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First impressions in Spain/Catalonia 🇬🇧

I'm feeling good, sometimes cold. Now I'm sitting between three cats, one old dog and many goats, drinking tea, charging my torch, writing this text, thinking about what happened the last weeks.

Since I crossed the border to Spain Catalonia, it's like a completely new world. The people here are very friendly, have time and some other energy. It's like visiting places where no foreigners have been before.

Cal d'Ares Cal d'Ares

10km after crossing the border at 1500m a couple and a child stopped me - "Stop, stop, come back! :-)" They were from Bangladesh and offered me a lot of rice to eat, made a small video and we had a nice small talk.
After three days cycling up, it was the first time where I didn't have to pedal anymore. About 120kg, maybe 50km/h, amazing feeling!

My first city in Catalonia was Camprodon. I had to find some water, WiFi after about one week without internet access, and some vegetable milk. Everything different here, other people, other languages, other streets and signs. Finding English speaking people is very easy here, compared to France. Most persons are very welcoming and happy to help. I got water from a shop by asking, the best cycling route to Olot, and even a girl called Laia supported me with buying vegan(o) stuff at the supermarket and told me I can phone here when I'm entering Barcelona :-)

I was sleeping outside again, like most of the time in France. Wildpigs, mosquitoes, rotten cars in the forest. It was raining, nuts and leafs are falling from the trees. It's autumn and getting colder. The best motivation are the people here, and reminding myself why I started discovering other places, leaving my comfort zone with all the best vegan stuff, friends, my lovely home in Bochum.
I tried to write things down in the tent, but somehow it's not possible. I'm tired when the sun is gone, I just want to eat a bit, sleep and have a warm night. Doing too much with my smartphone in the night ends with a sleepless night, less energy and cold and/or numb arms.

On my second day I made a stop in Olot, a bit bigger town. I joined two persons with bikes to the city, no need to cycle between all the cars anymore. In the inner city a man called Cedric stopped me. In two minutes he made a portrait of me, later he painted a "Viva España" banner for my basket, which I changed to "Viva Catalunya" this morning :-)
I was aking for an organic shop, but Cedric didn't know, he was not from here. He said it's the best to ask at the vegan cafe.
A vegan cafe! Wow, here in a small city in Spain :-) I had a very nice conversation with Barbara from La Nòmada about everything, I completely forgot about the time. But it's okay on a place like this. The last vegan cafe was in Berlin, 4 months ago. An exchange like this is even more uncommon ❤️
My second day here and the second day of the second corona wave in Catalonia. Randomness? Fate? I feel it has to be how it is. It's okay and I'm on the right place here, I learned to trust my feelings. My brain doesn't understand everything, but it hasn't. It's okay :-)
Today I'm cycling back to Olot, after visiting another alternative place in the middle of nowhere in the mountains. I had to cross a street barricade, two times a river, one time a pitch about 60% and arriving a barking dog with nobody else outside to get here - in the middle of the night with a headlamp. Here I got some other contacts for alternative places, maybe to overwinter and also with local money, hacker stuff and I don't know what else. Seems like Spain is a small paradise when I know the right people.

Empty coast

After arriving the Mediterranean Sea my general plan is to find some other places to stay a bit longer, to overwinter, work if possible, creating plans for the future, addressing people, listen to my heart and slowly continuing to south.

Ecovillage Douceur et Harmonie

I also wanted to write something about all the crazy stuff from the last weeks: Days of rain, storm about 60km/h from any direction, blowing sand in my eyes, sticks between my wheels, a cracked chain, nearly destroyed gear sprocket, losing oil from my front brake, sun at the empty tourist villages in the south of France, palms, cactuses, cycling streets with many cars, retreating in my tent away from civilisation, cycling three days up and up on a stony street where I was also sleeping, all the wonderful people I met, all the nice meals I cooked, about eating chestnuts, splitting wood, learning languages, cold legs, unaware donkeys nearly destroying my tent, goats knocking over my bike, China bees, 3 hours of climbing somewhere apart from all ways and phone coverage, tenting on the top of a stony mountain with blizzards and storm up to 120km/h, on the coast, at a demolished primary school, passing a nuclear power plant on the European cycling route, and many different feelings.

Last night with Gianne Storm with sand Storm infront Fixing bike at Blue Bear Two days retreat in my tent

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Fidel am :

Te ví en Tordera. Te felicito por la ruta . Será una experiencia y aventura que te acompañara en el resto de tu vida. Suerte y exitos.

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