"yovo - yovo bon soir ca vas bien - merciiee"

The following two-and-a-half weeks I bicycled down the Mediterranean coast of Spain, passing Valencia, Alicante, Murcia. The weather was warm and dry and the coastal highways mostly flat and pleasant. I spent many nights on small, remote beaches. I started to stay away from any settlements for camping. People were still helpful when I asked for water or bought provisions, but they were also markedly more reserved in the south. They clearly did not know what to make of me, and were a bit suspicious.

At the same time, I increasingly met small groups or families of so-called Gypsies - members of the Sinti and Roma, who are still adhering to the traditional roaming way of life. I ran into them mostly in quiet spots on the beach where they were camping.

One evening I saw an old Peugeot delivery truck parked on the beach. It was getting dark, and I picked a nice spot in respectful distance and then walked over to check out the neighbors. I was surprised not to find a bunch of hippies, common on the beaches of southern Spain, but a young family, with several small children and a couple of scruffy dogs. I noticed the French license plates, so I called in French. The man got up and invited me over to their campfire. I explained that I was looking for a spot to spend the night, and that I intended to set up camp next door. He introduced his wife and kids, and invited me to join the meal they were about to eat.

We had an excellent time that night. We swapped stories and he showed me how to make pain nomade, bread of the nomads, a very simple flat bread, mostly made of flour and water and salt, cooked directly in the red hot ambers of a wood fire. This method makes very crunchy, flat bread, and when it's done you just wipe of the ash and charcoal, and serve it alongside a hearty stew and some lamb skewers.

Not all of the traveling folk were quite as hospitable, but they all seemed more or less to not mind my presence. Encouraged by my first encounter, and, in fact on the advice of my host, I sought out the traveling people. I got the impression that they recognized that I was just a traveler, too. Despite all cultural and language differences, our lifestyles were compatible.