Crossing the Pyranees

Hi BoBbers,

I had my first really cold night of the trip with frost on my tent in the morning and my first real hobo moment drying my tent while cooking noodles in the middle of a resort. I then had a wonderful hour-long descent down the Pyranees. No traffic and only cows to witness my joy. A fair reward for the previous three days of climbing to the peak.

The real adventure started right after I had finished my descent when my back wheel suddenly locked in place - my rear rim had ruptured. I was very lucky to only be on a gentle slope rather than 60km/h downhill like literally hours before. I hitched a ride from where I was to the nearest highway and then tried to get a lift from there to the nearest town. Hours of waiting with no luck but lots of complex gestures saying that they would definitly have helped if they hadn’t just cleaned their car / I didn’t have such a threatening beard / western civilisation weren’t collapsing. I’ve heard since then that Spain is one of the most difficult countries to hitchhike in, partly because it is illegal and enforced.

Luckily I contacted a host on Warmshowers who picked me up and brought me to his place (thanks Jochem!!). The next day I caught a bus into Barcelona with the help of a local bike mechanic who agressively advocated for me. Jordi doesn’t speak English and I don’t speak Spanish or Catalan, but he still sends me videos of him riding his motorbike occasionally.

I spent the next week relaxing in Barcelona and got my bike fixed and wheels rebuilt at an excellent touring bike shop. I stayed with friends of friends who made my stay much more comfortable.

Alice joined me in Barcelona and then it was time to head south with the new-and-improved BoB to Tarifa for the ferry across to Africa.

J&BoB

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