E phatlaladitšwe: 25.07.2022
I take the train to the French end station here in the eastern Pyrenees - Latour de Carol. I continue on foot to Puigcerdà, and I can't believe my luck, suddenly I am in a Spanish town. But in terms of better communication here, my brain is completely overwhelmed by the rapid language switch and some really wild stuff comes out. But then I am hit even harder because they really mean it here with Catalan, they are serious about their independence. I meet up with Edu here, another Couchsurfing stroke of luck. He has driven about two hours to spend a camping weekend in the Pyrenees with me - sounds creepy? Except for his Catalan independence aspirations, he is a really nice guy, I even get my own tent:
We traverse Andorra and camp right on the border of Andorra-Spain, oh sorry, Catalonia. Honestly, I didn't expect us to drive so high, at 2,300 m it's not so funny at night with a sleeping bag. Finally, it pays off to have carried the fleece and down stuff.
We can't continue without a little hike, of course. So off to the next summit, but what's going on there? I'm just not a person for 2500+, German flatland blood after all. But well, at the summit I still give my best and strike a pose:
We make a road trip back to Edu's hometown and camp for one more night at a very special river. Here there's something to laugh about, or maybe to marvel at: how do I manage to keep my aristocratic pale complexion after 3 weeks of sunshine?
I can't really serve with clichés yet, well Edu is a true Catalan, but you can't take him as the standard. Tapas are delicious, but so far not really high cuisine and I miss the carafe of tap water, which is always included in France and protects against certain death by dehydration. ;)