GR11 - End of story...

July 24th - I definitely have a cold. We decided to go wait it out on the coast and finish the GR11 later. I finally got to take the cog-wheel train down the valley. Wow, is it ever impressive! We transferred to the Barcelona train, then on to Llanca and finally a taxi ride to Port de la Selva, which is the last stop before Cap de Creus. My nose is running non-stop. I went to the drug store and bought the usual cold medicines. Here they come in a powder form. You have to mix it with water and swallow. Yuck. It might get into your system faster, but I'll take our pill form any day even if it means you have to wait a little longer for it to take effect. We waited in Port de la Selva four days, where all I did was stay in bed and sleep.

We were there when Manolo rolled through. It was nice to see thim again. I wish I could have been in better spirits. I didn't even feel like going to eat. Eat? Ate next to nothing in four days. It only made me feel like puking.

We are coming to the realization and acceptation that I am too sick and sapped of energy to dream of finishing our walk, only 9 days from completion. I am coughing non-stop. After 4 days in Port de la Selva, we came down to Girona, where we still are for another 2 days. I went to see a doctor, because I was fearing that this cold was degenerating into pneumonia. It was bronchitis. I've been taking antibiotics for the second day now and I feel a million times better, but still feel really weak. It's no wonder. There was a scale in the doctor's office and I asked to be weighed - 52 kg, i.e. 114.4 lbs. I haven't weighed that since high school. The skin is hanging on me. I look freshly released from Mauthausen...

I found a bit of energy to actually visit Girona this morning before the heat sets in. The old city is medieval, narrow streets, everything really well maintained and everything really clean. They wash the streets every day. There is no garbage littering the streets. Parts of the old city walls are still intact around the university area. They built the university buildings into the old walls and buildings in such a tasteful way. You easily go from the old to the new and vice versa. We'll do more tomorrow. I still don't have the stamina to do very much. I was comenting to Peter about how I felt after going up a long staircase. My goodness, in comparison to the mountains we have been scaling. It's amazing how quickly one can go downhill. I guess that makes me want to stick to my motto even more: Use it or lose it.

In two days, we head to Barcelona where we will visit for a few days, then back to London, then to Chinon, then to Duisburg, back to London, to Kosice, back to London, and finally back to Calgary in mid-September.

Some of you guys could send me an email once in a while. It would be nice to hear from home...