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The American Way
When I checked out in the morning, a man came out to greet me. Charley grew up in Cincinnati and for some reason, decided to settle down in northeastern Spain. When I told him about my itinerary for the day, he could only suggest that I take a long siesta to avoid the heat. I think that is the reason why he is in Spain, for the siestas. Personally, I lived the day like an American: I worked my butt off till the work was done. No breaks.
Entertainment
To make the day interesting, I was able to get lost a little, so I could ask the way a couple times. I also road with an older man for a couple kilometers. At first, I just passed him, but later he came up behind me and wanted to talk. He asked how far I had gone and whatnot. He told me that the road ahead would not be bad, "only 55km to Barcelona." He was right about the distance, but there were a few hills that he forgot to mention. Fortunately it was not too hot and the view was pretty cool from the winding coastal road. One other biker passed me on the way up, so I didn't feel so bad for the drivers who had to wait to get around me.
Barcelona
After a short break to fix a flat, I arrived in Barcelona central. The same old La Rambla that I have visited twice before now. I checked out a youth hostel run by the brother-in-law of the guy at Hostal Palermo. I told him I would be back with my bike, and so I went off for dinner and some email.
Jens
After returning to my bike, I had a bit of a surprise. A German walked up to me and asked if I wanted to ride together. Jens was on a mountain bike with no bags, so I was a little confused by his offer at first. We found that Spanish was the best language to communicate in, so we began to make our plans. We would stay in a cheaper hostel of Jens liking. We would leave in the morning toward the border. Jens is planning on taking a route through the Pyrennes for a couple weeks, so I might join him a bit. We had a dinner on the dock, talking about politics and life as best we could in Spanish. We retired to the hostel to enjoy our last night on a real bed for a while.
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