Sleeping in
the bus, on the other hand, is really a horrible experience. Gosh, how excruciatingly
uncomfortable it is! You cannot stretch your legs, the air is almost
unbreathable, you neither can fall asleep, nor can you really wake up. You find
yourself in a certain state between sleeping and being awake that seems to last
for eternity. Besides, I have woken up with some weird stings on my hands and
forearms that itched like crazy. Now I am wondering if there was an insect in
the bus, or some insect got to one of my bags with supposedly clean T-shirt, or
I got some allergic reaction to cheap Lidl muffins I wolfed down yesterday (450
g). Speaking about food, I think my last biking day marked the end of excessive
eating. I was aware of that, but when I arrived in Lidl, it totally slipped my
mind that from now on I should divide my rations rationally, and bought the
same amount as for a usual biking day. Since I hate food wasting, I ate the
usual biking portion from which I got almost sick, and needed a rest for
another 2 h. It was 500 g of potato salad, one baguette and 300 g of prosciutto
which I would have gulped down with easy any other day.
This is my
first day of so called real vacation. I have two days left until my rideshare
arrives. After assembling my bike that went easier than I had originally
expected, I wandered in the city without any special intentions. I vividly
remember the first days, how eager I was when I visited another new city. I was
totally stunned, fascinated, mesmerized. Now, as an accustomed traveler, I
somehow lost this jolly feeling. No more excitement, no more thrill. I just nodded
and said to myself, OK, let's get this sightseeing done, as if it were my job I
got fed up with and not something I should be happy about. I am clearly
overindulged with travelling. As every overindulgence, it gradually stops
bringing excitement once you cross the infamous red line. This feeling might be
emphasized with the clear idea of my return, but still, I find it somehow
strange. It is not a melancholic feeling, but for me, something even scarier –
it is like indifference. It is really high time to go home before I get
oversaturated with travelling. Yet, Barcelona has so much to offer. I was
really surprised by that sheer majesty of the city castle, stunningly beautiful
national museum, bizarrely built Guadi's buildings and parks, and countless monuments
I had a chance to see. Barcelona is the biggest city I have visited so far.
During my
whirlwind visit in Barcelona, I had a chance to see the Olympic Stadium, the
picturesque National Museum, the city castle, shipyards where I got lost, the
university, countless parks and architectonic marvels, bustling Barcelona
streets, and many, many other things that tourist come to see here. However, I
also visited the outskirt of the city, usually unknown for the tourist eye and
had a chance to see the real Barcelona and to observe how people really live,
not only the parade prepared for tourists. Regarding Barcelona suburbs I must
say that I was very amused by the architectonic unconformity of local flat
buildings. Unlike in Slovakia, where suburbs used to be built in the great
Communist style and order like soldiers on a chessboard (this must also be very
funny for western foreigners), here all buildings are scattered without any
higher sense, at least on the first glance. Each building is somehow different,
turned to its own unique direction, and has a specific color and architectonic
style. The infrastructure also does not seem to follow a higher purpose,
either, but it is perfectly functional. Moreover, the suburbs behind Barcelona
are built on a hill full of smaller and steeper hills that made my biking quite
interesting (I wish the elevation were also shown on my offline map). I would
surely not like to work here as a postman! It is a pity that I did not take any
picture of that, I was just too busy biking. If I could just take pictures
without freeing up my hands, that would be great! I hope that Google glass will
soon or later pave its way to a wide commercial application, and thus will
become more affordable. In the meantime, I will always have to stop to take a
picture which sometimes attracts undesired attention, especially in run-down
areas. Barcelona is infamously known as the world 1st capital of thieves and I
did not want to take any extra chances.
I spent
some quality time in the Park of Gaudi which is basically an older arboretum
with some ridiculously looking buildings. It was a nice walk, though, but I have
no idea why it is so hugely popular among tourists. On my evening walk I got to
know two pilgrims from Brooklyn to whom I talked for another hour. I know that
I keep on repeating the same old story, but meeting someone who had the same
journey of 900 km behind him is always very inspiring. It is possible to talk
for days about the Camino, one hour is nothing. Even though I must admit that I
felt very elated at finally finding someone for a conversation, too. I also got
a great recommendation from them. I was told that there is a beautiful
viewpoint on a big hill outside the city. This last daily challenge boosted my
travelling sprits and I biked to reach the place. I made it just before the
sunset and was blessed with one of the most beautiful sunsets during my whole
summer pilgrimage. I enjoyed ritually my last can of beer during this
magnificent spectacle and felt a certain sense of achievement for the end of my
journey was very near.
The big
hill was famous not only for the breathtaking viewpoint, but also for an
amusement park and an old Salesian Monastery. The building itself was an
architectonic marvel with the statue of Jesus on the top patrolling the city as
you can see in Rio de Janeiro. I loitered there for a while and saw a note
about 24/7 adoration service. It was half past ten, but I was too curious to
let it be. A long time ago, during the preparation for my First Communion one
biblical verse stuck in my mind: Keep on
knocking and the door will be opened to you. Now I was eager to put it in practice,
even though that I used the bell instead. An elderly monk opened the door and
let me in. He looked rather perplexed, probably asking himself what this
strange biker is looking for in this very unsocial hour. I made myself clear in
Spanish that I want to attend the adoration and he showed me the chapel, where
was really held an adoration by a priest with few monks and other guests. Now
looking back at my notes, I cannot remember what my real motivation for
visiting this place was; all I remember is the fact that I simply felt like I
needed to go there. It was a nice experience, but that ended at the time when
the communion was given - the priest ended earlier than I stood up. I wanted
gallantly to let the elderly monks to go first, but it somehow slipped my mind
that communion can be taken only once in a day. However, one monk saw my
intention and he later came up to me with words that he would introduce me to
the priest after the adoration. He did so, but a little communication problem
arose: the priest did not speak a word of English, I could not explain clearly
everything in Spanish and the other monk could speak only little English. They
all looked rather nervous and I immediately regretted that I stirred up calm
waters in the monastery so late at night. The monk made hastily few phone
calls, apparently having tried to find an interpreter, while the priest and
other monks stood and were fidgeting with their hands - that made even me
nervous. In the end, the monk gave up, asked me for several times whether I
really am a Catholic and whether I had had my First Communion as if I were a
false spy, or something. Then I was asked to recite the Lord's Prayer which I
did not know in English. To make things even more interesting, I recited it in
Slovak and when they all ran out of questions, I received my Communion. Lol, I
have never experienced so much trouble with receiving the Communion before, but
I was glad that in the end it all worked out. Firstly, I thought that maybe I
could find some friends there and stay in the monastery overnight, but after
this embarrassing moment I rather made a quick escape. That left me with two
more question: where to sleep and to charge my electronics? The next day was my
very last day and it was vitally important to have my cell phone fully charged.
I
remembered that there was a luxurious 5 star hotel only 1 km from the
monastery. I said to myself that I will not give anything for asking, so I
simply went there a very odd request. I had waited for a while in the main
entrance next to a fabulous Ferrari before the air was clear, and then I
spitted out to the clerk in duty quite honestly that I am a foreign adventurer
who obviously cannot afford renting a room in their hotel and will be sleeping
in a tent next to the road as always, but urgently needs to charge his devices
for his last day in Spain. Surprisingly, the man made a very magnanimous
gesture by invited me in to stay in the main lobby and even use the hotel WiFi.
I refused by saying that it would be quite incongruous to have a shabby
stinking tramp sitting in the lobby on a mahogany chair and spoiling the
overall atmosphere. I added that all I would need is to leave my laptop and
cell phone in the hotel for charging because I assume that there could not be a
safer place for that. The man replied with a warm smile that it can be easily
arranged, and I handed my belongings over to him. I thanked him and still could
not believe that it worked out. The moral of this story: one must not be afraid
to ask because there is nothing to lose – if you do not try and ask, you have
already lost for you are deliberately throwing away the very little prospect that
you would get what you desire. Another useful advice is that it does not matter
much what you say, but how you say it. Especially by odd requests (and actually
by all requests in general) one should strike a balance between being humble
and confident to make a good impression. And it is not easy, I can tell you :P
For the
night I wanted to ride to another viewpoint about 2 km away, but I realized
that Eva's front light did not work anymore. For this reason I had to build my
tent right next to the main road where I was only scarcely hidden in bushes. I
originally wanted to build my tent right next to the monastery, but after having
seen another wild pigs, I decided to go elsewhere.
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