Barcelona to France

Monday 18th January, 1982                     raining but mild.

Awoke to the resumption of takeoffs.  Hot showered and headed for the super Mercado "Carrefour" to stock up on food.  3400 pesetas for so much, plus four bottles of Romeral plus one bottle of red and one bottle of brandy.  Butter 491 pesetas - 1 kg of yoghurt 22 pesetas, fruit and veggies cheap.  Then into the city to find a Park - impossible and petrol is low.  So here we are parked in the street.  Traffic buzzing by.  Sean and John caught a taxi in to Correous for mail.

They have just arrived back from a hectic trip in. There was no mail for us -2 for John.  Cost them $10 in taxi fares - couldn't tell the driver the name of the street for return journey.  Anyway on the road after lunch, along the Autopista for a few kilometres.  And out to the coast.  Left the coast road and headed for Girona and arrived at transit camping at Figueres about 5:30 p.m. very tired - John does a good job driving.  It was a long drive today.  It's goodbye Costa Brava tomorrow.

Camping El Freoca is only a transit camp but handy to the town and reasonably clean.  We walked into town after tea - through the square and up to a bar.  Had a cafe con Leche, and as we were about to leave, it started to rain again and didn't it rain - the streets were like rivers.  When it eased we started off, leaving Sean and John behind for another brandy and coffee.  We were quite wet by the time we made it back to the camp.  Being on the hill it was like walking up a river bed.

Tuesday 19th January, 1982                     overcast

Left the van and washing at el Freoca and walked into town to see Salvador Dali Art Gallery.  It is a surrealist Gallery.  The square out front was incredible - these monstrosities called art.  A tall column with old TVs and a head on top - columns of old tyres - he sure is a way out artist.  The kids had hysterics - Sean’s wry wit was well to the fore. 

He may have been a great artist had he not been a bower bird to collect wash basins, tyres, spoons and old cars and made them into a mass of junk.  He certainly inspired a debate back home.

Packed up and on to the Autopista and on our way to Perpignan in France - arrived about 4 p.m. after an uneventful crossing of the Pyrenees and the border from Spain.  Found a laundromat and commandeered three machines to catch up on our backlog - due to the rain.  Spent three hours there, but only dried the towels and pillow cases.  Found a camp in town after having tea in the Park, off a line of peak hour traffic.  The odours from our van must have stimulated some driver’s taste buds.

Barcelona/Figueres is Catalonia country.  They have their own flags on their products, and even their own spelling - a breakaway like the other side of Spain-the Basques.  The Gardia Civil were in evidence more than any town we have visited.  We are rather sad to leave Spain - had a lovely 40 days - love the people, weather and the country.  Bye Spain hello France.

Barcelona to Perpignan, France