Ebro Holiday, B&B in rural Southern Catalunya

Mas de Barberans

This village is situated 5 minutes from the Mill. It is on the side of the hill which forms the front edge of the Els Ports National Park and provides all the amenities a visitor or a local could want. There are a number of bars, two good restaurants, an excellent bakers, two butchers, a chemist and a post office as well as smaller shops.

The village officially became a municipality in 1235AD and has a population of slightly under 1,000 inhabitants. The locals are primarily farmers working the olive groves and livestock in the surrounding area. Herds of goatlike sheep can be seen ambling around the nearby slopes.

As the village is built above the plain, it offers an excellent viewpoint across miles and miles of surrounding Ebro delta, the Montsia mountains and as far as Peniscola castle. With the formation of the Els Ports National Park in 1996, the village has embraced the eco-tourism business and prides itself as the entrypoint for visitors who wish to visit the park.

The village website http://www.masdebarberans.net is currently only provided in Catalan, but if you link the relevent pages in this online translator you can understand the basics that it contains.

Restaurants
The "El Raco" offers an excellent range of traditional Catalan dishes which are all cooked and served to the highest standards. An excellent place to enjoy an extended lunch before your siesta. On Sundays, the place is packed with local families all tucking into to their favourite dishes. The menu focuses on meat dishes and has English translations. The desserts are well worth a try if you aren't worried about your waistline.

The "Mario" has excellent views over the plains towards Tortosa and the sea. When we arrived on our first visit (a Monday lunch), we were told by a flustered waitress that there was no menu today. In fact they were just grilling meat and sausages to order and serving them with salads and chips. The mixed grill we had was cooked to perfection and the total cost for the two of us (including two beers) was 17 euros.