Topless....

Before we left home, our friends Jan & Mike recommended that we try to check out the small town of Cadaqués, not to far northeast of Barcelona, Spain. They told us that Salvador Dalí had made his home there and that the seafood was great so we took their recommendation and here we are...and how sweet it is! Unlike so many other small towns on beautiful coves by the sea ( read Los Cabos or Los Angeles), this one remains it's simple beautiful small fishing village self. Yes, there are the usual tourist amenities and tourists, but it has managed to keep it's character and soul and we, along with the other visitors here are deeply grateful. It is Catalonia, a province of Spain, and the locals consider themselves Catalonians, not Spaniards. A Vespa's bumper sticker (not that a Vespa has room for one) states "Catalonia is an oppressed nation". The small beaches in hidden coves are topless or naturist (the European term for nudist) and there is a free and easy feeling everywhere. We wonder if it is just because people are on vacation or if it is this way all the time...no matter, we are living in the moment and it is good for us at this moment. The campground is nice with the usual hot showers, private and clean restrooms, free washing machines, market, cafe and pool. The wi-fi is down though so we will send this later on tonight from a bar downtown with free wi-fi. There are young and old from all over Europe camping here and the company is excellent. The snorkeling is outstanding!

Salvador Dalí was an iconic artist whose work I'm sure we are all familiar with. He stated that "The only difference between a madman and myself, is that I know I am not mad." He studied art at a prestigious university in Madrid but never graduated because he would not take his final exams; he deemed his instructors insufficiently qualified to judge him. He lived in Italy during the Spanish Civil War and fled to New York when WWI broke out. He died in 1989 and is buried not far far from here.

Our time for this trip is running out and it is the perfect metaphor for our lives as well. We need to spend our last 2 weeks here (Europe) wisely just as we need to spend the rest of our lives wisely. We have had lots of time to talk and dream and plan and look forward to putting thoughts into action.

P.S. Did the subject line get your attention? :)