Europe - The Lions on the Road: Cycling London to Cape Town - page 42

a little but the conversation soon died and they returned to their animated conversation. I
wished that I could have at least understood them.
After lunch, I said adios to my amigos and made my way to Zaragoza. When I ar-
rived, I decided not to stay in Zaragoza but to spend the afternoon running some errands. I
went to the post office and visited the Cathedral. I then started to make my way out of the
city in the heat (almost 40ºC). The roads were very quiet and for good reason- it is hard
to do anything in such heat and that is why people in such climates take a siesta. I, on the
other hand, didn't take one and soon felt incredibly lethargic. However, I still pressed on
and had to constantly remind myself not to over-exert myself and to stay hydrated. My at-
tentionshiftedtothelandscapewhichfellinlovewithespeciallyitsuniquelandformswith
contrasting hues of brown and vast pockets of dark green vegetation.
I was pondering whether or not I should free camp along the highway somewhere.
At around 7:00 in the evening, I came under a bridge and had a strange feeling that this
was the place to sleep. Since I was 1 kilometre north of La Alumnia I decided to head into
town, buy some provisions and then return to my 'villa' under the bridge. As I entered the
villageIcameacrossaSalesianCollege.TheSalesiansareareligiousorderintheCatholic
Church founded by Don Bosco who worked with the troubled youth in Italy back in the
1800s. (My parish back home, St. Benedict, was a Salesian parish.)
The Salesian College seemed deserted and I assumed correctly that the students
were on summer vacation. I knocked on the door anyway and waited for someone to an-
swer. Out came a man in his early 30s who spoke to me in French. I showed him my letter
of introduction from Father Charles Cini of Rome. He went inside to make a few phone
calls and then came back and opened the heavy doors. He invited me to spend the night
in the college's dormitory. Since there were no students, I was able sleep anywhere. After
taking a shower and eating some bread and cheese in my room, I was ready to go to sleep
when a knock came at the door. The man, Father Jose, invited me to dinner and met the
other priests in residence. I played the piano after dinner and taught Fr. Jose a piano duet
I used to play with my little sister. Afterward we watched some TV and then off to bed I
went. What a wonderful turn of events! I expected to sleep under a bridge that night and
instead was touched by the love of the Salesian community. Needless to say, I slept like a
baby.
The next morning I awoke and went to mass at 8:30. There were quite a few local
people at the service. During the homily, Father talked about me. I clued in with the words
'Canada' and 'el experienca'. At the end of mass, three ladies presented me with 15,000
pesetas(about$210).IassumedthiswasforSavetheChildrenFundandIsentittoLloyd's
Bank in Cornwall. Father Jose then invited me for breakfast. At around 10:00, I was ready