spain travel | Travel Thru History

Celtic Tradition en Español

Aviles, Spain

by Chris Herbert

The drone of bagpipes echoes up a narrow cobble stone street. You catch a glimpse of a country dancer’s bright white dress across the town square. Not so unusual you say? I would agree if this was the Firth of Forth or we were enjoying a hot toddy in Saint Andrew’s Square Edinburgh. But it’s unlikely you’ll hear a Scottish brogue anywhere near here. This is the city of Aviles in the Principality of Asturias Spain.

We are here for the Beltaine Celtic Festival. That’s right a Celtic festival in northern Spain. Legend tells us that Asturian Celtic history began in the 11th century with a visit to the northern shores of Spain by San Balandran.

Despite our late night research we uncover very little about the festival or for that matter Aviles. So we are going on an adventure trusting that it will be everything that festival co-ordinator Juan Carlos says it will be, or at least what we’re able to decipher from his e-mails and a little the help from Google translator. Its true things do get lost in translation. Juan Carlos speaks only Spanish, and I must admit we speak muy pobre Español. So when our regional flight from Paris arrives at Oveido airport we have a lot of unanswered questions. Luckily Asturians are able and very willing to share stories of their lengthy history.

Roman Alvarez Gonzalez is a teacher by profession. We met him during a boat ride along Rio Aviles. Currently he is serving as the Councilor for Culture and Sports in Aviles. Roman’s history 101 lesson includes among other things that Aviles sits on the most northerly tip of Spain and is the third largest city in the Principality of Asturias with 80,000 residents. The natural estuary made it a perfect seaport in the Middle Ages and a key to the salt trade with France, when salt was worth more then gold. Sabugo now a district of Aviles began as a fishing port on the Rio Aviles. In part because of over fishing the fishing industry is no longer a major player in the economy. For a time in the mid 20th century shipbuilding and a steel industry also prospered on the waterfront.

Spain’s long history includes explorers sailing the earth’s oceans in search of new lands, spices and world power. They also saw their share of foreign invaders including the Moors in the 8th century. While they ruled most of Spain for nearly 800 years Asturians take pride in the fact that the invaders never occupied their mountainous home. Asturia stood alone as a refuge from Islamic rule for Spanish Christian nobles. Out of gratitude to this day the heir to the Spanish throne is named the Prince of Asturias. That autonomy is a source of great pride to Asturians but it may be a catch-22, as the principality seems to have been left behind by a more contemporary Spain. Of course depending on your point of view that may or may not be a bad thing.

El Café de Joey is in old town Aviles. Joey is Asturian/American and a bit of a history nut. Never reluctant to share his knowledge as he rushes about catering to his customers, Joey tells me over a potato tortilla and cold drink that Aviles was a key to Spain’s exploration for new territory. He points out that the 16th century Spanish explorer Pedro Menedez de Aviles sailed from the walled city to the new world where he founded America’s oldest continually populated city of San Augustin (St. Augustine, Florida). San Augustin is their sister city and their patron saint. While he stops to top up my glass Joey expounds on Asturians in Cuba. Spaniards sailed from Aviles to the Caribbean Island where they were instrumental in developing the island country’s tobacco farming prior to Castro’s regime. El Café de Joey now sits where the medieval cities wall once stood.

In the early 20th century Spain fell under the rule of Francisco Franco. From 1937 to 1975 Franco’s regime suppressed political rivals and rights, particularly women’s rights. Much has changed since the 1970’s as Spain transitions to a democracy. But for women it seems that old ways don’t die so easily as this part of Spain is still very much a paternal society.

That brings us back to The Beltaine Festival. Celtic music is a big part of Asturian history including bagpipes or gaitas, as they are known in Spain. The Gaiteras are usually accompanied by tamboril (snare drum) and requinta (fife) and folk dancers. The Beltaine Festival attracts Celtic performers from around the Principality of Asturia, Scotland, France, England and this year Juan Carlos took a leap of faith and for the first time invited a Canadian group. From the start of the festival The Inverglen Scottish Dancers performed on the main stage in Parque De La Muelles, in the Plaza De Espana and around the old town to enthusiastic audiences.

Just like those would be invaders of long ago we too found that travelling to Asturias is no simple matter. With no direct flight we arrived in Oveido airport by way of Paris followed by a 20-minute bus trip to Aviles. But if you want to embrace the traditions of Vieja Espana it’s worth the extra effort.

Life moves slowly here. Enjoy it. The siesta, one of the wonderful Spanish contributions to civilization is alive and well in Aviles. By mid-day most businesses have closed their doors. We soon learn not to fight it; instead we join the locals on the patio at La Villa-Arga in Plaza Domingo Alvarez Acebal. Maria Jose the villa’s owner arrives with tapas and a glass of sidra or fortified apple cider. Some siderias serve the sidra from a kupela (barrel) but in a café it’s more likely to be bottled. Holding the bottle well above her head the server fills a glass held at waist height to ensure the sidra is aerated. It is proper etiquette to empty your glass all at once, no sipping allowed. Any dregs can be splashed on the ground. Salud!

In the evening families stroll in the plaza and stop for a drink or dinner with friends. Teenagers play a game of basketball or soccer well into the night at Parque del Quirinal. There is no WII, smartphone or blackberry in sight and yet they carry on.

A short train ride away is Gijon, much more touristy then Aviles it is worth a day trip. The Museu del Pueblu d’Asturies preserves the history of the Asturian people and includes a collection of habitats and Horreos from the 17th to 20th century as well as the Asturian Pavilion that was built for the Seville Expo ‘92. It’s well worth a visit. Before catching the train back to Aviles check out the market in Plaza Mayor or just enjoy the sun and sand along Plaza de San Lorenzo.

A prominent Avilesino told me “Asturias is the real Spain.” I was overwhelmed by it’s natural beauty and the people. He added with a shrug that unfortunately in Asturias “news doesn’t travel.” That may in part explain why it is difficult to find information on this part of Spain. There is so much history here, ancient and modern. The Beltaine Festival is all but unknown outside the region as is the Niemeyer Centre, an internationally significant cultural centre. The good news is that Aviles and all it offers is there for you to discover for yourself.

3 nights guided tour Basque Country and Oviedo from Barcelona

If You Go:

There are no direct flights. We flew an Air France regional flight from Paris to Oviedo.
Coach www.alsa.es and rail service www.renfe.es are available to Aviles, Gijon and Santander from Oviedo.

Hotels in Aviles include:
– Hotel La Villa-Arga www.hros.net
– Hotel Don Pedro www.hdonpedro.com
– Hotel Arena
A night will cost you from €65 to €120.

Some of my favourite restaurants include:
– Café at Hotel de la Villa-Arga
– El Nogal de San Francisco
– El Café de Joey

More info is available at www.asturiasguide.com

About the author:
Chris Herbert is a Vancouver BC Canada based travel writer. You can find more articles by Chris in Seniors Living Magazine, The White Cockade, Travel Thru History, The Chilliwack Times and AbbotsfordTimes.com. Your comments can be emailed to stilltravelswell@hotmail.ca.

All photos are by Chris Herbert.

A City of Two Tales

Granada, Spain

by Robin Graham

The Moor’s Last Sigh

The most eloquent tribute to Granada’s charm is to be found above it, high in the Sierra Nevada mountains where a rocky pass known as El Ultimo Suspiro del Moro overlooks the city and fortress below. Boabdil, last man standing for the Moors in Spain, turned here to look back at the splendour he had just handed over to the Christian monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand. Defeated, he let out a cry for his beloved palace, one of the great architectural treasures of Islam.

Not the ideal moment to have one’s shortcomings pointed out, you might think, but when did a sense of timing ever curb a mother’s tongue?

You do well to weep as a woman, she scolded, for that which you could not defend as a man.

You can see why Boabdil might have been overcome – Granada is nothing if not picturesque. Like a lion’s claws resting on grass, a few spurs of the sierra jut forward on to the vega, the huge flood plain on which the later Christian city sprawls. Overlooking these commercial districts, the cathedral, churches, squares and markets, one of the heights is home to the old Moorish city, now known as the Albaicin. Another, on the opposite side of the Darro valley, is crested by the fortified walls and ramparts of the Alhambra.

The Lion’s Den

The year was 1492 and as they rode into town Ferdinand and Isabella were accompanied by a certain Christopher Columbus, there to seek support for an expedition to the Indies.

They refused him of course, carried away as they were with the conquest of Granada, a defining moment for Christian Spain in the 15th century and the last nail in the coffin for Islam on the Iberian peninsula.

When Ferdinand stepped into the Mexuar hall with Isabella to consecrate it with a Christian mass the palaces were both long-established and newly finished. They might have smelt paint as they meandered through the Palace of the Lions, the most ornate in the royal complex.

Centered around a courtyard of marble columns, fountains and pavilions and completed well within the previous century, it would have been considered a relatively new build.

Constructed in what has come to be known as the Nasrid style, the palace reveals both Muslim and Christian influences. Ironically, this most private of areas within the Alhambra, housing the royal harem and hidden from all other eyes, is the most visually rich and opulent.

Allegories in Alabaster

Perhaps the royal couple did not pick up on the allegorical design (the original meaning of harem, or al haram, is sanctuary). The four streams of paradise flow from each wing to the central fountain of aforementioned lions. The impression is that of a desert oasis, with the columns lining the courtyard standing in for palm trees.

The detail is incredible; just about every surface has been worked to within an inch of its life, but the scale here is human and it’s easy to imagine the space inhabited by a family at rest, or play.

Fantastically adorned halls surround the courtyard, with ceilings of muqarna (an ingenious Lego-like system of ceiling decoration which gives the impression of stalactites), central pools and the customary tiling.

They tell their own stories, from the delightful Lindaraja Mirador where the sultan’s favourite concubine would have day dreamed overlooking the city, to the Hall of the Abencerrajes, where it’s said that thirty-six of the noble Abencerraje family were slaughtered because one of them had slept with her.

Architectural Battleground

The conquest of Granada was of such importance to Ferdinand and Isabella that they commissioned a royal chapel in the city to house their remains. Visitors can still pay their respects here, just around the corner from the muscular Christian cathedral.

Moorish rule in Spain had come to an end but the new management were left with a largely Muslim population whose loyalties were considered dubious. The work to stamp Christianity on the city and region began in earnest with the building of the cathedral, beginning in 1518.

Wandering around its interior it is impossible not to take the cathedral as an emphatic response to the Nasrid palaces up on the hill. Predominantly white and gold, it couldn’t be further from the intricate, intimate and multicoloured rooms of the Alhambra. Scale and detail are a negative image of Nasrid design; the building is a massive, cavernous space, calculated to invoke fear in the faithful and with a plain finish on most of its surfaces, where the palaces are small and insanely generous in detail.

The Anomaly that Charles Built

There was to be another brick-and-mortar response to Islam and at much closer quarters, within the walls of the Alhambra itself . When Charles V came to power in Spain, not long after the conquest of Granada, he wanted his residence to be both close to the Nasrid palaces and fit for an emperor.

The result is the Charles V palace. At a distance it has become an essential element in the Alhambra’s universally recognisable profile. Close-up, it’s an anomaly in both style and size, towering over the Moorish complex as if it had narrowly missed it when landing. It is a Renaissance building, a sixty-three metre square construction on two levels, concealing an inner patio in the surprising form of a circle. Cutting edge for its time it now appears grandiose, juxtaposed as it is with the less intimidating Moorish exuberance of the royal complex.

In spite of the bombast with which the Christians built, or perhaps because of it, the more distant, Islamic Granada has never quite disappeared. Apart from the Alhambra the city is dotted with gates, walls and bath houses from the time of Moorish rule.

A Grudging Respect

It would appear that alongside the religious fervour that was to culminate in the expulsion of all Muslims from Spain in 1609, there was something of a grudging respect for their culture. On the day they entered Granada, Ferdinand and Isabella wore elaborate Moorish costumes which had been commissioned especially.

As recently as two hundred years ago, in the very shadow of the cathedral, stood an ancient Arab silk souk, the Alcaiceria, a gated network of alleys lined with shops in the middle eastern style, coexisting happily with the Christian city around it long after the reconquest of Spain. It’s gone now, burnt down in the 19th century and quickly replaced by a parody of itself, catering exclusively to tourists looking for some Moorish tic-tac to take home or the pilgrim after some religious kitsch.

It isn’t just in architecture, however, where the two cultures have battled and, occasionally, embraced. Granada still has its souk.

Tea for Two Cultures

Walking up the Caldereria Nueva, a sloped street in the lower Albaicin and within sight of the Alhambra, you could be forgiven for thinking you’re not in Spain at all. That or you are, but it’s the middle ages. The narrow street is lined with souk style North African merchants and Moroccan teterias, or tea houses. The owners sit outside their shops at the quieter times and gossip here as they do in Fez, Cairo and Damascus. From the teterias the aroma of minted tea is accompanied by that of the sheesha, or water pipe. Arabic is the lingua franca in this neighborhood, along with French, Spanish and of course English.

Too easily dismissed as a show for the tourists, in fact the teterias rely for much of their custom on the city’s muslim youth and on students; Granada is one of Spain’s most popular university towns.

The concentration of shops selling everything from typically Moroccan trinkets to bohemian clothes for the city’s substantial hippy population has given rise to a lively micro-economy of support services, from bakers to barbers; all the result of a considerable influx of North African migrants in recent years.

This is not the latest incarnation of a continuous Islamic presence in the city. The expulsion of Muslims from Spain in the 17th century was absolute. There is no clear line of continuity between the period of Moorish rule and this street or these shop owners.

As difficult as it is to believe, standing here in the souk and staring up at the Alhambra, the two are totally unconnected, resulting from entirely different historical contexts. If any of these merchants are descended from those who traded in Granada before the reconquest, it’s mere coincidence.

A Room with a Historic View

Coincidence it seems, is to be found at the heart of this city’s defining moments as often as are these two faiths. Across the Darro valley, the Alhambra’s most prominent feature from here is the Comares tower which houses the Hall of the Ambassadors. It’s the most impressive and stately of the rooms a visitor will see on their tour, having just stepped in from the bright light of the Courtyard of the Myrtles, a delight for the ear as well as the eye, its fountains babbling at either end of a mirror smooth pool.

The eye needs time to adjust. When this was Boabdil’s throne room the alcoves and windows would have been glazed with coloured panes. He would have had the advantage of his visitors, backlit in many colours while they blinked from the light of the courtyard. It was in this hall that Boabdil would have held council and reached his agonising decision to surrender the city. On January 2nd 1492 he and his royal party rode out to formally hand Granada over to a waiting Isabella and Ferdinand. He was spared the humiliation of kissing their hands, apparently at the insistence of his mother.

It is to this same room just weeks later that a disconsolate Columbus, having once been refused by Isabella, was summoned. Ferdinand would have been bathed in the light that pours through the ornate windows of this Moorish hall, surrounded by the rich Quranic script covering its walls, when he finally agreed to support the adventure, that great leap of faith through which Columbus unwittingly helped create what we now call the West.

After a Long Absence

Some things change, and some never seem to. The centuries that have passed since Columbus’ voyage have frequently been troubled by encounters between Islam and Christianity, between both and secularism. The ramparts of the Alhambra have withstood. In our times of idealogical clash and religious hatred, the Moorish edifice stands all the more alluring; a testament to the shared history of cultures and faiths, if not reconciled then at least intertwined in the stone and tile work of the Alhambra and in the lives of its occupants.

Looking out from the floor level windows of the hall, back across the Darro Valley and the Albaicin, another tower is visible on the opposite height. It isn’t a bastion, nor is it the bell tower of a church; it’s a minaret.

In 2003, on a site that can’t be much more than five hundred metres, as the crow flies, from the Comares Tower, five hundred years of absence came to an end in the form of this mosque. In a country that was once the home of religious diversity, and then could not abide it, the faith of those who built the great wonder that is the Alhambra has once again found a place for itself in Granada.

Private Official Guide to Visit Alhambra in Granada

If You Go:

Granada has its own airport and is also served by Malaga airport, a two hour bus ride away.

Tickets for a night visit to the Nasrid Palaces cost €12 per person, or €13 if you book in advance from www.alhambra.org, which you are strongly advised to do. Even in the off season, demand is high. Tickets booked in advance can be picked up at the ticket machines with the card used to make the booking. This way you will avoid queueing (yeah right), or the possibility of not getting in at all! If you are from the EU and are a senior citizen, you pay only €9, whether you book in advance or not, and children under the age of 12 are admitted for free, although you may prefer to take the little ones along on a day visit, when for the same ticket prices you will also be able to visit the Alcazaba (the ramparts) and the Generalife with its gardens, in addition to a time slot in the Nasrid palaces.

If you want to splash out, you could stay at the Parador on the grounds of the Alhambra. Check out availability and rates at www.paradores-spain.com/spain/pgranada.html.

Nearby is another upmarket option, the Alhambra Palace Hotel. Check www.h-alhambrapalace.es.

Downhill, the city itself provides both a huge number of places to stay in all price categories, and a perfect excuse to wander down there after your Alhambra visit for something to eat, and drink. You won’t have to climb the hill afterwards to find your bed.

For luxury try Ac Palacio de Santa Paula on Gran Via de Colon, one of the city’s main streets, Availability and rates at www.palaciodesantapaula.com.

For something more affordable and down to earth, go for El Numero 8 in the Moorish Albayzin, a guesthouse of self contained apartments run on an eco friendly basis in this ancient area of the city. Utterly charming and surprisingly cheap. Check www.elnumero8.com.

About the author:
Robin Graham writes for Travel Thru History, Literary Traveler, Matador and The Expeditioner, among others. He and his fiancee, K, recently threw a dart at a map and as a result now live in Tarifa, Spain. He blogs about it at www.alotofwind.com which has already garnered quite a readership.
Blog: www.alotofwind.com
Photography: www.robingraham.smugmug.com
Twitter: @robinjgraham

All photos are by Robin Graham.

Spain: Gaudi’s Barcelona

by Keith Kellett

We didn’t stay long in Barcelona. Our cruise ship arrived at 1:00 pm, and were due to sail at 6:00 pm, so we weren’t allowed much time ashore. Nevertheless, eight tours were on offer and, since we hadn’t been to Barcelona before, we chose the ‘Tour of Barcelona’.

Since Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain, there was a lot of ground to cover and, as we crossed the city to climb the Montjuic Hill, I did wonder if the only remembrance I would have of the place was shaky video taken through the bus window.

The coach got caught in a traffic jam several times, and on two occasions, we stopped by a rather quirky, distinctive apartment block. ‘These are blocks of flats designed by Gaudi!’ announced the guide. This was the first I’d ever heard of him, but since then, I’ve come across his name and pictures of his work several times in my reading.

Certainly the buildings were different. Nature, it is said, abhors a straight line. So did Gaudi; the builders, glaziers and carpenters of Barcelona must have hated him. But, we didn’t stop at either of them. We were on our way to the Güell Park, where some of the best of Gaudi’s work is to be seen. Indeed, Gaudi used to live here, in a pink, fairy-tale house which is now the Gaudi Museum.

Antoni Gaudi was born in the province of Tarragona, in southern Catalonia on 25th June 1852. There’s some doubt about his actual place of birth; indeed, also about his name. It’s sometimes given as the Castilian ‘Antonio’, although the Catalan ‘Antoni’ is preferred.

But, wherever he was born, he spent most of his life in Barcelona, which has claimed him as its own. He studied architecture at Barcelona’s Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura, and soon began to leave his mark on the city. One of his early works were the lamp-posts in the Plaça Reial. Early in his career, he met the rich industrialist, the Condé Eusebi Güell, who was one of his main sponsors and supporters throughout his career.

Güell wanted to build a model village, on the lines of similar villages in England, such as George Cadbury’s Bourneville, in the Midlands. But, Cadbury built his village for workers in his chocolate factory. Güell was much more ambitious. He intended his village for the more affluent and influential people of Barcelona.

The idea only barely took off, though, because the area was too far from Barcelona, and not served by public transport. But, a couple of Gaudi-designed houses were built. He also designed the distinctive aqueduct, which, usually hung with flowers, runs right through the park. Gaudi also designed the plaça decorated with broken tiles around the walls. He was also responsible for the seats and benches here; they’re especially engineered to dry out quickly after rain, and were reputedly based on a moulding of a woman’s buttocks, for maximum comfort.

From the plaça, there’s an excellent view of the city, with several tall cranes punctuating the skyline. They’re not all in the harbour; some are around another Gaudi project, the church of the Sagrada Familia (Holy Family). They’re not renovating it, though. Although it was started as far back as 1882 … it’s not completed yet. It’s only within the last year that it was consecrated as a basilica by the Pope.

Gaudi was a devout Catholic, and, in his later years, made the building of the Sagrada Familia his life’s work. However, Barcelona already had a perfectly good Cathedral, and this could have been the reason that no money at all came from the Church. The building was founded solely by public subscription. So, construction progressed very slowly.

Once, when this was mentioned, Gaudi is alleged to have said ‘My client is in no hurry’, which may have given rise to his nickname, ‘God’s architect’

Early in the 20th Century, work at the Güell Park slowly ceased, and, at some stage, Gaudi left his sugar-candy house, and went to live in the crypt of the Sagrada Familia. He lived the life of an obsessive recluse until, in 1926, when he was knocked down in the street by a tram. At first, he wasn’t recognised, and taken to the pauper’s hospital.

When his friends found him the next day, he refused to be moved, saying ‘I belong here, among the poor!’ Three days later, he died, and is buried in the crypt of his beloved Sagrada Familia. In the following years, construction almost stopped; first the Depression, then the Spanish Civil War and the years of the Franco regime accounted for funding draining to almost nothing. However, it has now recommenced, and it is hoped that it will be finished by 2026 … 100 years after its designer’s death.

Private Full Day Gaudi Tour: Pedrera Casa Batllo Sagrada Familia and Guell

If You Go:

Barcelona Airport is located 10 km (6.2 miles) southwest of the city. It mainly serves domestic, European and North African destinations, but does occasionally accept flights from South East Asia, and the Americas.

Most long-haul visitors will, therefore, usually come via Madrid. The air shuttle service from there was the world’s busiest route until 2008, when a high-speed rail line was opened, covering the distance between the two cities in 2 hours 40 minutes. www.renfe.com

Barcelona is also reachable by inter-city bus. The trip takes about 8 hours and costs about €30 single from Madrid; discounts are available for early booking and for group travel.

It stands at the junction of motorways from Zaragosa, Valencia and Perpignan (France) and is a popular call for cruise ships.

For much more information about Gaudi’s work, I recommend ‘Gaudí by Maria Antonietta Crippa, ISBN 978-3-8228-2518-1

About the author:
Having written as a hobby for many years while serving in the Royal Air Force, Keith Kellett saw no reason to discontinue his hobby when he retired. With time on his hands, he produced more work, and found, to his surprise, it ‘grew and grew’ and was good enough to finance his other hobbies; travelling, photography and computers. He is trying hard to prevent it from becoming a full-time job! He has published in many UK and overseas print magazines, and on the Web. He is presently trying to get his head around blogging, podcasting and video.

All photos are by Keith Kellett.

The Surreal Life of Catalonia, Spain

by Jessica Peter

A house with a dragon’s back. Lantern-lit trees with eerie faces. Turrets made of giant eggs. It may sound like a fairy tale kingdom, but it all actually exists in Catalonia. Catalonia, an autonomous area within Northwest Spain, suffered historical oppression of the Catalan culture and language. Perhaps because of this, its people have developed a contrary nature that may be what led to a heightened sense of whimsy and imagination. The seemingly unreal certainly abounds in the capital city of Barcelona and surrounding communities.

A taste of the surreal life of Barcelona starts on Las Ramblas, a broad, pedestrianized, palm tree-lined street that leads up from the harbour. Between tourists, locals, and pickpockets (watch your valuables!) are dozens of “living statues”. Unlike shabby attempts in other tourist hot spots, these living statues are so impressive that you’d be hard-pressed to catch them move – until you put a coin in a hat and the show begins. The variety changes daily. During my rambling down Las Ramblas, I saw “statues” of everyone from Carmen Miranda to the Angel of Death to a robotic Michael Jackson.

The souvenir booths lining Las Ramblas give away to huts filled with squawks and chirps. Welcome to “The Rambla of the Little Birds,” where you can choose a little bird or a small pet of your own. The bizarre shines through in the pet choices: my personal favourites were chipmunks, chicks – they may seem cute, but they turn into chickens – and one very angry chinchilla.

La Boqueria market is a sensory onslaught of colours, smells, excitement, and seafood just off Las Ramblas. Drop in for a snack: try fresh pressed exotic juices, savory bites from one of the renowned tapas bars within the market, or a glass of sangria. I chose a sangria at one of the bars and was told by the non-English speaking patron, “Fort, fort.” Holding up two fingers, he tapped the glass, and made a spiral gesture beside his head with two fingers.

“Two make me crazy?” I muttered to myself. I sipped “Oh! It’s strong!”

Watch your sangrias: they aren’t the fruit juices mixed with a bit of wine I’m used to. This one tasted suspiciously like alcohol mixed with alcohol. Plus a lime slice. Certainly fort.

Antoni Gaudí is one of Barcelona’s most visible figures, despite the fact that he’s been dead for over eighty years. The Gaudí architecture that dots the city is generally referred to as ‘modernist’, but it’s modernist to the extreme. La Sagrada Familia, the famous – and famously unfinished – cathedral is his greatest work. It appears to be made of melting pudding, and the distinctive spindly towers stand out.

Construction is publicly funded, so your entrance fee goes a long way. But don’t expect to see much inside: it won’t be completed until at least 2026. Gaudí’s other great Barcelona works include Parc Güell with sea serpents and gingerbread-like houses, and the housing complexes Casa Milà and Casa Batlló. One complex has twining metal seaweed balconies and a roof of waves and strange protrusions. The other is decorated with bones and mosaics, and has a curved, scaly, dragon-esque roof. The modernista gift shop below Casa Milà has great items for fans of the unique or unusual.

If you want surrealism to continue through the drinking hours, visit El Bosc de Les Fades (“The Forest of the Fairies”). It’s in the old horror section of the wax museum on Las Ramblas, and some wax figures remain. The walkway to the bar goes through a creepy castle and an abandoned mine before it makes it to the forest. Trees with faces are hung with lanterns while toadstools serve as seating. Every so often there’s an indoor, water-free thunderstorm that lights up the fairies’ wood.

To truly see surreal Catalonia, the art can’t be missed. Joan Miró’s paintings with punchy colours and strange images are based on his fierce Catalan pride. Visit the paintings and other artistic works at the Fundació Joan Miró.

Despite rarely being categorized as “surrealism,” nor as Catalan, the works of Pablo Picasso are often surreal in a literal sense. One of the best collections of his work can also be found in Barcelona, at the Museu Picasso.

Undeniably, the most famous surrealist is Salvador Dalí. Though he loved to shock the upper-crust while living in Barcelona and Paris, he called Figueres home for the first and last years of his life. Do a Dalí dally northward (just an hour and a half by RENFE train) to get to the charming Catalan town which houses the Teatre-Museu Dalí. The old theatre is now a striking red building with giant egg turrets. Dalí’s own crypt in the centre is surrounded by an odd circular route that tracks his works – follow the route or do not follow it; whichever surrealism dictates to you. There are paintings, sculptures, art installations (including the famous Mae West room), and even Dalí’s bedroom set with his dramatic snake bed. A visit to the Dalí Jewel’s exhibit next door is also worth the additional ticket price.

It may or may not be the culture of Catalonia that brings the dream world to life, but something there seems to be a source of inspiration for great dreamers. Their productions can be a source of great delight for the traveller.

Skip the Line: Best of Barcelona Private Tour including Sagrada Familia

If You Go:

Useful Websites:
Catelonia: www.world66.com/europe/spain/catalonia
Barcelona: www.aboutbarcelona.com
Barcelona: www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/museums-in-barcelona.html
Barcelona: www.bcn.es/english/ihome.htm
Antoni Gaudi: www.gaudiclub.com/ingles/I_VIDA/i_menu.html
Antoni Gaudi:www.red2000.com/spain/barcelona/gaudi/html
Joan Miro: www.e-fineart.com/biography/miro_bio.html
Joan Miro: www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_bio_109.html

About the author:
Jessica Peter has deep-seated obsessions with writing, crafting, and travel. Some of her favorite travel experiences include watching busking bands, searching out street art, and sampling local food. On her “Bucket List” is travel, pretty much everywhere. Her Blog: jessdoesstuff.blogspot.com

Photo credits:
First Barcelona photo by Vitor Monteiro on Unsplash
All other photos are by Jessica Peter

Tenerife: A Fun-Filled Fiesta

Canary Islands, Spain

by Pamela Cranshaw

While whizzing along Tenerife’s scenic west coast, a sea of flags and gently swaying streamers entices us to stop. It was a fiesta in honour of La Virgen de Candelaria, the Canary Islands patron saint. A coastal town, Alcala changed its name to Candelaria (meaning Candle Mass) when the saint’s image was washed up Chimisay beach.

The fiesta held in her honour draws churchgoers and visitors from all over the island. But in the 14th Century, the strange, candle carrying female wasn’t such a welcoming sight. In fact, the Gauche goatherds (first known Island inhabitants) were so petrified by her presence they tried hacking her to pieces.

When they discovered that our Lady had powers they placed her in a cave and worshipped her. Sadly, an 1826, landslide tossed the ebony effigy back to sea. Her doll-like double fashioned in 1827 by Fernando Estévanez is housed in the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de Candelaria.

A short jaunt along Alcalá’s shuttered main street stands a cream church with steep stone steps and terracotta roof tiles. Here they pay homage to the virgin who in 1559, was declared patroness of the Canary Islands by Clement VIII before parading her around the streets.

We follow signs for the Plaza de Llano. Church bells echo through the tiny fishing port’s damp, tarmac streets. We pause to admire a wall of cascading graffiti. Located at the foot of a hill, the laurel-shaded plaza is hedged by a bank, shops, cafés, restaurants and a sweet-smelling panadería. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafts from a delightful ice-cream parlour. Seagulls swoop around us and waves hurl stridently at the shore. I imagine that the green cross perched atop black, volcanic rocks was once King Arthur’s enchanted Excalibur.

We wander along the waterfront, inhaling the tangy sea air; when the sudden ear-splitting bang sends a clan of black crabs scuttling for cover. I learn later that those knee -knocking noises came courtesy of Pyrotechnics specialists Brother Toste. The company, initially christened Teide Pyrotechnics was founded in 1788, by Marcos Toste. Since their humble backroom in-Los Realejos beginnings, they’ve become one of Spain’s largest firework manufacturers. They own a six-acre site on the outskirts of the old town.

An errant rocket raced across the harbour. The pyrotechnic team had crammed a firework arsenal, sandbags and launch tubes into a battered grey boat. They rocketed toward a nearby rock formation.

Beyond, sunlight dances on the hulls of a small bobbing convoy. These vessels will accompany the Black Virgin along the foaming, neighbouring shores. As I listen to the soothing rhythm of the ocean, I picture Alcalá’s fishermen sitting here as they chat and mend their nets. From my lookout point, I watch wide-eyed youngsters gather around the wall of neatly-stacked pigeon cages and hear a shaggy-white terrier’s persistent bark.

‘Look!’ my husband exclaims.

A guy from the pyrotechnic team is refueling while his colleagues, frantically bail water from their boat. Then the heady scent of frankincense fills the air, and chants of “Viva, Candelaria!” merge with a brass-band’s buoyant beat. Priests and white gowned altar boys, holding high a gold cross, candles and glinting Black Madonna banner parade by. Bright coloured balloons drift skyward, past the line of gently billowing washing on the flower-clad balcony opposite.

With the procession waiting on the steep incline, a red, Draylon-draped carriage is wheeled in. Exquisite in a costume of red, cream and gold damask, a bejewelled Candelaria clasps a candle, while her fingers curl around an infant in a delicate silver crown. The boat-lined dock reverberates with a rhythmic Spanish beat and dancers, hips swaying, begin an intricate dance. The men wear black trilbies and crisp white shirts and trousers with a broad silk-sashes. Dressed in oblong scarves, straw-boaters and frilly-edged blouses the women swirl in their rainbow coloured skirts. While floral tributes are placed at the Madonna’s feet, a pensioner steps forward and intones fervently the trembling rendition of a sacred song.

At the waters edge, the Virgen de Candelaria is tenderly hoisted onto a streamer-clad fishing boat. Newly freed pigeons stretch and rise up on the sultry sea breeze. Across the gleaming Atlantic, La Gomera’s undulating mound lies shrouded in a shimmering mist. There, El Silbo – the whistling language the Guanches created, still echoes across its narrow valleys and yawning ravines. Bursts of purple, pink red and green rumble though the dazzling blue sky. As the crowds disperse, my daughter scoops up a handful of swirling confetti and we join the celebration.

Private Wine Tasting Tour in Tenerife

If You Go:

The fiesta in honour of Virgen de Candelaria is held on August 15th (Spanish bank holiday in Tenerife).
Nearest Airport, Tenerife Reina Sofia South Airport: Approximately 35 kilometres (22 miles). Taxi from the airport costs approximately €40.
A network of buses connects Alcalá with Tenerife’s main resorts..
Alcalá belongs to the municipality Guia de Isora, in southwest Tenerife
Alcalá pretty little market is held every Sunday from 10am to 2pm at Plaza de Llano.
Playa de las Americas – 20 kilometres (12 miles)
Average year-round temperatures in Tenerife: 23C / 73F
Staying there: Gran Meliá Palacio de Isora is a stunning holiday resort at Alcalá’s northern edge.
Alcala, Tenerife News & Information

About the author:
Pamela Cranshaw lives with her husband and daughter, just a stone’s throw from Thomas Telford’s celebrated landmark – The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (A newly appointed World Heritage Site). She writes short stories, poetry, tarot features and travelling tales. Pamela is also a member of the global group of women writers: On the Wings. zodiacpam.blogspot.com.

All photos are by Pamela Cranshaw.