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Published: November 2nd 2006
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Playa y el puesto del sol
Sunset on the beach outside our hotel. Yes, those are storm clouds moving in, and it poured that night. A brief re-cap to bring you up to date. In my defense, getting to the internet in Spain can be quite difficult and the Universidad doesn´t make it any easier. It is a crap shoot each time you enter the computer lab--sometimes the computers work, sometimes they don´t. And, even when they do, it is hard to post photos as most of the computers are slow.
Three weeks ago we had a puente (Thursday was a day off so they give us Friday off too). Puente = bridge, and a good bridge it is. I went to the island of Mallorca in the Mediterranian with 8 of the other Iowa Staters. What first caught my attention was that Germans way, way out-numbered the Spaniards. Menus were in German, waiters spoke German and English, and to find Spanish, you really had to look for it sometimes. Crazy, ¿no? And it is true that the northern European men all wear speedos. All of them. And aside from the speedos, truth be told, Mallorca is a beautiful island with turquiose water and amazing sunsets. It wasn´t hot while we were there but the days were sunny and warm enough to go the beach.
Vidrieras
The large stained glass window as seen from inside the Cathedral. Thankfully it was a sunny day and the rainbow light looked magical on the pews and pillars and organ. We spent a day lying on the beach and another sight seeing in the capital, Palma de Mallorca. We went to the Gothic cathedral whose stained glass windows are still intact. The windows in the cathedral were my favorite part because it was sunny and rainbow light filled the whole church. I took my professor Javier´s recommendation and bought an Ensaimada Mallorquina, the traditional pastry of the island. It was a large, baked spiral of dough the size of a large pizza filled with cabello del angel, literally angel´s hair. To me, it looks like the inside of an apple turnover and is very sweet and even tastes a bit like apples. I´ve been told it is only sugar (glass-ified sugar, however that works) but I don´t believe them. I think I am not being told the whole truth. I don´t believe that the whole thing was filled with just sugar.
On the way back to the hotel from the city, we ran into a huge biker ralley. There were Harley´s and American flag helmets and bandanas, but they were by far the minority. There were lots of Spaniards and Italians and I still don´t know why there were
Catedral de Palma de Mallorca
The spires of the Cathedral as seen from the courtyard of the royal palace. The palace had an inner courtyard complete with flowers, palmtrees and lion fountains. 300 or more bikes crammed into a tiny plaza, but they all started at once and the roar was deafening, bouncing off the buildings that encase the streets. Sidewalks are put in as after thoughts, or more frequently, not at all.
Thankfully we had days of sunshine in Mallorca but it did rain each night. That continued when we got back to Cáceres and it rained for nearly a week straight. Extremadura and most of Spain has been in drought for the past four years, so the rain was needed. There was some major flooding north of us in Galicia and south in Andalucia last week and many of the reservoirs have gone from 20% to 45% full. A huge improvement, but not enough to ease water restrictions in some areas. I went with Téresa to San Pedro de Alcántara two weeks ago, and it was a very rainy weekend, indeed. It is amazing how fast the hills get green here after the rain. No waiting until spring. We went for a walk outside of San Pedro during one of the few hours it wasn´t pouring and the country side is beautiful below the town. We drank from an
Ensaimada Mallorquina
Coolest pastry box, ever. If it didn´t have grease stains on the inside, I´d bring it back with me. old fountain, delicious spring water, and I attempted to catch a frog but didn´t succeed. When we go back, I will try again.
Oh, and something quite surprising has occured. Last week, well after returning from Mallorca, I came back to my room and discovered a tshirt on my bed that I had never seen before. I asked Téresa where it came from and she said it was in the laundry with all my other clothes. The tshirt is from Boone, Iowa and I have never seen it before, Téresa had never seen it before, and it wasn´t left at her apartment by any of the other girls she has hosted. I brought the mystery tshirt to school and no one else in the group had seen it before, either. No one knows anything about it. Yet, a tshirt, from Boone, Iowa no less, appeared on my bed in Cáceres, Spain and I still have it in my posession. As no one knows anything about it, I will just wear it for the time being. It is even a size small......
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Jean Granahan
non-member comment
Boone, Iowa
Hey Clair! Guess what? I'm originally from Boone, Iowa and grew up there because my grandparents and my uncles own farms there. What a coincidence! Don't get rid of that fine shirt -- I'm sure if you don't use it, I can find someone who will.