There are places that time does not completely erase. In the municipality of Cantallops, in the Alt Empordà region of Girona, the wreckage of a French seaplane, a Douglas DC-6, has been part of the landscape for decades as a silent witness to a tragedy that occurred in 1986.
What was once an aircraft in the midst of a firefighting mission is now a destination for hikers who come there drawn by a story that blends natural disaster, bravery, and tragedy.
A fire that crossed borders
It all began in Le Perthus, a French town where a forest fire broke out in 1986. The flames soon crossed the border into La Jonquera, driven by an extraordinarily violent wind.
The situation quickly spiraled out of control: the A-17 highway, the N-II road, the border customs post, and the train line connecting Barcelona to Port Bou had to be closed to traffic. It was a weekend in July.
As the afternoon wore on, the situation worsened. Towns such as Cadaqués and Cantallops were cut off, with no road or telephone communication.
When the fire front reached the Requesens area in the mid-afternoon, a French seaplane participating in the firefighting efforts crashed.
Weather conditions that day were extreme: the wind was blowing in gusts exceeding 120 kilometers per hour, enough to render any aircraft uncontrollable.
In fact, the Spanish aerial firefighting units had not even been able to operate that day. The aircraft crashed, and its four occupants—the pilot, the co-pilot, an assistant, and the mechanic—died instantly.
How to walk to this plane
Today, the wreckage of the seaplane can be visited via ahiking trail that starts in the neighborhood of Requesens, part of the municipality of La Jonquera.
From there, take the GI-601 road toward Cantallops, and once past the village, follow the signs to the cantina and Requesens Castle along a well-maintained dirt track.
The hike can be extended by combining it with the trail that climbs up to the castle itself, turning the day into a full-day excursion through one of the most rugged and historically rich landscapes of the Alt Empordà.
The detailed route can be found on Wikiloc.
