Amy and I spent over three weeks here. In that time we saw museums, castles, mountains and breathtaking city views, went hiking, swam in a waterfall, relaxed on the beach, did some shopping, eating and a lot of walking, were in a tomato fight, partied all night before, partied many more times, partied with Erasmus students, danced the night away, gained some friends, lost some weight, and even got food poisoning and nearly got some shit stolen.
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MISSTEPS
The mistakes made that led to the latter
two were eating leftover pasta sauce in the hostel fridge in Granada and
leaving my iPod under my pillow unattended in a hostel dorm room in Madrid.
Thankfully I was able to recover my crappy but scrappy fourth gen four gig iPod
but it sure made for an interesting experience.
Long story short, another guy had his
cellphone stolen, I dialed it and heard the vibration in another person’s
locker. After initial shock, then much deliberation, we badgered the suspect,
searched through some of his stuff, soon after he tried to make a run for it
hauling a large pack, we ran him down outside the hostel, ushered him back and
called the cops. He eventually caved in and gave our stuff back, then took off
before the cops arrived. Justice should have been served, but at least we got
our stuff back. I am afraid this guy is back on the prowl in hostel dorms
around Spain, despite his photo and passport photo having been distributed to
many hostels in Spain as a result of the debacle. This story is just one example of a major
problem in Spain. I have heard many stories about theft in hostel dorm rooms
and pickpocketing in the streets and in the Metro stations. The most elaborate
scheme I have heard of is of youth “pretending” to celebrate a soccer match
victory approaching you, hugging you, hooking their legs around yours, then
digging through your pockets.
Anyway, I don’t mean to scare anyone about
coming to Spain. As long as you are aware of the dangers and keep your stuff
safe, you will love it here!
HIGHLIGHTS
The main highlight of Spain was meeting
people and making friends. La Tomatina, the 50,000 strong tomato fight in
Bunol, was wild, but wouldn’t be the same without the mini United Nations group
we stitched together while there. We later visited many of them in their
current cities of residence in Spain, and the whole group talks about a reunion
in Prague. We had random conversations all over Spain, mostly at hostels, and,
on occasion, it led to hanging out together. On a few occasions we even ran
into the same people in different cities.
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| Warming up for La Tomatina! |
Through meeting locals and going to
museums, we learned a lot about Spain’s history and current affairs. Did you
know there are four languages spoken in Spain? Castellano is the most common
form of “Spanish.” Did you know the Arabs controlled the south of Spain for
over 700 years? And that there was a civil war from 1936-1939 that resulted in a dictatorship? It would be ignorant of me not to mention the nation's recent troubles. The austerity measures are really hurting
public services such as health and education. Many teachers and doctors among other professionals attended a massive protest last week in Madrid. As a tourist it is difficult to
notice any trouble (except for all of the pickpockets) but times are really
tough in Spain and it’s almost impossible to find a job.
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| Tomatoes, mozzarella and olives made by our Couchsurfing host! |
To name a few tourist highlights, there was
La Tomatina, the wildest time I have ever had, La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona,
by a large margin the most beautiful and unique church in the world, way beyond
anything else you will ever see in your lifetime (this is no exaggeration!),
Alhambra in Granada, an impressive castle constructed in Arabic style, and
Museum of Modern Arts Reina Sofia in Madrid, containing mind-bending works by
Dali and Picasso. We also ate a lot of good food, particularly tapas which
Spain is famous for.
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| La Sagrada Familia - simply an architectural marvel |
Personally, I feel that I will return to
Spain to achieve some unfulfilled goals. Firstly, I have started learning
Spanish from PDFs downloaded on my laptop, and want to return to take a course
in Castellano. Secondly, I want to complete some, most or all of El Camino de
Santiago, a 1200 km long pilgrimage. Thirdly, I am simply not done with Spain.
There is still Seville and Tarifa in the south, and San Sebastian and Bilbao in
the north. Fourthly, as a side note, I bought a harmonica! If I can reach a
certain level of proficiency with it, look for me buskering in the streets
around Europe.
PS. Currently in Nice. The south of France along the Cote D'Azur is one of the most gorgeous places on Earth!
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