The Ending

It took a few years, but this blog was indeed finished. Catch up on the rest of the story under Wild > Spain at https://cosmofalcon.wordpress.com/

Woof!

FCB, Gaudi & Tony Montana

As luck would have it there was a football match on. Barcelona were playing Czech minnows Viktoria Plzeň in the Champions League. I managed to persuade Mark that a trip to Camp Nou would be worth the €50!

For me, it was. 75,000 people in the vast stadium was an astonishing spectacle. "El Cant del Barça", the club anthem, was sung before, during and after the match. The atmosphere was festive. 

In the end, Barcelona won 2-0 with Iniesta and Villa scoring. Predictably, Messi starred as he danced through the opposition's defence to the delight of the crowd. Even the pocket of Plzeň fans had the time of their life, jubilant despite the defeat. 

While in Barcelona it seems necessary to also have a look at La Sagrada Familia. Thinking it would be dramatically illuminated, we went after sunset. It wasn't. Nevertheless, up close you can still get a decent impression of its scale and detail. Mark thought it a monstrosity. I agree it is unpleasantly sinister, but its Art Nouveau grandeur is faintly compelling.

So, after many emails, we arranged our next farm. It's located near Tarifa, pretty much as far away in Spain as you could yet! 

Before leaving Barcelona, we encountered a character working at our hostel. This tall, tanned, Spanish stoner became ridiculously excited when I mentioned we were heading for Tarifa. He was jumping around the room. As it happens, he's an avid windsurfer and recently spent four years in the town. Apparently he's known as the "Tony Montana of Tarifa". His enthusiasm was outrageous as he waxed lyrical about the town and how jealous he was of us. I'm intrigued now to see how it lives up to his portrayal of a mystical, mythical place where anything incredible is possible.

Barcelona City Break

Just when I felt I was getting to know the ropes and making progress with the hosts, they dropped the charade. At a group meeting, they made it clear that some of us had to leave. Fair enough, there were too many people. However, this poor organisation was solely their fault so it was very disappointing to be indirectly asked to leave via unfair criticism and backhanded insults.

This is always the risk with non-contracted work. Objective fairness has to be observed by all parties otherwise it simply won't happen (or exploitation will occur).

With no alternative farm immediately arranged, we chose the logical course of action: city break! So off we went on our merry way to Barcelona.  

A few days in the city provided an impressive contrast to the previous ten on the farm. In particular La Rambla, which is bedlam. After the warm tranquillity of Sella, I felt like I'd been dropped into an icy whirlpool of noise and confusion. It's amazing how loud people can be.

Following a stroll down the slightly calmer Passeig de Gracia, past two of Gaudi's buildings, we wound up in El Barri Gòtic - the old city. We entered the quarter through a gap in the ancient Roman wall. Still preserved are the remains of the aquaduct which watered the settlement Barcino, as it was known.

The area now is a labyrinth of narrow passages which open onto plazas crammed with cafés, tourist shops and quaint artisan boutiques. We found a tapas bar and sampled some chorizo, tortilla and sangria. Pricey but delicious. A perfect madalena bun with apple and cream from a tiny bakery, followed by coffee and "focaccia xocolata", rendered the indulgence complete. 

It was a struggle to get back to my feet after that, but I was restored by the slow walk back up the hill to our hostel. That and the sight of a rigid yuppie fellow marching along with a tiny white fluffball of a dog trailing apathetically behind.