From the Spanish Cafe

Greetings from Espana!

Thought I’d post an update from Spain! We ported in Spain 4 days ago... it's been an amazing trip! I have encountered so much... I can hardly image what else I will see in the remaining 10 countries we have yet to visit!

The first day we were in Spain, we went to a bull fight/ flamenco show. The bull fight was bloodless (thank goodness!), so we were able to watch and enjoy. The dancing was absolutely stunning! Flamenco is a very harsh style of dancing, but the dancer becomes a part of the music through stomping. It's similar to tap, but much harder, in my opinion. The dancers we saw were fantastic! They could move their feet faster than I can drum my fingers! At the dance show, we also got to sample many different types of Spanish cuisine. They had queso manchego (Spanish cheese), jamon (sweet ham), and tortillas de papas (a tortilla made out of eggs with potatoes and onions in it). All of it was SO GOOD!

We also got to see a lot of Cadiz, the city where we ported. It dates back to the 10th century, and it chocked full of Spanish style buildings and cathedrals. We've enjoyed meandering down the narrow, cobblestone streets and eating at the small cafes. One of our favorite Spanish dishes is churros con chocolate. Spanish churros are 100X better than the ones we have in the U.S... They make them fresh here, and they don't put sugar and cinnamon on them. Instead, they serve them with a small cup of melted, dark chocolate. You take the churro and you dip it into the chocolate. Seriously, it's one of God's many gifts to man... =)

The following day, we rode the train to Seville. In Seville, we walked about 2 miles to and from one of the largest cathedrals in Spain. It was tiring, but well worth it! The cathedral covers AT LEAST 1 city block. It was massive. It is called the Catedral de Sevilla or Seville Cathedral. I knew it was going to be big, but I was STUNNED. The stonework is incredibly intricate... and, get this: we got to see Christopher Columbus's grave! After that, we climbed the cathedral's bell tower for an aerial view of Seville. It was 36 floors high... quite a hike, but once again, well worth it!

Seville also has a large number of orange groves. While exploring, we ran across an older district of the city, and meandered through a park chocked full of orange trees and cherry blossoms. I could have stayed there all day and drawn, read... or just taken in the scenery!

The third day, we stayed in Cadiz and had a traditional Spanish lunch. Lunch is their largest meal of the day... so we made it good! We got some paella... which is Spanish rice with all kinds of meats in it. REALLY GOOD. After that, we went to the beach and put our feet in the ocean, so we could say we've stood on both sides of the Atlantic.

Our final day in Spain, we had churros con chocolate once more, and we took a trip to the super market to get some snacks for the trip. I picked up some coffee to take home to my family. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it when I make some café con leche for them. We leave for Morocco this evening at 8:00 PM. It will be a sad departure… I’ve really enjoyed Espana!

We will be in Morocco in 2 days. Abby and I have done some research, and we want to stay the night in a hostel in Marrakech. We plan on travelling with two other girls, Nicole and Maggie. Marrakech is known for its Arabian market, snake charmers, fire breathers... the whole nine yards! We're so excited! Hopefully we will get the reservations made soon!

Hasta Luego… until next time!