Entering Catalonia: Trust, Courage, and Beauty on Our Nomadic Path

What did we learn this last week? I can hardly tell. So much. About trusting the calling from the heart, about never giving up, never thinking something is wrong, something is just guiding you. About how art can change your perspective, about unschooling in Spain, about ourselves, our limits, how we can actually do much more than we think we can, and how the world opens up to us with gifts of grace, of luck, of beauty, of meaningfulness. Every. Single. Day.

We read stories in the evenings and sing songs before we eat. We walk the dogs and wash the floors, brush our teeth, and read books. And we embrace the unimaginable adventure presenting itself to us. As the horses walked around our bus, the beautiful dog Otto was as big as a small horse and as peaceful as an old yogi. More about all the details in the notes to the photos.

Never forget to embrace your life, always choose in favor of what is truly important to you, never give up, and note: All is good. Forever.

The week, in short, before the many, many pictures we feel we want to share. How amazing this life is!

Monday:

Tried to leave France after almost two wonderful weeks in Gruissan. But we were met by protesters and closed highways. Went back, took a shower, and was a bit confused. Then you have to remember. There are things you can control and things you can’t. So, we had dinner, laughed, and went to bed in the exact same place again.

Tuesday:

Tried to leave France again, this time with more luck. We smiled at the protesters, gave them a big bus honk, waved our “yellow jacket” to show our support, and got onto the highway. We will miss La France. A lot. We drove over the beautiful Pyrenees, which was much easier and less scary than we had anticipated. Arrived in Figueres a bit late and saw huge amounts of sparrows in the sky, so beautifully coordinated, flying over the city. What an amazing gift to begin our time in Spain.

Wednesday:

Woke up to new unschooler friends, Eve and Fran, and their daughter Cloe. Enjoyed the amazing fort (Castell de Sant Ferran) and the Dali Theatre Museum. How can one city provide so much? And how is it possible for us to have so many amazing experiences in just one day? We even got a nice visit from the police late in the evening, who came by just to say hello and see the bus.

Thursday:

Couldn’t leave Figueres without walking all the way around the fort. It was such beautiful weather, and we even got to walk the aqueduct behind the fort. After that, we drove to IKEA just outside of Barcelona. It took forever to find the stuff we needed for curtains and other details of the bus and to finally go shopping for food. So, we drove only a few kilometers to sleep at the parking in Sabadell (Found through Park4Night). Not very romantic, but still an interesting cultural experience, as to the amazing park, the silence, the stars. Even there, we found beauty.

Friday:

Drove the final bit to Mon La Bassa, our new base. It was raining, and it was so stressful to drive the bus on the highway in the rain. But more stressful was the bridge over the river we had to pass to get there. It looked so small and had no edges, and now passing it is on the list of things we did even though we did not dare.

Note: Courage is not to never feel fear. Courage is to do it anyway.

Arriving in this amazing vegan paradise for people of all ages and animals of all species.

Saturday:

What an amazing place to land! Truly. All the people here are so welcoming; the vibration is so high and yet so peaceful. We needed to see where we were, so we took out the bikes, went to the beach first, then to the piscina municipal (public pool) to get a shower, and then to shop for food. Tired, tired in the evening. And blown away by our own adventure. So sparkling, so blessed.

Sunday:

More sunlight, becoming more calm. Staying home in the bus and our new base, visiting the animals as Sunday is a visiting day at the animal refuge. Did some organizing, went for a local walk, cooked, and cleaned. Enjoyed the sun, played music, sat in the sun.

Peace and love

Cecilie Conrad

It is my core value to share, be honest, and dare to be vulnerable. I am grateful you are reading my blog, and I would be even more grateful if you comment, send me an email, or otherwise engage. Thank you.

Below, you can enjoy more pictures from Catalonia.