Winding down in Andalusia - from Cadiz to Cordoba

This time I will begin with thoughts from Ricardo.

Our last day in Andalusia.

Here are my final notes as we wrap up our time in this land that is deep in history, magic and adventure.  We have been traveling now for a month investigating all that there is here in Andalusia - viewing the past, present and a glimpse into the future in this ancient land which has been inhabited by Phoenicians, Romans, Visigoths, Muslims, Jewish and Catholic Kings and now to us in this present day. We have learned of some their battles for control and power over a two thousand year history, which has come down to the present day where once again people of all types are living in harmony as brothers. I would recommend to all that it is worth the time to travel through this part of Spain, but one must give it time so more can sink in. I could have given it much more time since throughout the year there are many different festivals and celebrations and as our time was short they were out of reach for us. Our goal was to spend 4 - 5 days in each place which wasn't enough to build community as we like to do. However it was enough to meet many wonderful people here and from other places in the world traveling as we were. This part of the world is clean, orderly and safe with ease for getting around from place to place (we did it mostly with trains and a few buses).  We will leave tomorrow for a week in Buxton, England to be with good friends Dan and Fi and their sons - Aidan and Will and then to Portugal until the end of February. Thanks for traveling with us. As we all know the world is a big track of land and one has to chose wisely. I feel that Andalusia was, for us, a very wise choice. I know that we will return to Spain again in the  future.

Cadiz- Mosque, church and Roman ruins

As our month is winding down I can only say that we have loved all of Andalusia - each town or city is so different with its history, architecture, food, accents yet many common denominators as well - all friendly, walkable, photogenic, dropping of the ends of words making it hard to understand and very different (for us) with eating times - restaurants closed from 4-8....just when we like to eat!

Stay with me if you want, as this might be a long post and there will be many photos and lots for us to remember for ourselves. This is one of the ways that I remember the many things we do - writing them and then able to go back and review as I wish.

A typical street scene of tapas bars

A view from the tower to the ocean

I left you in early January when we had just arrived in Cadiz. It is shaped somewhat like a lollipop and the main old town is the top of the pop and the new area is the stick which then leads to the rest of Spain. It is the oldest city in Europe and you can imagine that there is a great deal of history. The streets are tiny and winding and confusing at first. We always spend lots of time walking and first thing we do wherever we can is take one of the free walking tours. All of Spain has this program where they offer the tours for free with the hope that people will pay what they feel it is worth. They are very popular and offered in many languages. We have done them in both English and Spanish (and sometimes both). In Cadiz you can walk all around the whole city with the water on your side. We enjoyed a 360 degree view from the top of the tower as well as a Camera Oscura which showed live what was going on in the vicinity of the tower.

Botanical gardens

In Cadiz we stayed in the Hostal Cadiz Inn - a great little hostal right in the center of the historic district and made good friends with the owner Simo (who is from Morocco). We spent many hours hanging out with him in the kitchen area over tea with brainstorming of several of my ideas for tourist businesses in Andalusia. Here I cooked our main meal almost every day with delicious veggies from the local market.

Amazing old trees in Cadiz

View of Cordoba from Roman Bridge

Roman ruins in Cordoba

Then we were off to Cordoba where we have been for the last 5 days. Here we had our first series of rainy days but it did not keep us from seeing the many sites with the most famous being the Mezquita. Words cannot describe the experience. We saw it the first night from the other side of the Roman bridge - all lit up and although amazing, it did not prepare us for the next morning. This city has been a mixture of cultures for hundreds of years - Phoenician, Visigoth, Roman, Muslim, Jewish and Catholic.

On Tuesday 1/11 we had one of the most incredible days and I want to share it with you in detail - I hope that I never forget it. I am calling it:

"The Most aMazing M day" ....Mezquita, Mushrooms, Muslim women and haMMaM.

Mezquita

"blending" of cultures

WOW

Early in the morning we visited the Mezquita -  there is hardly anyone there at 8:30 (BTW, it is still dark till just 8:30 in Spain in the winter). Walking in was a mystical experience of quiet with no tours or groups of people - just a few solo folks like us walking around. It was otherworldly. The Mezquita is a great Mosque and later a Cathedral was built in the middle when the Catholics arrived to Spain, It is now called the Mezquita Catedral. Somehow they managed to blend the architecture though King Charles V of Castile and Aragon who allowed it to be built said afterwards: "They have taken something unique in all the world and destroyed it to make something you can find in any city." It was not really destroyed but certainly the original feeling has been taken away. Muslims have been requesting for years to be able to return to prayer in the Mosque but turned away by the church. There are hundreds of arches as you see in these pictures. We sat down for a bit to draw and "feel" the experience and then organ music began to plan. Drawing is a way to stay in the moment and remember a feeling which I will, though I wish I could put the sound of the music into my drawing as a feeling.

We followed this experience with the the meal Ricardo had been waiting for - mushrooms with garlic and oil - so, we had them for breakfast!! These tapas bars are open all the time and there does not seem to be a rhyme or reason as to what one eats when. Restaurants are also closed from 4-8 pm (just when we usually want to eat) so it is a timing thing. We have taken to eating a big meal before 4 and then a snack later in the evening.

After the mushroom breakfast, later in the day we went for a meal at the "Salon de Te" which is a Teteria (Moroccan style tea cafe). We sat down in a small room where there was a group of 5 young 22 year old Muslim women who were from Malaysia but had just finished 2.5 years of medical school study in Ireland and were traveling a bit before heading back to Malaysia. None of them spoke Spanish and were using their phones to try translate all the items on the menu so I sat with them and read them the whole menu translating from Spanish. We had many laughs and chatted about our lives and theirs for a while. Then we quietly left them while we ate and they ate. In between a woman also with a hijab who was from Saudi Arabia spoke to the women a bit. She spoke in Arabic but the women did not speak Arabic and they found that they all could speak English. She wished them well while inviting them to visit in Saudi Arabia and hugged them all goodbye.

The girls were ready to leave and I then hugged each of them goodbye as the other woman had. They left to pay their bill and seemed to be struggling so I went to ask if they needed some help but they said no and shooed me away. Then they continued by writing things on their computer to the owner and once again I asked if they needed help and they said no. So, off they went.

We then were ready to leave and asked for our check. The owner told us that the girls had paid for us and that was what they were writing in their phones - looking up the translation for how to ask for our check.

We were baffled and grateful - we just don't know why this beautiful good deed was given to us - they were young and very sweet and oh so nice. We kept hoping for the rest of the day that we would find them walking around so we could thank them or do something kind. We will pay it forward to someone else - as it was such a kind and generous act of love.

So, if that is not enough wonderfulness for a day....we went again to a spa bath (Hamamm) with massage - same Arabic baths as we had in Granada and Ronda and now once again in Cordoba - a wonderful way to end this magical day.

Maimonides, born 1136 in Cordoba. Statue
in former Jewish section of the city

"Flower" street - there is a big contest
in the spring each year of courtyards and
balconies decorated with flowers.

Medinat al Zahar - home of the Calif

Olive press to make olive oil - in town of Baena

60% of the world's olive oil comes
from Spain - we have eaten it everywhere

Fernando, his family owned the olive factory for
7 generations - in Baena - 160,000 olive trees

This day was special, but we seem to have many wonderful experiences like this - we feel very grateful and lucky to experience travel in this way.

A few other notes from this month experience. We met a lovely family from Melbourne, Australia while in Granada and then here in Cordoba another couple, also from Melbourne. We found, in conversation that they know each other. We are mounting a list of new friends to visit in the future. Maybe Australia for next winter (their summer)!

One of the odd behaviors that we have is watching TV series either on disks, Netflix or Itunes and recently finished a series of Downton Abbey, Newroom and many series of Parenthood. This is an odd form of entertainment while we are in this other world but it is our way of being!

We are trying to add a bit of drawing to our day - not every day, but more and more. Richard has been faithful to his Chi Gong - everyday. Me....sometimes. I have taken to sleeping late everyday - partly because it is dark and partly because I can!

Now...of to England and then to Portugal for a month. You will surely be hearing more as it happens. Thanks for joining us.

Continuing in Spain - from Granada to Cabo de Gata Natural Park to Ronda

San Jose, Cabo de Gata

Hello again.....we have so much to say as this adventure continues. We left you in Granada at Christmas and now it is already a few days into the new year. We headed for a week at the secluded Parque Natural Cabo de Gata - Nijar which is at the most southeastern point of Spain. It was very quiet at this time of the year as the main season is during the hot summer months but this made it even more special for us. We found another airbnb in a tiny town called Pozo de los Frailes which was so small that it had no restaurant or stores. We were only 2k from the largest (though still tiny) town in this park called San Jose so we were able to buy simple foods and cooked in on most days.

Los Genoveses

The week consisted of many walks with many times getting lost. Our big complaint was that most hikes were not well explained as to start and route - we did follow along with various notes and brochures but seemed always to get lost and confused. One thing that helped is that we found out after a few hikes that red arrows meant mountain bike routes and we had thought it was the walking route...no wonder we never found our way. We did rent a car for this whole week so were able to drive to places that would have been impossible to get to. In fact, we would not have been able to get to the little town we stayed in without a car.

Playa Monsul

Mostly for myself or for anyone else who has been to this area, I am going to list all the places we went so that we can remember them for ourselves and advice to others. The variety of walks included different flora, fauna, rocky coast and mills or mines. Each a different terrain - reason to be protected in this natural park.

Isleta del Moro

Las Negras

Las Salinas

We walked to Los Genoveses and Playa Monsul. We tried walking from Pozo de los Frailes to Los Escullos  but went completely the wrong way. Visited Los Escullos and Isleta del Moro, then Rodalquilar and El Playazo. On our anniversary (Dec. 30th) we went to Agua Amarga and Las Negras and celebrated with tea and tapas. Also to Playa de Los Muertos, Las Salinas and Cabo de Gata.

Playa de los muertos - a
nude beach for some.

Rodialquilar - old mining village

Once again we had delicious veggie paella in San Jose the first and last night and home cooked meals for the rest.

Veggie paella at sunset in San Jose

25 years and still in love with our best friend

This was a great place to celebrate our 25th anniversary and quietly bring in the New Year. In fact, I never got dressed that day - stayed in all day - to some this is not a big deal but to me - a once in my life (so far) occasion, gracias a dios .

Then on the 2nd we headed to Ronda, a beautiful little jewel of a city - very friendly, comfortable and walkable. It has an amazing location and history (built on the edges of a steep gorge) and is one of the oldest cities in Europe. We feel we got to know the city well by walking up and down from new part of town (1700's) to the old part of town occupied as early as the Roman empire. Ronda was a moorish fortress and therefore walls around the high cliffs on the gorge of the river below. It was such an amazing place for photographs - could have taken one in any direction at any spot in the town.

View from the puente viejo (old bridge)
13-15th century)

"New" bridge from the 1700's

Arabic baths

We visited the ruins of the Arabic baths (Banos arabes) and treated ourselves to one of our favorite luxuries - the new hammam "Aguas de Ronda". We had two hours of hot bath, tepid bath with forceful waterfalls on our shoulders, cold bath with ice chips shooting out of a pipe and steam bath. We did it all, several times over and needless to say, we were completely relaxed after this treat.

view from below the bridge

my favorite morning breakfast -
gluten free bread with tomato puree salsa

Ronda was great for food options. This time we stayed in a small hotel so had no facilities for cooking. We were lucky to be right next to a great little breakfast spot and found a few great tapas bars and and an Indian restaurant.

Our hotel on the left

Our weather (for the first time on this trip) was not so great - drizzily most of the time. As you have noted in our pictures, it has never been warm enough to go in shirt sleeves and always needing a scarf and jacket.

Halfway down the gorge

As I write we have just arrived in Cadiz and I will share more on this area in the next post and now for some words and thoughts from Ricardo.

Travel, why travel? It is a question that I am often asked. I grew up being taught that you can watch everything on TV and it's cheaper and safer. Well, I can truly say that I was misinformed. There is so much more to be seen and felt by the act of just leaving one's comfort zone and traveling. We are now into our fourth week in southern Spain called Andalusia and our adventure will take us to Cordoba; Buxton, England and then to Portugal for the rest of our time in Europe.

We are closing in on six years of living mostly outside of the US and working very hard on a new language. All of our travels since retirement have been to Spanish speaking countries where we have been feeling comfortable enough in the language to move easily and engage with other people. Later on this month we will be in Portugal where language will force us into a different situation and maybe some isolation. More shall be revealed.

What about our last two destinations Cabo de Gata and Ronda?  They were opposite kind of places which helps to give a contrast to each of them. Cabo de Gata is all beach and very few people, very laid back with incredible landscapes of sandy beaches to rocky cliffs. We enjoyed the hikes and just being alone in our apartment. I would recommend it highly for a meditative and relaxing experience.  We left it feeling as if the world just stopped and that all is well.  

The old and new steps going down
from the old bridge in Ronda

Next we went to the magical city called Ronda, one of the oldest in Europe, it has been said. This was a mix of old and modern coming together to offer the traveler a truly deep experience with modern conveniences - it has it all.  It is a small city that one can walk all over including steps down 900 foot cliffs that surround the old city.  Both places have given us one of the joys in our lives, which is walking and some times we call it hiking. I'm not to sure of the difference except that I think that hiking means it is more difficult. Both these places had both kinds and so much more to offer.

Serene landscape in Cabo de Gata

And I cannot forget that we spent our 25th wedding anniversary here with much talk about the past 25 wonderful years and many more to come. As they say in Mexico - "Si dios quiere" (if God wishes).

This is just my two centavos. I am happy to be able to express myself which always helps in adding to the feelings of our travels together. Have a great year full of love and adventure.

Once again - thanks for traveling with us both on our adventures.

December in Andalusia, Spain...this adventure begins.

Join us for the next ten weeks as our European adventure begins. I am keeping details of places we visited and thoughts for myself and for those who like to travel via this blog. From time to time will be words from Ricardo as well (see below). 

This trip began in San Miguel and the travel was 3 legs which included two buses a plane and two trains with the destination of Seville, Spain which is located in the south in the area called Andalusia. We are traveling a bit differently this time - much less advance planning and staying in Airbnbs when possible as it gives us a chance to feel "at home" and have a kitchen so we can cook at home rather than eating out all the time. (Note: I am also going to be keeping up the vegan food adventure travel blog so will keep the food details for that one - just know that this is a country that so far has been very easy for this plant based eater.)

So, we began with a walking tour in Sevilla to get the lay of the land and found the city to be SO very walker friendly that we spent hours walking in various neighborhoods and seeing the usual sights - Cathedral, Alcazar, etc. We discovered (via internet) that some of the places we were thinking about going to where filling up fast for the two weeks of Christmas and New Years that we had to sit down and spend some time making a few plans so we did so and are set now until Jan 4th.

Silver alter in Seville Cathedral

Cathedral tower-used to be where the Muslim
call to prayers was held. We walked to the top for
an incredible view.

Typical street in Seville

Another street scene of Seville

Alcazar

View of Seville from Triana side of the river

Palace de Espana (from the 1929 Exposicion)

On Wednesday, Dec 16th we left for the little village of Aracena which was 1.5 hours away from Sevilla by bus. This was a small but beautiful spot with a ruined moorish castle and church at the top of the town - made for a nice walk and view of everything. Amazingly we found delicious vegan paella (with tofu) in a little tapas restaurant in the middle of this town. The town is famous for its underground caves called La Gruta de las Maravillas. This was used for filming famous films including "Journey to the Center of the Earth". The next day included a 10K hike to and from Lineras de la Sierra, a smaller village and then the following day another 10K hike to and from Cortoconcepcion before getting our bus back to Sevilla. 

A view of Aracena from Castle ruins

Coming into Aracena

Dec 16th - my mother's birthday.
Lighting candles to honor our mothers

Gruta de las maravillas

Gruta de las maravillas

Linares de la Sierra

Red pottery of this small village

Every house in the town had its
different design in front of its door

Along the way were many local farms

First time with our jackets off while hiking

We are in the country of "Ham".
These Seranno pigs feed on acorns.
(If that is all, they must eat a WHOLE lot)

Linares de la Sierra

We returned to Seville at night to stay this time at the Nomad Hostel, recommended by our friends Stan and Marcia who had visited several years ago. A fun place with lots of young people in the very lively center of town. Saturday we walked to the neighborhood of Triana and Santa Cruz and at night went to a Flamenco Show of 2 dancers, a singer and guitarist at the Casa de Flamenco - a very rewarding experience.

After the Flamenco show - photos
not allowed during the show

Some of the many holiday lights in Seville

Mercado de Triana

Mercado de Triana - mushrooms

On Sunday, Dec. 20th we came to Granada where we will be until Dec 26th. We are now much farther south in Spain and the Muslim influence is much more prevalent here. Since we decided not to go to Morocco this year, I am happy to be able to feel this and to see the amazing artisan crafts and taste some of the foods and teas that we might have experienced. On the train from Seville we met a lovely Australian family and have had fun with them over the last several days.

In the Palace (of the kings)

Monday was the day for the Alhambra. This is the most visited spot in Granada and worth every moment. It would be fun to return in a different season to see the gardens and greenery in a different view. Here you will see many photos but they cannot do justice to the real experience of this amazing World Heritage Site. Remember these buildings were built in the 1300s.

Amazing tile work and carving in every room

Notice all the detailed carvings

Many rooms were situated with beautiful views
of gardens outside

The Generalife, the recreation area of  the
Alhambra for the kings

A view of the Alhambra from the Albacin
area of Granada at sunset

"graffiti of the times" These names were
written on the walls to advertise people
who had finished their studies and were
ready to begin their careers (a resume
or CV of sorts)

Granada Cathedral against a very blue sky

Cloistered nuns who never leave their
little church in Albacin area. They take
2 hour shifts to sit and sing praises and open
to the public to come and meditate and listen
to their beautiful voices.

We did not go to Morocco as we had originally
planned but have the chance to feel
the feelings and see sights similar to what
we might have seen there. This is a restaurant
and teteria - a place to experience the Moroccan
mint tea.

Pouring mint tea

As we wrap up our first two weeks in Spain my observations include: The Spanish people seem happy and friendly and like to enjoy life. The food is good for us but there are many local delicacies that we are not including in our days. Cannot help but notice the square toilet seats everywhere - why???  Most of the cities as well as small towns are white with red roofs - beautiful geometric designs. (BTW, in San Miguel I recently took a geometry class and realize that mostly what I look at when I walk around is the shape and designs of structures, tiles, fabric, etc from a geometric point of view. I am not sure that everyone sees things the same as I do which always gets me thinking that none of us really know how anyone else thinks or sees....hmmmm.) 

Now we are getting ready for two days of doing our own Christmas celebrating - to include a visit on the Eve to the Hammam Al Andalus for a Baño, Masaje + Kessa Tradicional  (Hot baths of 4 temperatures, massage and body scrub. These are the traditional (though remodeled) Arabic baths. Seems like a great way to spend the holidays. Our plans for Christmas day are to watch the whole current series of Downton Abbey that we brought with us from Mexico.

And now some thoughts from Ricardo....

In the "halo" of the Alhambra

Sometimes when you travel you hear a word or two and then you hear it again and again.  I don't really know if this describes a culture or just a form of speech and nothing more. We have traveled now to different parts of southern Spain and these two words keep on coming up.  The first one us VALE which most people will say after a statement or a question.  It translates into WORTH literally but means OK or "you know" in English.  The second word most used here is CHULO which is translated to cute but means cool or awesome.  I find that when I have a opportunity to use these words people will smile as if I am one of them.  I have gotten this same response for certain words that I have learned in Mexico.  Another interesting thing about language is finishing the word or adding words together or just changing the ending.  I am sure that I do this when I am in New York talking fast, for example, saying "FORGETABOUTIT as one word.  When we went for some hikes outside of Sevilla in a town called Aracena which is like going to the country people often chose not to complete the endings of words and why should they if we all agree with what they are trying to say.  I like language and in learning Spanish I have come to understand the language of my birth better. This is just an observation and nothing more.

Another observation is food.  People here in Spain eat small meals called TAPAS. They also seem to be able to spend more time in groups just being together, often late at night. Most businesses open by 10 or 11 in the morning and close from 2 to 5 just to reopen again until 10 or midnight.  This is very interesting way of life and very different to my New York upbringing where time is a commodity and time is money.  I don't want to make  a judgement but maybe they know something that we don't.  As far as being vegetarians here it hasn't  been a problem especially in Granada where so much of the food is Arabic and meatless.

On a personal note Susan and I have become gypsies without borders.  We have seen so many people living here from other countries, without a strong sense of homeland.  This lets me think more about the U.S.  We also are a country of immigrants where our fore fathers came in search of a better life and to raise their families. So what does it mean to have a border especially when the immigrants are providing a source of profound energy like the life blood running through each of us.  We all more or less want the same thing which is a strong sense of security, food to nourish our bodies, a roof over our heads and respect to believe what one chooses to believe.  I think that in our differences, life offers so much more pleasure. So in traveling we are able to multiply this pleasure and it just makes me feel so lucky to have a great partner to share all of this with.

Thank you for following our travels and we are sending love.

Ricardo and Susanita