¡Viva España!

It feels so good to be wandering internationally again - still in a Spanish speaking country, though with a friend this time. Spain is beautiful and filled with amazing things to explore. Sandra and I have been in Madrid for two days, but we´ve already acclimated to a European schedule. I have no idea what time it is at home, and I am very much enjoying eating, playing and sleeping at will.

The flight here was long. We arrived at 7 AM local time, which is around 1 AM on the East Coast. The last hour was beautiful - there was nothing but blackness until then, but at around 6, a thin line of light appeared on the horizon. It grew larger and larger and pinker and pinker until the sun popped up over the horizon, blinding us. We met a couple of guys (who were an actual couple) in the airport who turned out to be huge primadonnas and, despite many Spanish lessons, could not figure out how to change their money. I ended up being the mouthpiece for everyone (scary!) and somehow managed to get us out of the airport and into the subway station.

Our hostel is wonderful. It was rated the best hostel in the world in 2005. It is supposedly haunted, but I´ve sensed nothing yet. There´s free internet and breakfast (if you can get up before 10 AM). I´m sitting in the basement, appropriately called the Bat Cave since it´s black concrete from floor to ceiling, listening to a weird soundtrack (most recently Ghostbusters theme) as a disco ball spins.

Madrid is very cosmopolitan and very old at the same time. ¨Public art¨ fills the streets in the form of old architecture and statues. There is no shortage of things to see and I´m certain I´ve taken more photos in 2 days than I did in 3 weeks in Guatemala. We visited Museo del Prado and the Reina Sofia today, drinking in as much art as we could. The most poignant moment was when we rounded a corner at the Reina Sofia and were face to face with Guernica, Picasso´s painting telling the story of Nazi German bombing of Guernica, Spain. It was breathtaking. The painting itself is huge, but it was difficult to see because visitors were stacked 4 people deep to view it. I had to make a concerted effort to pull myself away when I finally had my turn at the front of the line.

It´s festival time here (the 200th anniversary of some really terrible things in Spain - here for more, which is rewarding and challenging all at the same time. Challenging since everything is closed - including banks, which makes withdrawing money difficult. We finally found an ATM in the Ritz and used their bathroom - I have pictures (it was worth it). Rewarding because its a party everywhere you turn. We got to see a parade at the Palacio Real today and hung out in a parque for a concert by the National Symphony.

What else? The food...oh, the food. It´s phenomenal. In addition to gazpacho, churros, and freshly baked pastries from the corner market, I ate an entire plate of olives yesterday. They were stuffed with some sort of ooey, gooey, garlic and cheesy goodness. The rijoa and sangria flows freely and it is impossible to resist.

As wonderful as Madrid is, I am ready to move on. We leave tomorrow morning to travel by bus to Cordoba. This begins our trek to the region of Andalusia in the south of Spain, where hiking, biking and flamenco are our priorities.