This is another installment of Vicki B &10-year-old Ben on the road.
Into Tarragona, Spain
by Vicki Baublitz
I had four problems to solve today.
1. When I went to reserve a room today I learned there is a huge techno music festival this weekend and consequently there are no rooms available in Barcelona.
2. The battery on my phone is old and doesn’t hold a charge all day. Trying to conserve the battery has been stressful because I rely on my phone for navigating, translating, figuring out transportation, and finding and reserving rooms.
3. My ankles are horribly swollen, probably from too much walking, and/or walking with a backpack. Having cankles is a new experience and kinda scares me.
4. Ben and I are suffering from adjustment fatigue. At the risk of sounding culturally insensitive, we’re tired of old and dirty cities. We’re tired of humping our backpacks all over town while searching for a meal and a place to sleep. We’re tired of navigating airports, train stations, and bus depots. We’re tired of eating food we don’t recognize.
So, after spending the morning desperately searching for a room, we boarded a bus headed down the coast. We’re going to stay in Tarragona for a couple of days and rest before heading down to Valencia.
I found a Farmacia where I pantomimed “please help my cankles por favor” and bought the cream that the pharmacist recommended.
I located a Samsung store where I was told the only thing they could do is sell me an external battery. Just like the one I have at home and didn’t bring because it’s heavy. $40 euros down the drain, but worth it to not worry about being lost because my phone is dead.
I hope we like Tarragona. We need to rest, air out our clothes, and do something fun. On the positive side, I enjoy practicing my Spanglish and I think I’ll enjoy Spain once we relax.
The Barcelona bus station was beautiful.
Editor’s note: Feedback to Vicki is all about how brave and awesome she is. And one friend told her “The beach solves many problems.”