Andalucia

Traveling with a partner is always an experience. In this case, David and I are learning how to be retired together. We are entering a new phase of our relationship, where we are together most of the time. We are letting go of the stress that we had when we were working. Amazingly enough, we are communicating with each other even better than we did in the past.

The rhythm of our days is relaxed, but we still have chores and errands, even as tourists. In the last two weeks, we have been to five different cities: Faro, Sevilla, Gibraltar, Cordoba, and Granada. In each new town, first we have to find our Airbnb, usually in a residential part of town. Then we find the tourist office and get a map, so we do not depend on google maps in my phone all the time for our explorations. Next comes the grocery store. Sometimes it is not easy to find one, and sometimes it is a small convenience grocery. But it is always an experience. The airbnb kitchens are pretty basic, but they usually have olive oil and salt. So I have been carrying vinegar and pepper from town to town in my pack. We usually cook one or two meals at home in a town, just to save money. It can be a little challenging to buy just the right amount of food to use in three or four days. Coffee usually gets carried to the next town.

Laundry is another chore. Because we are only carrying backpacks for our three months on the road, we have to do laundry about every 5 days. Some of our airbnbs have washing machines, but usually we wash it by hand. They never have dryers, but most of them have drying racks. The apartment in Granada has been a little challenging. It has been raining yesterday and today, so the balcony won't work. I washed the laundry in the bidet. Then David erected a line in the bathroom from the shower rod which fell down, now the line is in the living room.

My (David's) reaction to the clothesline falling down in the bathroom...

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Now that I have shown you the boring details of being on tour, I can move on to some highlights. Sevilla was the place that we learned about Flamenco. We went to Flamenco shows three nights in a row! You may have seen some videos I posted on Facebook. We loved it. Sevilla claims that they are the birthplace of Flamenco, but so do Cordoba and Granada. Of course, Granada has had gypsies living in the nearby caves for centuries, and this art form definitely had gypsy origins. There are several things I realized about it. First of all, it is not just dancing. You need a guitarist and a singer, as well. Second, the rhythm is important, and exhibited by clapping and the guitar, as well as the shoes on the wooden stage. Third, it is not always happy, it is usually expressing some angst and sadness. Most of the venues are small and intimate. Here in Granada, some of them are in the caves. Check out this video of a local troupe:
https://youtu.be/H26Z1MyZjQs

This group was our favorite, the last night in Seville,  Tablao Flamenco Pura Esencia

Sevilla was also the city of grand monuments. We visited Las Setas, so called because it looked like mushrooms. It was on the site of Roman ruins, still on view in the ground floor. It is the product of an architect competition, won by Jurgen Mayer from Berlin. It is a large wooden structure, supported by steel, truly amazing. It offers wonderful views of the city in 360 degrees, from the walkways on the fourth level. It was significant for us, because usually we are looking for the old stuff.

Next stop was Gibraltar. David really wanted to go there because of the physician Stephen Maturin in the Patrick O'Brian books. The border between Spain and Gibraltar is still maintained carefully, so that you take a bus to the last Spanish town and then walk over the border. It is slightly unreal to walk into a British enclave after being in Spain all this time. We got lost trying to find our Airbnb, and a random stranger heard us talking outside her house, and came to help us. I just have to put in a comment about the random kindness of strangers. It is amazing how many times it has helped us. People are kind, and go out of their way to help us. Like the lady who gave us two Euros to go in the pay toilet (really?) Or the lady who got a tissue out of her purse because there was no toilet paper in the public restroom. Or the tourist information folks that give us all kinds of hints. Or Napoleon in Salema Beach who cleaned our fish, gave us advice, and translated for our landlady. Or the Airbnb host that bought a new cafeterra to put on the stove because we did not like the Nescafe coffee pot.

Our place in Gibraltar was close to the Nature Reserve on the Upper Rock, so we had two days of hiking through it. Both days involved lots of steps, but the Mediterranean steps on the steep side of the rock were a little scary.

Steps up the Charles V wall, guarded by Macaque Ape, but pretty harmless

On the Mediterranean steps- This section had a wall on the side. We did not take pictures on the scary section where there was no wall.

The little specks in the water are ships far below.

Cordoba was surprising in the patios (courtyards) we found. They were having a festival of floral displays, so many of the patios were open without entrance fees. They also had a competition to decide which floral artists could exhibit. And of course, we had to see more Flamenco to compare Cordoba to Sevilla.

Palacio Viana

Cotton as a flower in Andalucia

The cotton tornado

Flamenco in Cordoba (note the bored guests)

Time for bed. I will continue with Andalucia in my next post. We are in Granada tonight. Hiking in the Sierra Nevada tomorrow. Life is full, with many kind strangers along the way.

Portugal

Wow, it has been quite a while since I posted. I guess being a tourist keeps me pretty busy. I am also the travel agent, and that involves some online work. However, all the places we have stayed have good internet, so I cannot claim that I am out of touch. It just takes me a while to process all that we are doing, and I am learning how to truly relax. Sitting at a computer reminds me too much of work.

After four days of relaxing in Santiago de Compostela, hiding from the rain, cooking, taking small walks around town to eat tapas and shop for groceries, we left Spain to join our friends Greg and Wendy in Portugal. We took a bus, and then a train to Peso de Regua in the Douro Valley of Portugal. This is where most of the grapes come from in Portugal, especially in Port wine.

It is always fun to meet up with people you know and love when you have been away in a foreign country. We had a great time sharing entrees and tapas together with Wendy and Greg. We had one of my favorite meals in a place that had 6 tables. They had only one seating a night, and the menu was written by hand in a small notebook.

If it looks like all we do is eat, let me just say that it is an important thing. Thank goodness for the translations. It was really fun to eat in a foursome, because we ordered several dishes and shared them all. The owner of the Tasca da Quinta also explained why he had two grades of olive oil, and gave us each a small bottle of the best olive oil. I am still carrying it in my backpack from place to place, since we are cooking with it! Portugal uses most of their olives for olive oil. They also produce over 50% of the world's cork, so of course, David had to get a cork hat.



After a trip to the top of the mountains, we visited a small winery, and also took a sail down the Douro River, which showed us the vineyards that produce Port.

The next day we headed to the Algarve in Southern Portugal, with Greg driving a rental car. The weather in the Algarve was perfect, and we rewarded ourselves with a fantastic seafood dinner overlooking the ocean. The next day we went on a long hike down the coast, then drove to the southwestern-most point of Europe, Cabo de San Vicente, to watch the sunset. It was too chilly for comfort, and we were hungry, so we vowed to come back the next night, which we did, with snacks, wine, and warm clothes. Some of the scenes:

On the rooftop deck of our "cottage"

At Cabo de San Vicente

Our cottage across from the beach

David grilled a fresh fish in this typical grill one night

On our roftop deck

the walk down Salema Beach

After Wendy and Greg left for the US,  David and I had three more days at the beach. The weather was perfect for lounging on the beach. We did another coastal hike along the cliffs. There was also a fishmonger who drove into the village at 9:00 am tooting his horn. We bought his fresh fish twice while we were there. We ate some amazing seafood in this town, but the last night I had a hankering for pizza, with a view of the beach. It was hard to leave the Algarve, but it was time to get back to Spain.

Does anyone remember the time David's chair fell over at Douthat?  

On a beach walk, town of Salema in the background