Córdoba

Once again, I yearn for a car. Really. You can take the chica out of America but you can't take the American out of the chica. Ah well. Jenny and I went to Badajoz on Friday, we rented a car with Sydney, and set out for Córdoba on Saturday morning. It was a Fiat Panda this time, and we all independently agreed that a geek would probably drive that car. Not hott. There were five of us squeezed into the car for the 3 hour ride each way. The weather was not nice--heavy rain punctuated by brief periods of drizzle/clear. Definitely Washington weather, this. The weather for the last couple weeks has been so fickle, with lots of unexpected showers. It's rained more this month than during the entire winter here. Reminds me of home a bit. Everything is very green though, the campo is beautiful.

We went to the Mezquita, after finding out way through the city somehow. It's amazing. I went there the last time I was here but it meant something completely different this time. Now I understand the historical context, the significance. I don't remember the cathedral (smack dab in the middle of the old mosque) being so jarring last time. Ugly. Completely out of place. The contrast between the two religions, the two cultures, was so abrupt; the juxtaposition so strange. I realized how tired I am of cathedrals and nearly everything Catholic. I'm over it for the time being. We also went to the synagogue, one of the few surviving ones in Spain.

That afternoon we went to a teahouse. I love the teahouses here, especially with their Middle Eastern pastries. Baklava... All in all it was an excellent day. Now I'm back in Coria to work two days, then off to Tarifa, Algeciras and Morocco! I can't wait!

Feria de abril de Sevilla

A killer weekend. After work on Friday I went to Sevilla to meet up with Sydney, Bronwen, and Talisa. Four hours in the bus after crappy Torrejoncillo and crappy sleep. Everyone and their mother had told us that Feria vale la pena to see but that there was no way we would be able to get into one of the private casetas since we don't know anyone who lives in Sevilla. Well.

Feria is a celebration in Sevilla that I hadn't heard of until about two months ago. Regardless, it's insane. Men dress in suits and the women wear amazing flamenco dresses. There is row upon row of tent-like structures (casetas) of varying sizes, each with its own bar and "bathroom" (dirty, dirty toilet). Most casetas are private, rented by a family, business, etc., and it's impossible to get in without knowing someone. There are some larger public ones as well. And people just drink rebujito (manzanilla + Sprite) and dance all night. Talisa knew Emilio, who let us in to his family's caseta, Tío Pepe, I think. I guess this is a privilege (? so I've been told), and I felt a little awkward as I was wearing jeans and a zip-up. Pero, no pasa nada. Nearly everyone was really nice to us and Emilio kept bringing us jarra after jarra of the drink. We met all of his tíos (CREEPY drunk Spanish men) and everyone else he's related to. I wasn't sure if I should address them as usted as they were mayor, but I didn't feel that bad since they wouldn't stop hitting on us. At about 3am (maybe? hah, time) that caseta closed down so he took us to a public one and introduced us to some friends, where we continued to botellón with our rebujito. Sydney and I caught the bus back to Badajoz at 9am and spent the rest of the day recuperating.

I tried to catch the bus back to Cáceres on Sunday night in time to catch the one to Coria, but it was full so I arrived in Cáceres after it had left. Bastards! That bus is never full. Anyway I tried to get in touch with a teacher would told me I could always stay at his house but I couldn't. I ended up staying with José, one of the guys who we met when we came to Cáceres in January. He was really nice about it. I was just so exhausted from the weekend, so many hours in buses and bus stations. So I'm finally back in Coria! I can't wait to sleep in my own bed.

I can't believe that we only have a month and a half left of the job. Thank god about the job part but I know I'm going to be really sad to leave Coria. Little things, like being able to call up someone to stay with because I missed the bus, make me realize... I don't know. I guess, that this is somewhat of a home to me. I would like to live here longer, but in a different place. Ah well! I have the rest of my life.

Valle del Jerte! or... Spanish roadtrip!

Being here has made me realize how much I am not the typical American, and how much I am. I miss having a car. I love having a car. I love the freedom of mobility, of not having to depend on others to get you where you want to go. Buses are excellent but they don't go everywhere. I was scared to drive after 6 months of absence, but the Volkswagen Polo wouldn't let you make a mistake (didn't stall once!). I loved it and I want it.

Sydney and Bronwen rented a car in Badajoz, came to Coria para recogernos, and off we went! Chasing a green spot on the map to the north... Las Hurdes. So now I take back every time I said that Extremadura is ugly (although technically where we did end up was in Castilla y León). We ate lunch in Vegas de Coria (very original with the names here, although my favorite was Pozuelo de Zarzón: say it with the lisp and it's excellent), where we tried the "typical" lemon salad (sucker for comida típica). Lemon slices, orange slices, hard boiled egg, chorizo.. Quite strange, although not as bad as it sounds. We ended up in a natural reserve (Las Batuecas) in the mountains, in a pueblo called La Alberca. Precioso. We were in an actual forest.

The next day we went to the Valle del Jerte, to the north but more east than yesterday, north of Plasencia. Apparently the valley is known for its cherry blossoms but we had to go to the end of the valley to higher elevations to see what remained of the cerezos. On the way we turned off at la Garganta de los infiernos (the throat of hell? anyone have a better translation--hells?) and did the Ruta de los Pilones that everyone and their mother recommended to us. About 45 minutes to these phenomenal natural pools carved out of the rock by the river. The most beautiful place I have ever seen in Spain. There was this rock with a perfectly formed ass (really, whole body) groove. It was, as Bronwen said, the best easy chair with the best view. We made it to Tornavacas to see the last of the cerezos--beautiful.

In conclusion: an excellent weekend. I would not have seen these things without the car, and it was so much fun to drive again. And now the weather is crappy and I have to work again. Although less than 2 months; so hard to believe!