Departure/Arrival

On September 2, 2018, after months of preparation, Az and I set out for Begur by way of Atlanta and Barcelona.  Cassie and Cam were just as nervous, but they didn’t know to be worried they could potentially be stopped from boarding because they weighed too much or their paper work was missing a signature or something was misspelled!  Fortunately, that part was a breeze.  No one looked at them, weighed them, or even glanced at the paperwork — all that effort for naught.

Cam cried most of the way to Barcelona, forcing me to put his carrier on my lap so I could soothe him.  I’m not sure how we managed, but I actually slept about four hours and felt GREAT when we landed.  It was such a relief.

The Peugeot 308SW that I leased online was ready for us and we had it packed!  When we arrived at my apartment, my gracious landlady and her husband were here to explain all the idiosyncrasies of the apartment, give me the keys, etc.  I wish I’d paid more attention to the lesson on the washing machine — more on that later.

It’s hard to remember now what all we did that first week, except spend a lot of time at Xing, which Oz called the Chinese Dollar Store.  It seemed to have almost everything I needed to make my fully furnished apartment my own.

The second weekend in September was the Fira d’Indians, the town’s annual festival paying tribute to its heritage.  In the late 19th century, citizens of Begur travelled to Cuba seeking their fortunes.  They returned with new customs, including Mojitos!, cigars, and music and dancing from the tropics.  It was a little like Mardi Gras, with parades through town of women (not transvestites) with fruit on their heads like Carmen Miranda, dancing and singing.  The Mojitos were great and I’m so glad I planned my trip to be able to arrive and participate in the festivities.  Everyone wore white with Panama hats, and spirits were high!