Catalonia’s beautiful Costa Brava is the easternmost point of Spain, bordering France on the Mediterranean coast. I was there during the half-term holiday with the eldest on a BritMums parent blogger trip, as guests of the Costa Brava tourist board.

I’ve spent a lot of time in Spain, but this was my first visit to the Costa Brava, and I was curious to find out why National Geographic Traveler named it as one of the top travel destinations in the world in 2012. On a catamaran trip the day after we arrived, I understood: the coast we sailed along is rugged, unspoilt and gorgeous and not what I had expected at all. Jaume Marin, director of the Costa Brava tourist board, told me that a third of the Costa Brava is actually a protected nature reserve where nothing can be built.

We sailed on the 75 foot long catamaran from Roses harbour along the Cap de Creus nature reserve on a sunny, breezy day and dropped anchor in a sheltered bay for lunch on board. We helped the friendly crew make paella in the biggest pan I’ve ever seen – Jaume’s on the right, lending a hand:

Meanwhile my eldest painted her nails in the sun on the front deck while some of the other children jumped in to the turquoise water for a swim:

We’d spent a thrilling morning at the nearby Windoor wind tunnel: I have to say that sunbathing, eating and drinking on the catamaran was the perfect way to relax after the adrenaline rush of indoor skydiving, and before our next stop, a Catalan cooking lesson on a farm – but that’s for another post.

Family travel lowdown: Our catamaran trip was with Magic Cruises. Excursions start from 15 euros for adults, 7.5 euros for children, under-6s are free.