El Sol También Se Levanta

I spent the months of June, July, August, September, and part of October touring and studying in Spain. My goal was to become fluent in Spanish, I was reasonable successful but need to keep up the practice. Regarding the title, before arriving I read much Hemingway and hoped to experience similar capricious escapades that he so fondly recounts in his novels. I think I was successful.

Sunday, October 09, 2005

The Northern Coast and Madrid

The north coast is incredibly beautiful. My stops were, Santiago de Compostela, Arenas de Cabrales (Picos de Europa), and San Sebastian. Santiago de Compostela is recognized for its cuisine which, indeed, was quite good. I ate a lot of pulpo (ocotopus) there. Arenas de Cabrales is a small pueblo in the Picos de Europa. For you climbing buffs you may already be aware that this limestone mountain range boasts the most vertical terrain in all of Europe, or so Barbara the Californian at the tourist office there told me. I stayed there for four days doing different hikes each day. This was the first hiking I´ve done in a limestone range and it´s really bizarre. Whereas in a regular moutain range there would be a lake in every drainage basin, here, every basin is devoid of water because it seeps right into the rock. So finding water can be difficult. however, there is also a benefit to this unique geology and that is that you could drink directly from the water seeping out of the rock. Because the water is quickly absorbed it is away from animal and human bacteria and therefore giardia. Back to the hiking, every hike was a minimum altitude gain of 2000 feet, and one of them to the base of "El Naranjo de Bulnes" entailed a short drive to gain 3000 feet and a hike to gain another 4000f. Unfortunately I don´t have my adapter so I can´t add photos. San Sebastian was great. I literally only had 24 hours there, but it´s a great place to stay. In the northeast corner of the country on the Bay of Biscay, it wraps around its own little bay creating a fine sand beach with calm lapping waves. Regarding the cuisine, when Spain lauds their pinchas or tapas, this is the city they´re talking about. Though the tapas are free in Granada, they don't even compare to the elaborate and delicious antipastos that San Sebastian is renowned for.

Madrid was an interesting spot, though not my favorite.  Large cities aren't really my jam, but enjoyed checking out the Reina Sofia which was well worth it just to see Guernica, the Garden of Earthly Delights, several Dali's and a few other classics you only see in books.  With just a 24 hour stay not much more to add on Madrid.

Well, time to go, times up. See you in the states. Will

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