Vilassa de Mar to Badalona – We Ache in the Places Where We Used to Play

Thanks Leonard. He took music to a spiritual level that lad. Me and Maggs saw him in Leeds at the arena when he was 79. He captivated the entire arena for two and a half hours. Everybody came out smiling. Pure joy by a master at the peak of his powers, but close to the end. So glad we saw him again. I wept at his passing. Still miss him, but I can play his music without bursting into tears now.

Don’t know what state I’ll be in when Dylan goes. I’m still suffering from John Lennon’s murder. I hope Chapman rots in jail. Please David, bury your hatchet after all these years. I will, in his head if ever I was introduced to him.

Breakfast in the hotel was good and we got a taxi back to Vilassar. The sun had returned and we walked in our tee shirts along the coast path. I’ve got quite a debilitating chest infection and as soon as we hit a slight incline I’m knackered. I can’t get enough oxygen. It’s like a fist squeezing my lungs. I’m nearly 70 you know.

Is my head on upside down?

I’m proud to be British. We have to be generous and kind to the people we meet on our treks so that they realise that:

A) Wearing a Union Jack shirt doesn’t mean you’re a racist

B) Brits may not wholly support unelected European political structures but we are still European and love European countries

C) We appreciate consideration and kindness

Catalonia was the core for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, nearly ninety years ago. They built these machine gun nests in case the Nationalists came in by sea. It’s sad that the graffiti idiots don’t respect their memory.

The Fascists won the war and Franco ruled with an iron fist for over 30 years. Unelected and disgracefully malevolent.

I’ve got strong views today. Hooray!

Then Barcelona appeared over the beautiful horizon. Thanks Freddie.

It was deceptively distant. But we grafted, despite Gary having hip pain and me wheezing like a steam train we made it to Badalona, just this side of Barca. See what I did there? I called it Barca, like a local. Anyway I prefer Madrid. Barcelona is a bit up itself. Madrid is relaxed about what anyone thinks about it.

This photo is my favourite view of the sea. From inside a fish restaurant!

Here we go again.

Finding somewhere to stay is problematic. But we manage. We now have only five days of walking to cover the remaining 65 miles. It should be ok but we’ll see. Dearest readers, thanks for accommodating my dated opinions.

Night night.