Back in Key West...

Adios!

"Take this, you're going to need it for the ride!" But I have absolutely no more room in my bags for anything. I am a horrible packer and really only needed to bring a third of what came with me. 

I come up with a good solution - my thermos which is normally used for water will now house the wine Tio insists I take with me. He wants me to take the entire bottle but I explain that I can't drink it all (or can I?) I also get four Spanish fans. Call it a Spanish care package for the ride home.

After some arguing amongst Consuelo, Tio and I, my thermos is emptied and filled with "The best wine in Spain!". Coming out of the kitchen, I take a swig and smile saying "Esta bien!". Jose sees where the wine went and starts laughing as I give him and the rest a cheers motion. 

It's another rainy day. Tio and I had returned from the library after reading our prospective newspapers. Him on one side reading the paper version and me on the other side reading the electronic. After Jose, Consuelo and Manuel take off, it's just me and Tio. We put my stuff in the car and the dogs are barking up a storm. 

"Did you say goodbye to them?" "No, but I need to!" We run over and give goodbyes and I continue on.

"Adios perros!"

"Adios casa!"

"Adios tierra!"

"Adios manzanas!"

"Adios paseo!"

"Adios playas!"

We drive to Aviles and get a couple extra turns in the rotunda for old times sake. Oh and we get lost getting to the station if that's even possible. Good thing we left a little early. 

I put my bags on the bus and give Tio a hug. "Thank you for everything." I say. He does what he always does when I say thanks - a shaking of his finger and a stern "I told you that you don't have to thank me!" 

"I know but thanks." He smiles big.

Load up on the bus, wave goodbye and I'm off to Madrid. On the way I get the last sights of this northern region I've called home for the last three months. The most spectacular mountain ranges I've ever seen covered with snow. As we continue further, I take another swig from my personal decanter of wine and watch as vineyards whiz by. 

Finally the sky turns seven shades of stunning purple with clouds that can't be captured properly by my camera. My mind will have to have to memorize it instead as I gaze to take it all in.

This country has so much, it continually astounds me. 

Land in Madrid and head to the hotel. Speak in Spanish with the staff and understand every lick of it. Get a good bite to eat at my favorite Galacian restaurant which has a lot more meaning for me now after I've visited there. 

A Spaniard asks me a question outside before entering the restaurant that I don't quite understand. He tries again and says "Oh, I thought you were from here". It seems a fitting ending that I get mistaken for a Spaniard. 

I assure him that the food here is Galacian.

I can't sleep. Does my body have hotel memory? I feel as if I'm experiencing the jet lag I first felt when I arrived. Or is it separation anxiety?

Get up early to hit the Reina Sofia museum and love that today, it's free. Also very fitting. Run up to the top because the first thing I want to see it Guernica. I stare at it for a long time. Reading the emotion in each stroke. I think of Tio explaining what it was like when the bombs hit and the painting has even more meaning.

This trip. These experiences. I couldn't have asked for anything better if I tried. I am blissfully happy and can't wait to explore more. This is my life.

And to top it all off, upon my return, I get to do the most American thing I can think of. Vote to put a black man in a white house. GO OBAMA!

Life is good. Adios!

 

Dirty old man goodbyes & other learnings...

"I need a one-way ticket to Madrid for November 1st. What times do you have? Ok, I want 1:00. I'll pay with a card, thanks."

Been thinking of how far my Spanish has progressed. Don't get me wrong, I still need to learn - LOTS. But its a far cry from grabbing the security guard to tell me what the phone was saying. I'm thinking this with a smile as I walk towards the exit of the station but a lady stops me from leaving. "Do you know how to work this machine?"

"Yes" I reply. "Where are you going? Is it one-way or return trip?". And just like that, I help out a fellow Spaniard get a train ticket from an automated machine.

Ok, so not too surprised that dirty old men need goodbyes too. It's what I've been thinking the last few days when I received an email with an attached photo from one of them. He wants to continue practicing Spanish/English via online. I'm deathly afraid of opening the picture because I'm not quite ready to see a pair of 70 year old Spanish balls.

Walking to the cafe one morning I encounter a familiar face. The guy who fills the cigarette machine is setting up outside tables at another cafe. He stops me to say "Going to write? You really like it, huh." I respond with a smile and a quick "Yep. I like it a lot." He starts to grab my face. Uh, I know this game - quickly move it to the side so I can get the standard two air kiss greeting. Bonus points for him smelling like booze on an early Sunday morning.

Just a roll through the goodbye tour. The weather has shifted and it's been cold and rainy. My delicate Key West temperament is shocked and I've been sticking close to home these days. That's ok, cause there's still more to learn there too.

Kept hearing this word being said by everyone in the family all the time but had no clue what it was. Finally during dinner one night I asked Tio: "What is this word? Cono?". He tells me it's a saying and goes to search for it in the dictionary. When he finds it he motions for me to come over and take a look. I do and before he can pronounce it in his broken English accent, my eyes grow wide and my hand goes to cover my mouth.

Cono or C*nt.

He sees my expression and starts to laugh. I hit him on the arm and say in a whisper "but you say it a lot. the family says it a lot!" Delighted in my horror, he tells me that it's not the literal meaning like we found in the dictionary. It's a saying kinda like "Aye Carumba!"

My mind immediately goes to an image of Bart Simpson saying "C*nt!"

Last night while watching the news, Tio starts getting angry at the image of a man on TV. As usual, it's a good time to ask why he doesn't like something. In this case, someone. He comes to me after the news is over. Very formal with hands crossed in front of him like a professor beginning to speech. "You asked me why I do not like this snake of a man. Here is why".

Apparently it was a guy who during the Spanish Civil War ordered to have many soldiers killed and then denied it afterwards. Tio does not like him as he winds up into very punctuated statements and finally is looking for a word to describe his mortal enemy. "Uh, uh. He is... uh."

"Cono!" I say with gusto, excited to use a new word.

Tio and Consuelo laugh and he shakes his finger at me. Yes, yes. but you know that means something like Aye Carumba.

Sure...

Tio says...

Tio says...

Don't Forget! It's time to change your clocks.

Holy Sh*t! - Picos de Europa

I hate goodbyes even little ones. Must be the reason why, I got the nickname Disapenny cause when it was time for me to go, I'd just disappear without a peep. Ok well, I used to do that in part because I hated to say goodbye AND if I did start out the door, my good drunken friends would hold me hostage for another couple of hours pouring drinks to where I wouldn't know my own name at some point.

So I began my farewell tour of Spain with Tio yesterday. The morning was freezing and it has become a common sight to see mist/fog rising off the hills as soon as the sun hits. I am in about 7 layers of clothes sitting in Tio's car. As we peel out of the driveway, I make the sign of the cross. The windshield is all fogged up and I tell him he needs to turn on the heat cause he's driving straight into the sun with no vision. He tells me he doesn't have it. Huh?

I start laughing as I have become the manual defrost. Here's the picture: me with a cloth wiping the window in front of him while we're speeding down the highway. He's got one hand on the wheel and the other blocking the sun. I just kept thinking "You asked for it!". So I did.

After a couple of stops which included a nifty stop the car sorta on the side of the road to cross the highway and knock on a stranger's door for directions, I pondered if I should get out of the car in case a truck would come round the bend and sideswipe me. It was too friggin' cold to get out of it so I stayed in and we eventually got to Covadonga.

Covadonga is an area where the Spanish beat back the Moors in a legendary battle around 700 AD. Their savior, Pelayo, is celebrated here with a church, and a chapel built into the side of a mountain. The first thing we see is this waterfall coming out under the cave. At the bottom is a the fountain of the seven spouts where legend has it ladies of a marriageable age who drink from it will become married in one year. Okey dokey.

Tio starts to tell me about the place and tells me to think of what I want in a boyfriend and then throw some money into the lake below to get it. What is it with the Catholic church and money?!?! So I start to pull out some coinage when he tells me it's too much. "But I want a good one!" I say. He gives me a 5 cent piece and tells me seriously to think of what I want.

I have a lot fun with this cause I start to name off all the things I want and realize I sound like Spaulding from Caddyshack. "I want a cheeseburger. I want fries. I want a coke." And on my fifth or sixth thing, I'm getting into fleshing out this mystical man. Tio at some point finally says "Just throw it in already."

I give the 5 cent piece a kiss and throw it in with a laugh. Tio is smiling and tells me now we'll have to wait and see. I ask "Since I threw in 5 cents can I get 5 boyfriends?" He laughs and says "One good one is all you need."

We check out the church up top as I am getting a full guided tour from Tio. He even tells me this is the place where his parents had their honeymoon over a hundred years ago. As we go into the church the confessional is open. I ask Tio if he needs it and he says no he only has small sins. Then he asks me seriously if I want to do it and I tell him I don't need it cause I'm a saint. Get a good laugh from him on that one.

Get our fill of Covadonga and a bit of lunch. He asks me if I want to see the lakes at the Picos de Europa and assures me he'll drive slow this time. It's a gorgeous, clear, fall day and I have read a lot about these mountains. I really want to see it and after examining the road think it won't be too bad.

Wrong!

The first part isn't too bad. The road is big enough for two cars and we pass a cow in the middle of it starting up. Then we keep winding up and up and up. The road narrows to a one lane road and I'm again on the side where the edge drops off. He's just chatting away and I''m looking down to analyze the car roll factor pinpointing the ones where we'd maybe survive. "See it's not too bad, there's even a wall." he says delightfully. Yeah, in some places!

I keep thinking "We've got to be at the top now, right?" when we would reach another bend and I see more of that partial wall inching up higher and higher. To his credit he is going slower and is even honking his horn when we go around a curve where you can't see if another car will come colliding into you.

I feel as if I'm on a reverse rollercoaster going up and up but there's no release. My heart is pumping and feels like it is about to explode out of my chest at any moment. My arteries are getting a cholesterol cleanse for all the patatas fritas I've been eating for the last three months and it hurts.

We reach this point at the top where there is a beautiful lake, cows, and sheep grazing everywhere. I spot more road and he keeps wanting to go higher. Finally, I can't take it anymore and yelp "No more!" when I see a point where we can stop and argue about it. He realizes I'm not going to budge and after explaining my fear of heights he gives in.

At that point I start running around taking pics while he talks to motorcyclists. It's gorgeous and worth the death defying trip up. Good god, Spain has so many beautiful places. You could spend several lifetimes getting to them all.

The suns going to start setting and so it's time to go. The ride down isn't as bad as the one up thankfully. He shows me the vista and at one point stops the car for me to take pics but I nervously say "uh, keep going - i can take them while moving." Dude likes to stop in the middle of roads.

I'm exhausted. I realize why trips with Tio wear me out. It's cause I'm driving but not in control of anything. Even though I've never been here before, I'm pointing out the way we need to go after looking over a couple maps. Telling him to stop and use the road when we're about to drive up onto a sidewalk and ram people smoking. Essentially I'm driving without driving.

After another quick stop for directions, he tells to me I'm a very good co-pilot. No shit! He tells me he needs a good co-pilot and offers to pay me for it. Tells me I can stay in Spain. I'd probably age faster than him sitting in that car too much. One good thing about the mountain drive, I'm not scared of his normal driving anymore as we speed into the setting sun. He's happy as a lark telling me stories about other family from the states that have visited him. I'm glad we did this.

We get back to the house and I thank him for a very good day. He smiles and I run off to the cafe to have a beer to stop the adrenaline machine that is my heart.

When I sit down, the owner of the cafe I visit just about every morning to write asks me when I leave Spain. I tell him next week. He shakes a finger at me and tells me I better say goodbye. "Of course!" I say in English with a smile and then say in Spanish that this is my house in the morning. I get the equivalent of Spanish love - food. A small piece of bread with fish pate tomatoes and lettuce appears.

I hate goodbyes... Maybe I need my 5 boyfriends to help soothe me.

Holy Sh*t! - Picos de Europa

Holy Covadonga