Granada

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Answering Machine: Hello mother....Hello Father....Here I am at.....Camp Granada....
Homer: Marge, is Lisa at Camp Granada??

Buenos Dias All,

thanks for all your responses and I promise I will get back to you....eventually.
I promise I´m not spending most of my holiday in internet cafes, though I´m wondering now if anyone has started a guide for all the cafes in europe. It would probably come in handy for someone that is suffering from PC withdrawals whilst traversing the continent.

It´s actually siesta time in most of the cities I´m visiting which means most shops are closed and it´s generally too hot to be wandering the streets anyway. Granada is a lovely 32 degrees today 😊

More of the postcard thing here. Now that I´m in Granada, I´ll tell you about Portugal.

Our trek from Salamanca and over to Porto in Portugal was only supposed to take 4 hours or so. A couple of enforced detours later and it ended up being around 7 hours.

But that´s ok. I don´t know if other people feel the same way, but what I´ve noticed about travelling freestyle is that you generally have no obligations to be anywhere at anytime in particular, and your sense of space and time starts to expand out a lot further. On most days, I have no idea what day it is, unless most shops are closed which means it´s probably sunday. You learn how to enjoy the moment you´re in more because you don´t need to be anywhere else except right here right now. You´re not exactly sure what´s going to happen next, but really you´re not too stressed about it.

No I´m not stoned, just pretty relaxed 😊

But back to the bus ride to Porto. Because of the enforced detours, it meant taking a much longer route, but ultimately a more satisfying one. The bus zigzagged its way through the mountains of Portugal and I´m fairly sure that none of us would have ever seen this part of the country had we not detoured. We climbed peaks, saw the lush green valleys, you notice the white houses and buildings perched on remote mountainsides that on all accounts, shouldn´t be there. You look further up and notice how the mountain range just melts into the horizon and connects the earth with the universe. You see the local children looking bemused as they watch the bus struggle with the climb and how out of place it was in their simple village. Decrepit houses just sit in the forest where someone has vacated perhaps 20 years ago, still standing, made of solid stone and shale. The narrow roads are just carved into the side of the mountains, most of them being two lane though realistically only accommodating one bus, the bus driver was talented, I give him that. It was a marvellous experience.

As all the cliches say, take the road less travelled, but the caveat is to make sure you don´t have to be somewhere in a hurry.

I´m sad that I don´t have any pictures to show you what I saw and how it really affected me. Generally I find Language on its own is a poor communicator of experience and sensation, but that may be just the way I utilise it. Perhaps we need to get to a higher state of consciousness or find a new medium where I can transmit the experience directly to you so you´d know how special it was. Maybe it involves some music and interpretive dance, I´m not really sure.

No seriously, I haven´t taken anything.

Porto wasn´t much to write about but only because I spent very little time there. Lisbon on the other hand was magnificent. All I´ll say for the moment was it involved a stroke of luck, timing and a shopping centre.

More updates as I come across other siesta times.

Cheers,
Ben

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