Nov 29, Blog , Europe , Spain. Unfortunately, it was rather wet and cold. Thanks to climate change, this year the weather was totally crazy, so it was warm in the north of Europe and cold in the south. South of the Pyrenees the landscape grew more barren. Small villages adorned the landscapes. The church spires towered, enthroned over the roofs of tiny villages which were often quite deserted but still worth visiting.
If and when I saw people, they all seemed to be old especially old men, because the village pub was often the only place where I found life. And the pub clientele was dominantly men. The noise level in those pubs was enormous. Spaniards are just loud. Smoking is still very popular. People were reserved but friendly.
I often refilled my water bottles in the pubs and this was never a problem. Camping was finally something to look forward to, especially because I enjoyed my first campfire and that made me twice as happy. It had recently rained so much that getting a fire burning was a chore, but it was well worth the effort. Finally, I saw the stars again. How claustrophobic Central Europe often is and how oppressive its effect is on me.
Liberation came easily in such a sparsely populated country as Spain. Life here was once again stroking my soul and I was loving it. Not far from the Pyrenees I landed in a small settlement. A place where everything seemed a little different, because the village was once a ghost town.
But new residents were now busy with the reconstruction. I was immediately welcomed and was allowed to camp in the church, which had been converted into a brilliant climbing hall.
