3 August......leaving Catalunya

Pleasant day, left the city and headed West. Over the hills behind Santa Caloma and headed toward Sabadell. I find that if I direct the dreaded Garmin toward some place I can see on the map I have less chance of going places I had not intended, or ending up on motorways I wish to avoid. So then Terrasa and Tarrega through the fruit trees and to Balaguer. Apples and Corn, and more apples and corn, some grapes and pigs. Lots of pigs and then lots of harvested maize I expect or maybe wheat and the pig effluent is spread back on the land so all along the road the smell of pigs, and then I follow a truck of pigs. But not all bad because in the smokey mists of the plains a hill will rise and on it a Church or a fort and a town surrounding it. No doubt if the wall has now gone, it did have one. It is a reminder of the past. One of the reasons I enjoy these trips. The history of these lands is astonishing and France and Spain have been conquered or invaded more times than we from the south could imagine. Not having a language whether it is French Spanish or German is a decided disadvantage. Then the GPS instead of going direct to Huesca took a loop, but it was into the Serra del Montsec and there was a Hydro dam and the water courses that spread across the land like fingers. The Hydro dam was a reward and Huesca when I arrived was asleep for Siesta. A very pretty city and evidence of Fiesta but totally empty, so on I went. I logged in a distant Hotel and saw Ejea de los Caballeros was on the route and could see that on my rather inadequate map, so off I went. That is when the sky turned black and I started to question my sanity. The road became narrower and the villages smaller and more remote and drops began appearing on the helmet, but on I went gazing at the lighter spots in the sky and hoping. And it held off. I expect the town was near Sabada where the the street were closed for Fiesta, the men all dressed in white with red scarves off to the town centre to "fight the bulls". The threat of rain and the lack of accommodation left me little option, so I kept on disappointed I could not stay. It is Fiesta season and villages across Spain display bunting flags and preparations for the annual event. The small towns erect walls round the square and the local men climb in and taunt the bulls for fun and bravado. But I did not stay. Soon my love hate relationship with the Garmin had a good turn. There was a place on the map that I had stayed two years ago, so as the rain drops got heavier I pulled in to Olite. A walled town with a monastery now a hotel with a vineyard outside the window surrounded by wallnut trees. I failed to record the massive plantings of wallnuts in France . So the Hotel staff found my past visit on their system October 2013. I recall it well. So the rain fell down and I found shelter in a small restaurant bar and had a humorous half hour with a Pom and his wife. They were going from Valencia to the UK for a wedding. He was firmly of the belief that England would win the world cup. So from the City of Barcelona to the heart of Spanish countryside was a wonderful contrast.