Chefchaouen

On Wednesday, May 25th, I went to one of the banks to close my account. As usual, Cajarural wanted to play a game with me. They said I had to pay for the second half of my insurance, which I happily did, but then they wanted me to pay a fee for not paying when the charge initially posted to my account... Now, this was no problem except that this whole year they hadn't gotten around to giving me access to my online banking. And, the only way I could have known that the insurance had posted would have been to go in every day and wait in line to ask the representative at the desk about my account status. Of course, this would be impossible to manage and they knew it... nevertheless, they charged me 25 euros.

Not the best way to start my last day in Spain, but I still managed to have a little fun before leaving. That day I talked to all my students in Spanish for the first time - I hadn't let on for the whole year that I could and suspicions had grown into something of a local conspiracy. Some of the students couldn't believe their ears, others smiled and laughed and, of course, a couple felt betrayed. One of my students said the usual "you speaka Spanish, I know you do." to which I responded, "si, yo hablo Espanol."

His jaw dropped and he stood there gawking as I continued on toward my next class. Jorge certainly had a penchant for the dramatic - though, I suppose most kids do.

That night my friend Stefan arrived really late - he was coming all the way from Switzerland after all. At 1am, after stopping for a minute to appreciate the castle, we began our journey to Morocco.



Seven and a half grueling hours later, we tiredly rolled into Algeciras just in time to catch our ferry to Africa. At both borders we found ourselves being conned into giving "helpers" (beggars) a "coffee" (money) for assistance in determining which way was straight ahead. The truth, of course, is that these "helpers" are just people who get away with taking your money in exchange for directing you to follow the car in front of you. Asking for a coffee is probably just a way of sugarcoating the fact that they're extorting money from unsuspecting tourists.



After a two hour ferry ride we were at the second border control where they decided to search us. This was no big deal until Stefan admitted that he wasn't actually sure his car would be allowed in Morocco. As it turns out, you're supposed to register your car when you take it to another continent. Fortunately, since Stefan's car is Swiss, they let it slide.



Upon entering Africa, we proceeded to break the law by cutting across the first roundabout we came to - Stefan doesn't like to go around the long way. We then went to exchange some money and found that one euro nets you 10 Durham! Of course, a water costs 5-10 Durham so that's not much less than the going rate.



At this point the plan was to get to Rabat by sundown but then Stefan and I both agreed that the scenic route would be more exciting. As we meandered through the countryside we saw random animals on the roadside, picked up a hitchhiker, stopped in Chefchaouen and, while driving through the mountains, hit some of the wildest country “roads” I had ever seen - many were so narrow and full of potholes that it would be fair to say that there was more dirt than bitumen.

Eventually we did arrive at our destination and were able to pick up our rather anxious friend Anthony from the airport. Despite our being surprisingly only a few minutes late, old mate wasn't a real happy chappy.  Still, we reached our spacious, well-equipped AirBnB flat at midnight and, well, not bad for $8 a person! Clearly the dollar goes a long ways in this land.

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Despedida

On Sunday, May 22nd, I went to el Buen Parto with Julio and friends for a festival. It would also be my last time with them before leaving a few days later. This was essentially my despedida or "farewell".



We ate lots of paella and watched the different events unfold (marching band, people on horses, lots of vendors, etc.)... but mostly we ate paella :)

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Castilla-La Mancha

On Friday, May 6th, I rode to Ciudad Real for the Conferencia de Jovenes (young people's conference) - a gathering of young people in the church. The last time I was in Spain (back in 2010) I went to one in Cordoba.



As before, we enjoyed a lot of time together eating and enjoying and I got a chance to talk with a friend who, like me, is also planning on moving to Germany in the next year.



About a week later my good friend Steve arrived from the UK and we spent the afternoon at the castle in my pueblo. The next day we went to Restaurante Castilla for a solid Spanish breakfast of Chorizo, pigs ear and other rich, oily meats. We then headed over to las Lagunas de Ruidera (the lagoons of Ruidera) - a group of lakes famously depicted in the story of Don Quixote.



Next we had lunch at a nice roadside restaurant on the way over to the waterfalls of el Nacimiento del Rio Mundo (the birth of the world river) - one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Spain.



Finally, after wandering in the forest for hours trying to find the entrance to the cave at the top of the waterfall, we had a nice lamb dinner in a restaurant near our campsite. We made sure to leave a "propina" (tip) even though the custom is really not that big in Spain as of yet.



The next day we had another fantastic roadside food experience (lots of oily, meaty goodness!) on our way to Cuenca. Upon our arrival we first had a look at the Casas Colgadas (hanging houses) and Casco Antiguo (old quarter) before making our way over to the trail head at the other side of the valley.



It was a reasonably brief hike (about 30-40 minutes) up to a rather large statue at the top then we hurried back to Casco Antiguo to meet up with Laura and Jonathan at a cafe. Finally, we went to Museo Antonio Perez to see some artwork.



We were both particularly fond of the works of Bosco Sodi (above). He glues sawdust to canvases and pours paint down them to get images that often resemble forests or sometimes something more elemental like lava or water.



Back in Belmonte we had another very nice meal, this time at at La Muralla (one of the main restaurants in town), and, the next day, Steve headed off to the airport for his flight home to jolly old England. Overall, the trip was a complete success and, aside from a bit of rainy weather and slightly inadequate sleeping arrangements at the campground, we couldn't have asked for better conditions. Okay, some signs pointing us to the cave might have been nice but, then again, getting lost is part of the fun!

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Los Mayos

On Saturday, April 30th, the festival of Los Mayos began. Los Mayos - a festival celebrating the start of Spring - is basically a chance for locals to walk around eating and singing for a couple of days. After visiting with some locals in my pueblo, I headed off to Pedro Munoz to join Julio and the others for the main event.



We have the 30th                             I will paint your legs
of April finished                               your tiny feet
tomorrow May begins                      with many charms
beautiful and flowery.                      you are a sorceress.

Waiting we are                                 Sorceress you are
the light of the morning                   here's the lady
to see the sky open                           that (the name of the lady) is called
the sun on your face.                        from this aurora house.

Beautiful face painting                     Goodbye wallflower
a number to do                                  goodbye lily
to paint                                              farewell fleur de lis ("flower of the lily" - French royalty)          
don't bring brushes.                           goodbye beautiful rose.

Brushes or feathers                           We say goodbye
and one of yours                                but we're not leaving
you have to give to the beautiful       our hearts here we leave.
Imperial Eagle.

Imperial Eagle                                   If you are not satisfied
in sleep you rest                                 with this May you have been given
wake up if you sleep                          take the bottle... (original: "and have a drink")
and hear the couplet.                          and the Jamón serrano (cured Spanish ham)

... yeah, translating this was not easy! The singers in the video sang a different version but, if you listen real closely, you may be able to hear the crowds singing this version. By reading the lyrics you can actually get a feel for some of the major themes in Spanish festival culture: excitement, singing, community involvement, nostalgia and, maybe the most important, food!

 
It was a big night out with lots of chanting in the streets and eating tapas everywhere we went. Still, we got back at 3 am - which is pretty early by Spanish standards. The next day we went to a big show where dancers from all over Spain came to show off their local cultures' dancing styles. The dance styles were very lively and the clothing very colorful. It all makes for a rather entertaining atmosphere to say the least!

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Parque de Attracciones

On Friday, April 8th, I rode up to Madrid again to stay at Preston's and the next day a bunch of us went to the local amusement park - el Parque de Attraciones. We spent a bit of time at the gates there trying to get a group discount and, after convincing a few random strangers to join our group, we got in for a few dollars less. We then went straight to the biggest roller coaster and waited in line. Well, it wasn't a super long line but I wasn't overly impressed with the thrill factor either. After having a go at the main attraction, we went on a few other rides - all of which had much shorter lines. All in all, I'd say that none of the rides really got me all that excited but, nevertheless, it was a nice, fun day and the wait times were pretty reasonable.



Over the next few weeks I went back and forth between Madrid and Belmonte a couple times for the meetings and some board game nights with friends in another neighborhood. Back in Belmonte I started swimming at the local pool in Las Pedroneras and spent some time getting to know my locality a bit better... and maybe too well - some local jokers put a dead bird in my bike!

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POP!

On Sunday, March 27th, the journey home continued from Madrid. It had been a reasonably safe journey with a low rate of serious problems... until now. I was about 13 kilometers from home when I heard a loud "POP!" and came to a stop. Not surprisingly, the sound had come from the back tire popping - I guess it was a good thing we decided to turn back when we did!

I continued riding along on the straightaway, and was even able to get up to 70 kph without any problems... until the last two kilometers. I had to make one turn before the final stretch into town and the flat tire didn't handle it well. For the last few minutes I found myself swerving all over the road... but still making progress at 50 kph! As I pulled into town some guys sitting out front of one of the bars started laughing and then stood up in surprise pointing excitedly at my back tire. I nodded in response, shrugged and continued on my way to my mechanic amigo - Luis. Luis took one look at the tire and shook his head disapprovingly - it was, of course, completely bald.



Over the next couple weeks I worked and recovered from the predominately successful journey around Spain while Luis worked on replacing the tire.

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Logroño!

On Friday, March 25th, we made our way over to Logroño - the wine capital of Spain. It just so happened that a friend of Preston's, who he knew from Texas but hadn't seen for a while, was visiting that very same day and we ran into him in the street! That friend had a local friend in Logroño who was happy to show us his favorite areas including one in particular that locals tend to frequent:



We had some good tapas and ice cream then tried to find a mechanic so we could salvage the rest of our trip... no luck. Well, that did it - we decided to cancel our travels through the Basque country in the north of Spain which, as it later turned out, would prove to be a very, very good call! Thankfully what happened next didn't change our new plan: we were heading back to Arnedillo for the night when I realized something very interesting - both of the brakes were working again! I later learned that the problem had likely been caused by overheating and that the fluids had simply had to re-condense. After the fluids regained pressure it was just a matter of applying the breaks and 'voilà' - back in action!



That evening we had another look at the hot pools (though they were a bit... nasty, so I don't think we went in) and then, the next day, we headed on to Madrid!

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Girona!

On Wednesday, March 23rd, we got the new battery in and continued on our way to Girona - the northernmost point of Catalonia - on the French border. We arrived at the home of Jose Félix and his family and he gave us the grand tour of Girona!


We had some pizza, visited with the church in Girona and climbed the wall overlooking the city. Then we went to some really unique shops and ate at a nice restaurant in the Jewish quarter or "Juderia" with some visiting ones from churches in other cities.


The next day we rode for over 10 hours to get to Arnedillo... it was quite dark when we arrived. Of course, we still had to find our camping spot so we rode around a bit until we found a mountain road. Unfortunately, this road was not for maxi scooters - it was rough. Moreover, it didn't have any areas tucked away and appeared to be a scenic walk that people would be up on early in the morning. So we headed back down the mountain and that's when my brakes went out. Well, one did but then other kept working long enough for us to get to the bottom.

We then took a track along the river (turned out it was more of a footpath) and ended up in a tunnel under the pueblo - this was pretty cool. Nevertheless, we were super tired and just wanted to find a spot to camp before the other brake went out. We went to the edge of town where we found a promising bushy area on a river but, alas, it was not satisfactory. We then went up another mountain, paved this time, but no dice. Finally, we got back on the main road heading out of town and, just like that, we found it. A pull off had a small path heading down to the river and, in the trees - under the cover of a cliff side - was a campsite previously used by other freedom campers - a beautiful and welcome sight to behold!


We quickly set up camp and went back into town to find the hot pools or "aguas termales". We talked to some locals at a bar where a friendly local gave us some advice and history on the pools - apparently they can get quite hot! Fortunately we were there when it hadn't rained too much (or too little?) so the water was a pretty comfortable temperature... if only a little crowded.

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Barcelona!

On Sunday, March 20th, Preston and I hit the road on my little maxi scooter loaded down with all of our gear. We soon made our way up into the mountains and arrived at a small pueblo nestled in the hills called Montanejos. The steep drive was probably not the best thing for my little recently rebuilt moto but still well worth it.... hot springs.



Not ordinary springs - these are the "eternal youth" variety... or, at least, that's what the Arabic king Abu-Ceit thought. In the 13th century he built the springs for his favorite wives so that they could “forever maintain their youth and beauty” by way of the nutrients in the waters. The water was a bit cold unlike the hot pool we would later visit.



That night we camped out up the hill on one of the many random side roads that branch off into the hillside. This was Preston's first acampada libre or "wild camping" experience and it turned out to be a good one - open enough for setting up a good campsite yet hidden enough by the landscape and trees to insure that we wouldn't be stumbled upon by random passersby. The next day we had another go at the springs then got back on the bike for a ride up to Peniscola (pronounced "penny-scola").



That night we camped out in at another random spot up in the hills. Preston made a magnificent stew with our camping stove and I fashioned a trip cam  mount on the bike windscreen using duct tape!



We continued up to Barcelona where we ate some good Botifarra and then saw the Sagrada Familia and Park Güell - both designed by one of my favorite architects: Antoni Gaudí.



That evening we hit a bit of a snag... our battery died. At first the bike wouldn't start but we managed to roll charge / start it and get on our way out of the city center... at which point the lights started to dim and brighten. Just happy to be on our way, we didn't think much of it until the speedometer started jumping all over the place. Still, it was getting late and I wasn't about to risk what daylight we had left on a potentially complex problem... then it happened. As we were pulling into a small pueblo we lost power and the bike was dead. Now, as incredible as it may sound, we were just a block away from the only bike shop in, not just that pueblo, but any pueblo within 50 kilometers! Unfortunately, they were closing, but they were friendly (and they liked my custom cardboard "Acerbis" hand guards and trip cam mount) and, after showing us around town a bit, they directed us to a campground for the night.

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Las Falles

On Friday, March 18th, I rode over to Valencia to meet with Preston for our big trip around Spain - starting with Las Falles! We stayed the night at Oscar's and, the next day, we spent some time at the beach.



That night we went out to see more of the burning effigies at one of the most famous festivals in Spain - Las Falles! The crowds were massive and the air filled with various kinds of smoke... most from blowing up the giant artworks around the city. Getting around wasn't easy but we managed to park up just down from the biggest "falla" of them all. In fact, it was the biggest one they'd ever made! The next day we got on the bike to start our journey - destination: SPAIN!

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Moto X!

On Monday, March 7th, I taught a class with Isidro (our principal) and then had lunch on Wednesday at Anna's bodega (winery) with the rest of the faculty. It was a really cool place with a historical feel and lots of nice food and people.



After we ate they gave us a little tour around the silos and then I had to run in order to get to work over in Las Pedroneras on time. I missed out though because they went shooting afterward - something I'd like to have seen considering that everyone had had a few...

On Thursday I went to a cultural museum that my school had on. It showcased the local history and culture which was, as you often see in Spain, quite unique!



Later I had to fight Caja Rural again... this time it was because they blocked my account... I don't know why - probably just to show me how much of a valued client I was. Anyway, I called them up and asked why they were blocking my account and they hung up on me. Sure, I said "block-ay-ado" and I should have said "bl-O-ck-ay-ado" but I still feel it was an attempt by them to avoid doing their job... an experience that is more common in Spain than you'd believe. Also in Hong Kong.

I got the moto back from the shop that evening and, the next day, I took it over to the circuit to check out the local motocross scene... which was really just too cool. Now, I would have liked to have ridden my bike on the circuit but, seeing as I only had a maxi scooter, that wasn't gonna happen. Still, there's never a dull moment with Spanish people. I had a good time watching the stunts, meeting the other riders (and wannabe riders) and, of course, there's always some good food!


The next day we all did a fundraiser for a kid who needed a prosthetic. It was also a fun opportunity to ride - this time over to the next pueblo and back.



The next couple of days, I worked and planned the next big trip! Also, I watched the fruit vendors wake up the whole pueblo for the thousandth time...

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Mascletás

On Friday, March 4th, I dropped my bike off in Pedroneras and met with Maribel for another trip to Valencia. This time - Mascletas! Maribel introduced me to genuine Gallego bread (my new favorite) and we walked around looking at the city gates, festivities and more of the crazy Spanish murals that I've come to expect.

The next day I wandered around Valencia while Maribel was in classes and then, back at the apartment, she made me an awesome chicken lunch with the Gallego bread from the day before.

Finally, on day three, we went to check out the Mascletas! The following is a description of the event:

A mascletá usually consists of four parts:

• Start: The show begins with both sound and visual effects.
• Body: During the central part of the mascletà the intensity and volume goes up.
• Terratrèmol (earthquake): The stronger fireworks, called masclets, burst in unison.
• Air show: Intense aerial fireworks. They are always visible for spectators and are accompanied by colours.

Well, believe it or not, the description above doesn't really do justice to the intensity of the "earthquake". Rather, I would use the term "shock wave" to describe the sensation seeing as the impact of the pressure waves could literally be felt in the very core of ones being - no exaggeration. It was the most intense fireworks display I have ever seen in my life. 

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Spanishness

On Thursday, the 18th of February, I went on another excursion with my students. This time we went to Madrid to visit Santiago Bernabéu Stadium where the football (soccer) team Real Madrid plays their home games. This was a big deal for my students seeing as soccer is the center of their lives.



After seeing the stadium, my students and I went ice skating and then they went back home. Meanwhile, I stayed in Madrid and spent the next few days with friends from the church. On Sunday Preston and I were on our way to the train station when we stopped at the park. We saw some real authentic looking Spanish dancing and then Preston put on his own show with the swing musicians. After enjoying this unusual meeting of Spanish and American cultures, I got on a train to Guadalajara and met up with Cristina. A couple of days later I was back in Las Mesas watching my students giggle nervously and recoil in fear during an animal workshop with turtles, snakes and scorpions.



The following Thursday I rode over to Cuenca to talk to the Extranjeria about a potential work permit for the summer. Unfortunately, the visit was a waste of time... they had me drive for over an hour to talk to a guy who didn't know anything and he sent me to a lady who promptly sent me back to the guy and, in the end, they told me that they couldn't help me. Still, they had me set up an appointment so that I could come back and be disappointed again at a later date. I later found that they wanted to look at renewing my student visa even though I had been clear that my purpose was solely work related... Nevertheless, the trip wasn't a complete waste of time as I was able to meet up with some friends for a walk around the city and dinner at El Coto - a local favorite.

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