Illes Medes and the Pirates and Corsairs Fiesta 2011

Barcelona and the Costa Brava is not usually associated with tranquillity and seclusion with culture, neon lights, sandy beaches and a throng of activities surpassing any goals for a holiday where you barely see another face.

Although just a mile off the Costa Brava, a tiny archipelago can be found, that boasts no sandy beaches, no neon, and, as the Spanish might say, “absolutely nada!”.

The islets are known as Illes Medes and are used mainly as a diving destination, which, being scattered around the mouth of the River Ter, rich with organic life, is home of a natural habitat of some 1,350 species of marine life, and ranks as one of the top diving spots on the Mediterranean.

But there is more to Illes Medes than scuba diving alone. A boat trip to this spot of immense natural beauty, where dolphins will occasionally dive out of the water and the only noise to be heard are the seagulls’ noisy caws, provides visitors to the Costa Brava with a touch of sheltered and isolated bliss.

Boat trips to Illes Medes take place from the lively coastal town of L’Estarit, as the seven islets are just a five-minute boat ride from this charismatic and thriving town.

It is also the location for the Pirates and Corsairs Fiesta 2011 featuring Pirate based plays with music, eating and drinking.

Despite its unassuming and peaceful appearance, Illes Medes hides a turbulent and fascinating history. Wreckages of ships belonging to the ancient Greeks and dating back as early as 500 BC were found in the waters surrounding these islets, alongside human bones also dating from this era, meaning there was once a small settlement here.

In the Middle Ages the islets were used as a hideout for pirates, who used Illes Medes as a base for raiding ships from the busy marine trade in the area.

In the 1400s, the king ordered a fort to be built on the biggest of the islets, known as Meda Gran and housed a handful of knights there to defend the shipping trade from pirates.

Later, in the eighteenth century, Meda Gran was used as a military prison, which remained until 1892 when it was abandoned.

To celebrate this fascinating history, seeped in bloodthirsty stories about pirates and knights, from September, 23 – September 29, the Pirates and Corsairs festival 2011 will be held at Illes Medes.

The event will be a spectacle of costumes, pirate-associated plays and activities, drinking, eating, dancing and merriment, and, for about the only occasion in the year, noise and fracas made by humans will disturb the islets massif of marine life.

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