We woke up late. Sleep had been deep and meaningful. But no sooner than there was light in our eyes, there was the realization that we were stranded in a remote place without phone signal and the battery was dead. Dad tried to start the van but it was dead as old wood. Not to panic, we made breakfast with the faith that something would happen to get us out of our rut. That's how it always works for us, especially on the road. You just have to know it's going to be ok, because there is no other option.

We took our time with breakfast, figuring we didn't have much of a time constraint. Over the first hour, a handful of cars shot by like bullets on the main road, and the silence between them had amplified the remote feeling, at least in me. I had started to worry how we were going to get help. There was nobody here and no reason for anyone to come. And then something happened.

On the other side of the car park, another camper pulled in and we knew we had to go and ask for help. The man was German and it was fortunate, as pops had picked up enough to get by when he'd lived in Berlin. He was over there for a while. I was wondering if he was having a hard time conveying our problem, but felt helpless, as I had no knowledge of German at all. I could only wait for the news. And it was a long time coming. But when it finally came... Boy, what news.

Not only was the man carrying a spare, brand new battery, but he gave it to us without charge. What?! Yep. Turns out the man was a friend of my dad's best friend from England. They often went to some kind music club together and any friend of one was a friend of the other. I couldn't begin to imagine what the chances were of all this happening, but having been on the road with my dad more than once, I had become accustomed to miracles. And still, I was shocked. I sat in amazement as my dad fitted his brand new battery and the van started up.

We made our way out of the car park and began down the mountain towards the border with Andorra, where we would pay it forward by jump starting a posh SUV and this time, I'd take the lead, offering my services in then-primative Spanish.

As we rolled into Spain, we discovered that summer really wasn't quite there, and we had, in fact, deliberately lied to each other and ourselves about how warm it was going to be. But the scenery was beautiful, anyway, and we stopped in Tossa de Mar for a pizza and sat about on the rocks, looking out at the sea, as framed by sand-colored rocks.

Rocks at Tossa de Mar.