And that’s a wrap!
I still need to run the final mileage figures and so on, but I estimate that in the last 3 weeks I’ve driven over 1300km (other mileages may vary), visited quite a few places, eaten in several restaurants, stayed in many hotels (including a couple of Paradores), met a few nice people and new friends, crossed borders back and forth without anyone giving a flying flamingo, and finally made it past our sovereign borders back into the UK, where we had to endure not one but two passport controls.
The last leg of the journey has been quite fascinating – crossing an international border on a regional train (again, no fuss) between San Sebastian and Hendaya, cruised the TGV rail across France at 300+ kph speeds, travelled across the parisien Metro between stations, and finally screeched to a halt amidst bureaucracy and stamping of (blue, yay) passports, prior to embarking on another high speed travel across the channel.
A lot of things could have gone wrong – but they did not, mostly (apart from air con in hotels that was well below par and a parking fine in Pamplona). Would I have changed things? Maybe, but I’m not that bothered and insistent on perfection, especially on trips I’m unlikely to repeat and that were, all things considered, not that big of a deal.
Which brings us to the point.
Most of the people I’ve met in the last few weeks enjoyed the freedom of travel and work anywhere in Europe, without barriers or frontiers, and only people, bureaucracy, and language as an actual barrier. I met a friend in Paris who moved from Valencia years ago and is working as an architect. Staff in hotels and bars that were clearly from other parts of the country or continent working in a catchment area larger-than-you-could-possibly-imagine. Used my phone for calls, data, and so on, without a single hiccup. Crossed between France, Spain, and France again without anyone checking. Used local facilities without much of a problem. Hired a car thanks to the goodwill (which is not a legal agreement) between countries issuing driving licences which, I am 100% sure, was eased and skipped through because I had the right colour-passport and I spoke the language (so I could be trusted). Paid using debit cards without having to pay extortionate international fees, and so on.
And we, the UK with an overwhelming 52% of the population or whatever, voted to throw that out of the window in order to… gain something we already had. We gained control of a dead horse, which we insist on hitting with a stick. A minister dedicated to realising the benefits of Brexit. A bit like having a minister to check that the sun is not blue, or that the gravity still applies.
Musicians cannot travel to work. Students are less likely to travel to the UK to study and work. Why are we, as a country, so hellbent on proving to everyone that we are the best of the best of the best, and that in doing so, we isolate ourselves from the cooperation which is being part of something larger? What happened from learning from each other, from others, from other countries?
Instead, we spend resources, time, effort, in duplicating all that already exists on a misguided and pitiful endeavour that leads nowhere.
I want to go back to the great efforts of collaboration and partnership, instead of the isolation of the alchemic path we have embarked upon.
Fields of the soul 