roadlovetrip

arriving on Easter Friday at the airport in BCN to pick up our rental car, the stupid woman behind the counter (who hates her job with a passion) told us there was no car for us.
we looked at each other. then we looked at Xucla. she had nothing in particular to say. 
AVIS turned out to have a super cheap amazing deal including mileage bla bla. 
off we went. south towards Valencia, then inland, towards Albacete. Xucla, the most hugged-at-night-dog in the world, was not welcome in any hotel or guesthouse. it was freezing cold as we were in some mountain-area. we took the excruciatingly difficult decision of letting her sleep in the car. the whole night. alone. with two blankets, the window a little open, and the doors unlocked. all three of us slept well. no drama. i had a bath in the green bathtub and i watched TV. i did yoga in the morning while the two sleepies slept. 

i really like how he drives. he is a great driver. i hate that he smokes, though. he is a terrible smoker. he pisses me off when he smokes in the car. but he drives really good. i mean, really good. 
then he wanted to take a break. i didn't. but we had to compromise. we were kind of on a compromising trip. negotiating. discussing. 
we found this river where he slept. i tried to get Xucla to go and discover the new, exciting surroundings. but she is a coward. maybe because we hug her all night. 

We discussed things and then we were silent. i like silence. it's like the time when you can feel the other person's intention, meaning, and love. to me, talk is cheap. but i'm swedish. we are famous for not talking too much. he is israeli. they talk a lot. they talk for fun, and they talk for business, and they talk for money, and they talk for nothing. all this talk. i get tired of all the words. he likes to talk. and he likes to break rules. i follow rules. i can't help it. he is disorganized and messy. i am  organized and i have a cleaning-addiction. 

i wanted to go to Cadiz. Cadiz was the goal for the loveroadtrip. it was something like 1200 kilometres to get there. we had to keep filling the tank for the supercheapamazing deal from AVIS. the cheap car drank a lot of petrol. it was a petroholic. we spent too much money. 
but we got to Cadiz on a sunny afternoon. just before sunset, we arrived at our goal. we had decided at the beginning of the trip, to stick to the goal. 

 after a very short time in Cadiz, i became like a woman with PMS. i was in a terrible mood. i was grumpy and tired and i wanted to eat and sleep. somewhere warm and cozy. 
but he didn't want to think about that. he loved Cadiz. he was so happy to be there. he was on a photo-mission and was happy as a child. free, and happy. and Xucla, too. just me. grumpy. in a bad mood. he resisted getting pissed off at me, for many hours. until he did. and then i felt bad. it's like a constant balance, when there's two. if one feels bad, the other one brings up the good. if one is weak, the other is strong. 
we slept in his africa-tent, on the beach just outside of Cadiz, that night. we were huddled up into a little ball, all three of us, freezing cold. we woke up stiff and with puffy eyes. but not Xucla, of course. she woke up and started running, all across that white, blue, and windy beach. 



 by the end of that day, we were laughing. at ourselves, mostly, for holding on to our own stupid and stiff ideas of what we are. as if compromise would equal weakness, we were both fighting with a shield over our ego-heads. this and that, stupid nothings, became laughter and jokes. thank god. it's such a pleasure to stop taking oneself too seriously. 
but i do hate that he smokes. seriously. but i'm sure he hates that i am a cleaning-freak. 

 

 we stopped to look at the african continent, where he has just been travelling for two months. we then went to Gibraltar and had a lot of fun. i followed the rules, and he broke them. he made a mess, and i cleaned it. he tried to park the car in a bad spot, i convinced him not to. Xucla liked the monkeys very much. 
he said i am a very good co-pilot. with good sense of direction, good map-reading-skills and good at seeing the necessary things on the way. like Burger King. (no...sorry...that was him..)

the last stop was Cabo de Gata. one of my favorite places in the world. we went to a camping. i broke a rule. he organized the tent really well. we compromised and learnt a little from each other. 
i guess that's what it's all about. state what you cannot live with. accept the things that are a pain in the ass, if the love is stronger than irritation. and find a way to compromise. (go smoke in the designated smoke area, and stop FUCKING cleaning!!!)


but we decided to stick to the goal.
make a plan, and go for it. 
whatever happens.