaqués. The town hugs the coast around a small bay of turquoise water, and its hilly, meandering alleys and whitewashed houses have long been a retreat for the bohemian set. Among those who came here to play and relax were Picasso, Man Ray, Max Ernst, Luis Buñuel, Rene Magritte, Juan Miro, and even Albert Einstein. Salvador Dalí and his wife Gala lived in nearby Port Lligat (the Monkey visited their home; see the photos at right below) and often threw lavish fiestas, inviting the most tantalizing current crop of Cadaqués visitors to their home for champagne and witty repartée, among other things.

Here, the Monkey takes in the seascape from the rocks just outside town at the lip of the bay. In the distance you can see Cadaqués itself, with the 16th Century church spire rising above the other buildings.

The Monkey enjoys the view over Begur, Catalunya from its hilltop castle, which dates from the 11th Century. The small town is a bit off the beaten track, and one can spend a number of hours wandering its medieval alleys and scaling the steep mount to the castle, which has great coastal views.

The Monkey inspects the eccentricities of Salvador Dalí and his wife Gala's self-designed hideaway retreat at Port Lligat, near Cadaqués in northern Catalunya. The couple bought a number of fishermen's cottages and converted them, with many fanciful additions, to a unique, surreal house.

Here, in the back garden the pool is phallic, the Moorish fountain is decorated by matador-liquor bottles, and the Michelin man smiles in the background. Nude ballerinas and Gypsy flamenco singers once entertained the couple's visitors around this playful pool and patio. When Gala died in 1982, Salvador never returned to their seaside escape.

From an overlook among the labyrinth of Cadaqués' streets, the Monkey got this beautiful vista of the town and its bay, with the open Mediterranean beyond. The rocky outcrop directly above the Monkey is where he posed in the top left shot on this page.

In Tossa, along the northern Costa Brava, the Monkey peers down on a secluded little beach from the heights of the town's medieval defense walls. Tossa is the best remaining example of a fortified coastal town in Catalunya, with walls, turrets, and arched portals all commanding fantastic views over the churning sea below.

The Monkey lounges on the outdoor patio of Salvador Dalí and Gala's home at Port Lligat. One of the surrealist artist's favorite symbols was the egg, which for him symbolized birth and creation, and it appeared in many of his works. His patio was no exception.

The Monkey sits on a section of Tossa's medieval fortress walls and listens to the waves of the Mediterranean crashing far below. Very peaceful, indeed.

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