Barcelona

Yesterday we went to Garaf to have dinner with Monica and Jaume on his boat. They prepared an incredible paella and we had a wonderful time there. I almost miss being on a sailboat. But, what a great location to be in. The harbor is right on the ocean so it only takes a few minutes to be out there. After dinner we went to th beach and watched the sunset.

Raquel and I rushed back to Barcelona to see a play. The trains are still not running the way they are supposed to be, but we ended up at a station in the plaza de espanya where we could take the metro close to our apartment. We got to the play about 5 minutes after it was supposed to start, but as things always start here later than planned we were just in time. It was a chilean play about office workers and boy, and after seeing it, it would be really hard to go back to work in an office.

On Saturday we went to see a flamenco show at a little club. In Canada it would have been able to seet 20, but here they can get 10 times that in the space they have. We ended up sitting on stairs next to the stage. In fact I was resting my feet on the stage. The show was really good and being so close to it was even better. Here people smoke everywhere so, besides being a warm and intimate venue, it was smoke filled too. For about ten dollars you get one drink and the show. It was well worth it.

We also went to the Museu de Arte de Catalunya. This museum is located in a building built for a worlds fair in the 1920's. It is a huge structure and the museum was excellent. Part of it is dedicated to church murals that were removed from old churches and re-installed in the museum. I don't know how they get them off the walls without destroying them. They also have art from all periods and mainly by catalunyan painters.

Barcelona

Today it has been one week since I got back to Barcelona. My bike has been sitting down on the passeig de colon and hasn't been used except when I went to the airport to see Alejandro Facchi. The temperature here has dropped down a lot, at night it is down around 3-4 degrees. So I don't feel much of an urge to go out.

Toño came to present his new book, and we spent time together with him over the weekend. He is making the rounds of Spain and so only spent a few days here in Barcelona before moving on.

We also went to see a concert in the palau de la Musica which was fantastic, both the palau and the music. The palau was built in the early 1900's and is an incredible example of what I think is called rococo architecture. And the concert was Chic Correa and Bela Fleck, playing banjo and piano, which seemed like an unusual combination of instruments. Both the quality of the music and the personality of the musicians made for a very moving evening.

I have one more week to go and then back to Vancouver. What looked like a really long vacation has gone by surprisingly fast. It's hard to believe that I once looked forward to a two week vacation.

For Audrey and Niko

Hola Audrey and Niko,

Your Nona asked me to send you these photos of her with the pajarito that you sent. She said to tell you that it sings very beautifully and she likes it very much.

Cartagena to Benicasim

I decided to call it quits and head back to Barcelona. There are no campgrounds open at this time of year and the weather has not been so great. So, I packed up in the morning and headed out to drive back on the freeway. Well, it got sunny and was a great day. There were all kinds of bikes out since it was Sunday. It´s strange to see groups of Harleys driving along with all the people dressed up in their American style harley gear. Today I read in the paper that there was a big demonstration of motorcyclists in Barcelona to protest against the number of motorcycle accidents. After seeing the way they drive I can understand the reason for the accidents, but they seemed to be blaming them on the government. One thing they were complaining about was the type of paint they use on the roads. It is a very thick and slippery paint. When I cross a line in a curve, both wheels slip and it is a rather disconcerting experience. On rainy days it is even worse.

I was going to spend the night in Castelló, but it wasn't too nice there so I kept going to Benicasim. This is a resort type town, that even though it has huge apartment blocks, is rather nice. It reminds me of Viña del Mar. There were a lot of people out walking and it has a quieter atmosphere than some of the other tourist towns. Of course, there are not many tourists here now, so it may be quite different in the summer.

Altea to Cartagena

I didn't ride too far today. The weather was not that great, cloudy and a little rain, so I decided to stop in Cartagena. This is a city with an incredibly long history so I was expecting to see some of it, but when I went out for a walk in the old part of the city it seemed like most of it was in ruins and pretty desolate. Maybe it was just the area that I was in, but I didn't find much in the way of tourist information. The drive from Altea to Cartagena was different from the coast to the east of Barcelona. Here it was all huge apartment blocks. Some of them really huge. They must all be tourist accomodations.

In the evening I went to a restaurant that was one of the most entertaining that I've been to. I got there at 8:00 pm, but it was too early for dinner. At exactly 9:00 everyone came in, and within 15 minutes the restaurant was full. It has been owned by the same family since the early 1900´s. The waiter and bartender were both drinking behind the bar, so they were a pretty happy lot.

Delta de l'ebre to Altea

Today I got off to an early start. The weather has changed it is now overcast and cold. Well, below 20 degrees. I took the freeway cause I wanted to get past Valencia as fast as I could. It was cool and overcast, not a good ride. And, besides that I started to run out of gas. I came to a sign which said there was a gas station within 28 kilometres. I could just make it. I drove for quite awhile and there was another sign saying there was a gas station within 28 kilometres. By this time I was on reserve. So, I turned off the freeway and took the local roads until I found a gas station. From there I stayed on the local roads as I headed to the south.

In one of the towns that I was going through another bike started to follow me. It turned out he was a german who was living here in Spain, We stopped for awhile to talk and he told me I should plan on staying in Altea. That it was really nice and there were campgrounds. From there on the drive was great, over windy roads along the coast. I made it to Altea, but the campgrounds are all closed, so I´m staying in a hotel that has balconies over the beach. Beautiful!!

Barcelona to Delta de L'Ebre

Finally, I got moving again. It´s hard to believe that we´ve spent almost a week in Barcelona. During this time we saw Monica and Jaume quite a bit, and Kevin Murphy came from Berlin for a visit. We went out to eat with him at a fantastic restuarant that Monica suggested. It´s like a fish market where you go in and pick out your fish and they cook it up for you.

So, finally I packed up my bike again and headed west towards southern Spain. My first stop was the delta de l'ebre which is just south of Tarragona. I thought I was going to camp, but when I got out there the campgrounds were closed for the year. So, I started moving back from the coast through the small towns looking for a hotel, but everything was closed. Finally I came to a road that ended at a ferry. I asked someone in line if they new of any hotels and he told me to cross with him on the ferry and he would show me one. BC Ferries take note, the crossing cost .50€. But, it was just a little river crossing. The hotel was out in the boonies, but it was really great.

Barcelona Again

We stayed at a little hotel in Barcelona for the night. In the morning Raquel went to her class and I took the car back to Sitges to turn it in and to pick up my motorcycle. I had left it on the street in front of the apartment we had rented, and it was still there. I drove back to Barcelona and went to Monica's for lunch.

In the evening I met up with the person who is turning over the apartment to us, got the keys and now we have an apartment all to ourselves right in the heart of the Barri Gotic in Barcelona. It's great to have so much space and to be actually able to listen to music once more.

Ripoll to Barcelona

After breakfast we went to see the monastery in Ripoll. This is a structure that dates back to 800 AD. Inside are tombs of some of the famous catalan kings, like Wilfred the Hairy. The inside feels old and the atmosphere and acoustics give an impression of what it must have been like to be here in over 1,000 years ago.

We dropped Monica off at the train station, and then continued on along back roads to see some of the local towns. It's now fall here, so all the leaves are turning. At the elevation we are at it is a little cool, but the sun is shining and the sites are stupendous. We went to a little town called Gombren and then up to an old monastery high in the mountains, called Montgrony. Here it was cold!

After finding our way back we took the main road to Barcelona. Overall, this little trip has been one of the best. During tourist season I'm sure there are a lot of people, but at this time of year there are few people travelling so it is a lot more relaxed.

Besalu to Ripoll

Our first stop was Olot. This town is in an area surrounded by volcanoes. After getting there we found the town has four volcanoes around the center of town. These are old dormant volcanoes that are not too high. We walked up to the top of one for a view out over the town.

We continued on to Santa Pau de Seguries. Now, this is a medieval town with no tourists that really makes you feel like you are back in the middle ages. There is a huge central fort, which unfortunately was closed. The photo is of Santa Pau. The flag over the tower is the catalan flag.

For the night we stopped in Ripoll. Here there is a well know monastery which we would see in the morning.