Saturday 4 June 2011

Romeria del Rocio passing through Granada...

On our last night in Cordoba R. and I were aware of something on the go...lots of Spanish women dressed up in traditional flamenco-style outfits and men in smart clothes with traditional hats. I tried to ask a local what it was all about, but only managed to make "festival" and "Seville".

So, this morning I headed out along the Gran Via Colon and noticed a whole line of decorated caravans attached to tractors lining the main street. Again, I tried to get some infor from a local, but with no luck. As I approached the end of the Gran Via and the main center of Granada, I noticed that the crowd had swelled and there were loads of women and children dressed in flamenco-style outfits. There were also men and boys on horse back everywhere.

As I stood at the Plaza Nueve, the horsemen drew into formation and began to move down the main street in procession. The whole atmosphere was very festive...but I still had no idea what I was witnessing!

Back at the hotel this afternoon, I turned to trusty Google and I discovered that today's procession had been part of the Romeria del Rocio, a major Spanish festival that takes place in the marshes at the mouth of the Rio Guadalquivir at the town of Almonte near Seville. It is a festival in honour of the Virgen Del Rocio who has been celebrated at this place for almost 800 years. The festival has been held on the fiftieth day after Easter Sunday since 1758 and today involves nearly a million people making the pilgrimage to the site:

"The pilgrimage is a pretty traditional affair. Hundreds of "brotherhoods" from the surrounding villages and towns organise the processions that all end up in Almonte. Travellers (or "romeros") come from all over Andalucia on foot, on horseback or by cart. No motorised vehicles are allowed. Most of these pilgrims wear traditional clothes, women in bright gypsy-inspired flamenco dresses and men in the unique wide-brimmed "bolero" hats and short-cropped jackets associated with Andalusia. As they get closer to Almonte, the pilgrims camp out in the fields and forests of the surrounding Donana National Park.

All the romeros arrive in the village of Almonte just before dawn, and then the festivities really kick into gear. Accompanied by tambourines, flutes and guitars, the entire group strolls across the broad plains to the El Rocio shrine in the nearby marshes. Almonte's elite "Hermandad Matriz" brotherhood carries along a large silver shrine that contains an effigy of the Virgen. The sound of firecrackers fills the air as the crowds cry "Viva la Reina de la Marisma" ("Long live the Queen of the Marshes"). Once everyone arrives at the shrine, mass is recited and the Virgen is paraded around the dusty fields for several more hours.

For the next couple of days, the scene at El Rocio resembles a makeshift camp-out, a carnival, and a family reunion all at the same time. The crowds sing traditional songs and dance together in the fields. Snacks of tortilla, jamon, prawns and fried peppers are sold along with plenty of local wine and sherry. First-time pilgrims "baptise" themselves by dipping their hats in water and dousing themselves. In a day or so, the crowds will disperse and the fields of El Rocio will become quiet again."

While I won't make the trek to Almonte, it was great fun to catch a glimpse of this aspect of Spanish culture.

Friday 3 June 2011

Travel day: Going our separate ways...

So this morning saw R. take the train back to Madrid in order to catch his flight to Frankfurt and then on to Joburg, and then finally home on Saturday. Two hours later, I was on the train back to Granada. I had four days that I hadn't booked accommodation for before my second conference starts next week, and after a whole lot of umming-and-ahhing, I decided to come back to Granada early. It's a lovely city, and I'm looking forward to having a few mores days in which to explore it, as well as possibly take a day-trip or two.

It's 9pm and I'm in my hotel room, trying to convince myself that it's dark outside by keeping the curtains and shutters closed  - I need a real early night! I took a walk to the local supermarket this afternoon - it's amazing how long it takes to buy something simple like deodrant and shampoo when everything is in a forgein language. (And I thought I at least had the basics!) I'm sitting here writing this and listening to a Spanish radio station playing covers of English pop songs...all in Spanish obviously!

Thursday 2 June 2011

Biking through Cordoba...our last day!

Corboda is home to the Mezquita, built in 785 AD and considered the most important Islamic monument in the Western world. The mosque, which was the third largest in the world at the time with over 850 coloumns, was converted into a Gothic cathedral in the 16th century, and today contains a richly adorned Baroque cathedral in its midst. It is truly the most beautiful and bizarre example of the ways in which cultures have overlaid one another in Spain.

 We visited the Mezquita early in the morning during Mass - this allowed us to get in for free, and to avoid the tour groups. It was really beautiful to wander through this amazing building while the organ played and the Catholic priests chanted the Mass in Spanish. Of the three sites, the Alhambra in Granada, the Cathedral in Seville and the Mezquita in Cordoba, this is probably my favourite. I find it fascinating how the Islamic, Christian and Jewish cultures interacted throughout history in souther Spain, and this monument is an astounding example of that.

After a lazy breakfast back at the hotel, R. and I set off to pick up our hired bicycles. We had found a company that hired bikes out for the day, and decided that this would be the perfect way to spend our last day and to explore Cordoba. The city is mostly flat, and we spent the most wonderful afternoon meandering through the old town streets, stopping for the odd beer at little hole-in-the-wall local bars, and then winding our way through Cordoba's numerous parks and public gardens. It was well after lunch time when we crossed the Rio Guadalquivir and found a local joint for lunch of salmorejo - a garlicky, cold tomato soup - and fried calamari! Yum!

We crossed the Roman bridge and headed back towards the old town, stopping for one more drink before returning the bikes.

We spent our last evening eating tapas, drinking beer and sangria, and people-watching at a little street-side cafe. We had had such an amazing three weeks and we saw and did so much, it was rather bitter-sweet to sit and remember all the experiences we had shared.


It's a way of life!



Wednesday 1 June 2011

Off to Cordoba!

We had a early (9am!) train to catch to Cordoba, and despite getting an early (12am) night, neither R. nor I slept well. My theory is that we've been travelling for almost three weeks, and our brains have been so bombarded with new sights, sounds, tastes and experiences that the result is that we have very strange dreams and don't sleep well. R.'s theory is that it's the garlic! As I've said before, Spanish garlic is not for sissies! It's a big f*&%ing taste and will give you a hiding if you don't treat it with respect. And there is garlic in everything! Either way, we made it to Cordoba, an hour's train trip from Seville. While Cordoba is now a relaxed and unhurried town of 323 000 people, it was once the largest city in Western Europe and was the capital of the Moorish Empire for almost three centuries.

We arrived in Cordoba before noon and the temperature was already in the thirties. We managed a short walk around the Mezquita, which was on the doorstep of our hotel, and then retreated to the airconditioned comfort of our room! We finally emerged in the late afternoon and braved another stroll through the medieval maze of the Juderia, and returning to our hotel for dinner.

Tuesday 31 May 2011

Last day in Seville...

R. and I spent the morning wandering around Seville before meeting up to visit the cathedral. We had thought to go in the morning, but then decided that we might be able to avoid the crowds by going later in the day. And we were spot on! I had walked past the cathedral in the morning as it opened and the line to get in stretched around the block - when we arrived in the afternoon, we walked straight in!

Work on the cathedral began in 1402 on the site of a 12th century mosque that was destroyed to clear space for the cathedral that was to be so great that "those who come after us will take us for madmen" for building such an immense structure. And with its 44 individual chapels it is the largest Gothic edifice ever constructed.

The cathedral incorporates the La Giralda minaret, built in 1198. The tower, along with its twins in Marrakesh and Rabat are the oldest and longest surviving Almohad minarets in the world. Instead of stairs, 35 ramps lead to the top of the tower. These were installed in order to allow a disabled muezzin to ride his horse up to issue the call to prayer. The views from the top of the tower is spectacular!

Inside the cathedral, the 42m tall central nave is decorated with 3 tons of gold leaf and is considered one of the greatest in the Christian world. The opulence of the cathedral, the chapels and the relics is quite overwhelming.

  

Nuns out and about on their business!

Monday 30 May 2011

Seville...Of horses and snails!

Seville is Spain's third largest city with a population of 700 000. It is also home to the Alcazar, a Moorish and Catholic palace and the official residence of the Spanish monarchy. After spending time in Morocco and the smaller towns of the Andalucian countryside, Seville felt frenetic. We were staying in very center of the city, and found ourselves swept up in the throngs of tourists, Spanish, European and international, that pour through the city.

In an effort to escape the hustle-bustle of tourist shops and herds of tour groups, R. and I headed down to the river, the Rio Guadalquiver which flows north to south through the city. We spent the better part of the morning walking alongside the river front, and stopped for a light lunch at one of the little cafes.

The heat of the day finally drove us back to our hotel for a siesta - the mercury in Seville was staying firmly in the 30s. By the late afternoon the breeze had picked up and we headed out to the main square at the cathedral and Alcazar. All through the day we had seen tourists taking horse and carriage rides round the city, and we finally decided to treat ourselves to a romanitc carriage ride through Seville. It turned out to be such a wonderful way to see the city! We saw the Plaza de Espana, a beautiful 200m long building that now houses the Spanish military offices. The building hugs a sweeping plaza and features ceramic mosaics depicting every Spanish province. We also rode through the Parque de Maria Luisa and Gardens of San Sebastian.

We spent the rest of the evening strolling through the streets and stopping for tapas, before settling down to a lovely dinner at a very la-di-da restuarant! One of the tapas we tried was the caracoles, or snails! This is something of a speciality in Spain, and from what I can gather, these little delicacies are not available all year round. As such, when bars have stock, they post big signs "Hay Caracoles!" (There are snails!) Our friendly barman was more than happy to demonstrate how to eat the little blighters - you quite simply pick up the shell and suck the tasty morsel out. They were quite scrumptious! (And they are in fact cooked - they taste quite salty and herby!)

The one that got away...

Sunday 29 May 2011

Heading to Seville...

R. and I have really tried to embrace the Spanish culture and lifestyle, and part of this has meant completely readjusting our body clocks! The Spanish work on Spanish time! Siesta is very much a part of life here, and one's chances of getting much accomplished between 1 - 5pm are relatively slim as most places still close for "siesta" which involves a lazy lunch and a nap! As a result, our days have gone something like this:

Wake up anywhere between 9 - 10am. Head off to a nearby cafe for breakfast. Visit at least one sight or monument in the morning between 11 - 1pm. Find somewhere to have lunch round 1 - 2pm. Head back to the hotel for an afternoon kip. Wake up round 4 - 5pm. Head out to do some more sightseeing, stopping in between for beers and tapas. Round 9 - 10pm start to think out finding somewhere to have a light supper. Head back to the hotel round midnight.

By Spanish stadards, this is a very tame schedule! We should, ideally, be hitting the bars after dinner at midnight before stopping by the clubs round 2 - 3am, before heading home!

The fact that it's only getting dark close to 10pm, and the warm summer weather, does mean that it makes sense to get the most out of the longer days - especially when the evenings are markedly cooler! The hotels are also very humane in their approach to checkout times - most have a check out of noon.

On Sunday morning I was eventually woken by the bells sounding from the church across the street from our hotel. When I blearily check my watch, I was atonished to see that we had managed to sleep until 11:30am! What a wonderful life!!

While we sat having breakfast on the little square in San Fernando, planning our route to Seville, a church procession made its way up the street in front of us. Even though it was a small church and San Fernando is a small town, the fanfare was quite impressive. A full marching band accompanied the procession as the congregation made its way up the street and into the church. The pomp and ceremony appeared to be in honour of a tiny little white-haired priest, who solemnly walked beneath a canopy, dressed quite literally in his Sunday best. It was really lovely to catch a glimpse of this aspect of Spanish life.

It was well after midday by the time we were back on the road and headed to Seville. The drive from Granada to Seville via Ronda, Jerez and San Fernando, while a little hair-raising at times, has been such a wonderful way to see Spain. The countryside is so varied and so beautiful. There have been so many postcard moments:

We arrived in Seville in the late afternoon, and made what we thought would be a clever decision to drop our bags at our hotel first, before dropping the car off at the train station...Well, one should never underestimate the narrowness of old town streets in Spain! Thankfully we were in the tiny little Ford Ka, and R. was able to deftly navigate our way through the most incredibly narrow and winding streets. There were a couple of times when GoogleMaps said to "turn left" and I was convinced that there could never be a street to turn left into, and suddenly a street would appear that would require the tightest of turns to get into - and there was no way one could get back out! But we found our hotel, dropped off our bags and made it out of the maze that is Santa Cruz!

Seville is filled with orange trees...and as we walked from the train station back to our hotel we saw tree after tree laden with fruit.

After a walk through the old Juderia quarter of Santa Cruz and a stroll around the massive cathedral - the third largest in the world, after St. Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London - we stumbled upon a flamenco show. Flamenco is an art form that combines song, guitar and dance and originated amongst the Andulucian gypsies in the late 18th century. It was a wonderful performance - the music and song is haunting and filled with emotion that is also expressed through the dancing. All in all, it was a fantastic introduction to the vibrance and emotion of Seville!