A victory over Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

We are sitting on the terrace of a café on the beach in Castelldefels, enjoying the sun. A warm breeze is blowing from the sea over the promenade, which is almost as wide as a highway. While Pipo obediently lies under the table and Emmi licks the wooden floor in search of the last crumbs, I reflect once again on our journey here.

Everything went smoothly except for the final stretch. Surprisingly smoothly. So it was actually not too surprising that it ended up being quite a hassle at the end. I don't mean the theft, which was quickly dealt with, although it was, of course, annoying. What still sticks in my bones today are the last 100 kilometers.

We had to make our way through Barcelona. And I never thought this city could overshadow the traffic chaos of Marrakech, Rome, and Paris. Police sirens, honking cars, and airplanes zooming above us created a noise level that raised my pulse to crisis levels. Not to mention endless traffic jams, largely due to the five or six toll booths - mind you, within the city!

We had already been on the road in Barcelona for nearly two hours when a roundabout looked suspiciously familiar. Wait a minute ... hadn't I been here before? My gaze fell on the mileage on the GPS. Still 57 kilometers to go. Strange. Wasn't it 56 earlier?

As cars honked and zipped past us on the four-lane road, I felt uneasy. Another roundabout. “Take the fifth exit,” chirped the friendly lady from Google Maps. But didn’t that just lead back to the road I had just come from?

I took it anyway. And 300 meters later, I found myself back at the roundabout I had just recognized. “Take the third exit,” the lady instructed. So back in the other direction. A few traffic lights and several minutes later: back at the other roundabout. “Take the fifth exit.”

Now it dawned on me. I was trapped in an endless loop. And every day it greets the roundabout...

Damn! While I was already mentally sitting with an espresso in some bar, I may have gone around this loop a dozen times. But how do I get out of here? I switched from Google Maps to Apple Maps. The same game. Just pick some other road? As you can see from the sketch, that was not really an option.

I slowed down. And became more uncertain. A downright bad combination in city traffic. Yet, ironically, that turned out to be my luck.

On another lap around the five-armed Dr. Jekyll – I had nicknamed the two roundabouts Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by now – I accidentally drifted too far into another branch. Suddenly, my lady chimed in: “Turn right onto the E90!”

I could hardly believe it. An exit! The rescue! Although I missed the exit, which led to a lap of honor and a final reunion with Mr. Hyde. But this time, there was that happy tingle in my stomach: I knew now how to get out of here!

And as soon as I was finally on the E90, I savored my triumph.

Who can say they have defeated Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?