Photo: Track and seaside at Arenys de Mar
Mar 1, 1979 Today was Spanish election day. I left Tarragon at 10 AM for the 60 mile ride to Barcelona. Another good day, sunny and calm, with pleasant roadside scenery. The bicycling was easy until about 20 miles from Barcelona. The narrow busy road followed the rocky mountain coast. To avoid the traffic, I stayed to the far right which put me on the edge of a cliff plunging down to the Mediterranean Sea.
Upon reaching Barcelona, I was surprised at the size of the city. I rode for an hour to locate the hostel, only to discover it was closed. Nearby I found a pension with a room for $3 a night. Locating bread in the city after 7 PM was an impossible task.
Mar 2, 1979 The metro was on strike, so the buses to downtown Barcelona were overloaded and slow. At the post office I checked mail and used my Visa card to get cash. The Picasso museum exhibited mostly pieces of Picasso s early work as a student in Barcelona. Later I also saw the Maritime Museum.
Photo: Barcelona plaza near waterfront
Mar 3, 1979 At 5 AM I was awakened by my pension roommate, Benj from South Africa, who was just getting in. Benj, about 30 years old, turned out to be a serious alcoholic. At 8 AM I went to the local bakery to buy some bread for the weekend. I did not anticipate a crowd, as it was early Saturday morning. The line to get into the bakery was 200 feet long and growing, so I decided to do without.
Returning to the pension at 9 AM I found Benj awake but still very tipsy. He suggested we get some coffee and then he would be OK. We went to a bar across the street where he ordered coffee and brandy. Before long he was drinking straight brandy.
I left Benj and went downtown to have lunch at a cheap restaurant, El Siglo, just off the Ramblas. Later toured another art museum.
Benj dragged in at 9:30 PM in pitiful shape. He cried in his sleep; moaning in French for his wife and child. The wife had left him some time ago and she lived with the child in Barcelona. She refused to see Benj who resided in France on French welfare.
Photo: Dali Museum in Figuera
Mar 4, 1979 After saying goodby to a groggy Benj, I left Barcelona in a light rain. The scenery along the 60 mile trip to Girona was interesting. Along the way I rode past a bad crash on the motorway. I stayed the night in a Girona hotel, that had a television in the lobby. It was funny to see Texan Farrah Fawcett and the other Charlies Angels speak in a quick voiced over Spanish dialect.
Mar 5, 1979 I left Girona at 8 AM and made good time until the town of Figuera came into view. At that instant I had my first flat tire. When I reached Figuera I saw the famed Salvador Dali Museum. Really crazy art.
The 20 miles after Figuera were against the wind and gradually uphill, though I did not fully realize it. The mountains in the distance gave me a misleading frame of reference as I thought I was on a level road. The peak of the ascent was the Spanish-French border. For some reason the French customs took 20 minutes and my passport was stamped. The final leg of the 50 mile ride to Perpignan, France was also against the wind. I stayed at the local youth hostel.
Map of North Eastern Spain
