Day 88. Tuesday 3 June.

Warm day, so we took our swimming gear just in case. Headed back to Riumar to check out boat trips on the L’Ebre. Stopped in at the swish, new Tourist Information office there: closed, with no hours of business or any other advice. So headed for Port de Deltebre, and we’re greeted by a gaggle of souvenir shops, restaurants and cafes and various sized cruise ships/boats. Fronted a ticket seller for Creuers Delta De L’Ebre, hoping for a small craft, but the minimum was five people: sadly, three others who were looking to do the same had given up and bought tickets on the big boat, departing at 1230. We had one minute to make up our minds, so opted to go with it. It was pretty full and the commentary started in Spanish, followed by German, then back to Spanish. We were with a German tour group! Didn’t we write last night it was great to be in a ‘non-tourist’ zone? Karma.

There was the usual rush to get off, and to get to the cafes, souvenirs and restaurants, so we decided to head to L’Ampolla – or so T thought, and was a bit surprised when D took her to Amposta. Bit of a communication mixup there.

Amposta seemed to be a working town, further up the river, with a clear presence of a Muslim population. We parked (after having been honked and abused while waiting in a narrow one way street for an earlier spot to clear), and while examining the parking meter, D was approached by a young lady who advised it was free until 1600. Muchas gracias. D did wonder if he looks like he needs to be helped, but in fact this sort of friendly help for strangers has been quite common. We were the only customers at the cafe in the plaza where the Tuesday street market was being packed up. For someone it seems to have been a devastating morning’s trade.

The waitress was bemused and confused by our order (the usual scenario): we ask for two espressos and a small jug of hot water. Invariably, there is no jug and the water comes in a big glass which is very messy for pouring into the little espresso cups. Fortunately, there’s always a napkin dispenser handy. After coffee there was a short wander through the covered market, also being packed up,  with impressive stained glass windows featuring the local fauna and delta agricultural activity. The tourism office here was closed too but T noticed advertising for upcoming festivities around rice planting. The town also seemed to have some serious music training facilities. And T was relieved that D had chosen a ‘not modern haircut’ yesterday rather than some of the  options available in Amposta.

Then headed to L’Ampolla, which turned out to be a decidedly upmarket beach town/city – Noosa comes to mind, although the beaches we saw were very different.

That meant we moved on, more or less towards home, looking for somewhere to have a dip. Roads criss-crossed through rice paddies, giving us up-close views of the equipment, houses and fields in different stages of rice growth. T had seen a serrated-wheel tractor moving through the rice next to our abode earlier today, spreading fertilizer and it is indeed a very serious piece of equipment that surprisingly does not permanently damage the juvenile crop as it moves through, leaving flattened seedlings in its wake.

Homes are little islands within a sea of water and green (and the algae is common). The older style house/shed is box shaped with sloping roof (there must be a reason for this); the newer, more substantial homes are a mix of square and sloping roofs.

We arrived at Restaurante Los Vassos Deltebre, at one end of Platja de la Marquesa, on the Balearic Sea. The water (and beach) were uninviting with dark sand and choppy surf – apart from one hardy couple.

We decided on a walk along it instead, until we looked up to see a threatening sky in the distance and coming our way, with lightning and thunder. 

Back home. A former worker’s house, now Booking.com.

Dinner. Turkey Surprise: with artichokes in creamy coconut rice; the canned artichokes have been the pantry basket for months, so it was time to add them to a rice base (since this is a local staple).