Spring!

Spring has definitely come to southern Spain. We haven’t had rain in a few weeks (knock on wood), the temperature is in the 20s, and it stays light until about 8pm. It is absolutely wonderful. It is also strawberry season. So we had fresh Andalusian strawberries for Valentine’s day. And candy hearts that were sent with love from Emily’s friends at home.



Last week I went on a school field trip with a history class to Cadiz. Cadiz is a tiny peninsula on the southwest side coast of Spain and thought to be the oldest city in Europe. The city has two castles, a huge cathedral, beaches all around, an ancient wall completely surrounding it which protects the people from enemy cannon fire and invasion. Pretty much, this city has it all.

More impressive than the actual history of the city, was the fact that a group of high school students could take a 1 hour train ride to see centuries of history ‘in person’.


Castle Santa Catalina and fishing boats along the shore


The Cathedral in the old city center


The beach where a recent James Bond movie was filmed, the one with Halle Barry. The movie was set in Havanna, Cuba but parts were filmed in Cadiz. They say the two cities are very similar with the beach and the white building.


Old home of a trader in Cadiz. The traders always lived in the top apartments to be able to see the boats coming in on the bay.

Hiking

Spring!!! It may not seem like it at home, but spring is definitely on its way to Spain. We have been enjoying 20 degree weather, in the 70s F, for the past few days and more sun than we have had in a while. It is wonderful. Emily and I are outside on our patio everyday for lunch and siesta trying to get as much sun as we can.

Also due to the wonderful weather I have gone to the Sierra de Grazalema, the mountain range that is about 1 hour from Jerez, for the past two weekends. Last weekend I was invited by a teacher at my school to one of the small towns where she has a house. Saturday morning we did a hike through a plain in the mountains. We followed a river to a cave in the rock where all the water collects and makes a crevice in the rock. We climbed through the rocks and played in the mud and turned over stones to see what bugs we could find…it was very enjoyable. And true to Spanish style, we stopped along the way back to eat some sausage and bread and drink a bottle of wine. I think this is what we need in the Boundary Waters : ) We stayed at her house all weekend and ate some great cheese, world famous apparently, drank wine, and visited the other towns in the mountains.



This past Friday I went back with Emily and our new French roommate Lisa and three Spanish friends. We ate a traditional Spanish breakfast, toast with lard (there is also a variation…toast with lard that has pieces of pig intestine mixed in) and then made our way to the start of the trail. We had noooooo idea what we were in for. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, and we had our lunch sandwiches, but it would have been nice to know that we were going to be hiking for about 6 hours. We went up one side of a ridge to view the pine forest on the other side that only grows in the shaded slopes. In this region of Spain there is a very rare type of Spanish Fur tree that is apparently no where else in the world (I have my doubts…it looked like our Christmas from the tree land). So we walked allllll the way down the other side of the ridge to a small stream at the bottom where we finally stopped and ate our lunch and had a mini siesta in the sun. Then 2.5 hours back, all uphill. We think that our Parisian roommate thinks we tried to kill her.




Part of the charm of this region of Spain and Andalucia in general is the pueblos blancos. They are white towns that you find throughout the mountains and along the coast. All the streets are made of stone and are about the width of a car and according to rule all the houses are white with black iron trimmings. They are very charming and historic because they have old Muslim neighborhoods and ruins from the 14 and 1500s.

La Culture Española

This is a song that I have ‘translated’ from Spanish to English. It is sung by a Spanish group called Jarabe de Palo and I love it. The song is called Bonito, Beautiful. The picture is from a billboard that I saw in Sevilla. “Enjoy the journey and don’t worry about the things that have solutions” Both of these things tell a lot about the Spanish and their culture. I have found that things here are more relaxed and less hurried than at home. This culture gives you time to enjoy what you are doing without worrying about the things that are coming next. That is why I love it here.

Beautiful, everything to me seems beautiful
Beautiful morning
Beautiful place
Beautiful bed
From which you can see the sea
Beautiful is the day
And it has just begun, beautiful this life
Breathe, breathe, breathe

The telephone rings, my corduroy complains
Things go bad, life is heavy
To live like this shouldn’t\ interest you
To continue like this isn’t worth it
Lost has been lost, the party has just ended
And the motor that pushes the earth has stopped
Life is a joke with a sad ending
The future doesn’t exist but I tell you…

Beautiful, everything to me seems beautiful

Beautiful peace, beautiful life
Beautiful to be born again each day
Beautiful truth that doesn’t sound like a lie
Beautiful friendship, beautiful laugh
Beautiful are the people
Beautiful are the people that don’t complain
Who win and who lose, that speak and don’t lie
Beautiful are the people, and for that I say…

Beautiful, everything to me seems beautiful

How beautiful is everything when everything is beautiful,
How beautiful everything is going for you

Beautiful, everything to me seems beautiful
The sea, the morning, the house, the shadow,
The earth, peace and life that passes.
Beautiful, everything to me seems beautiful.
Your calm, your salsa, the spot on your back,
Your face, your energy on the weekend

Beautiful are the people who come and who go
Beautiful are the people that don’t stop themselves
Beautiful are the people who don’t have an age
Who listen, who understand, who have and who give

Beautiful Portet, beautiful Peret
Beautiful la rumba, beautiful José
Beautiful the breeze that isn’t in a hurry
Beautiful this day, breathe, breathe
Beautiful are the people who are real
Beautiful are the people who are different
That tremble, that feel
That live in the present
Beautiful are the people who were here but no longer are

Beautiful, everything to me seems beautiful