Diary of a sola traveler - The Final Chapter

One of the most interesting things that I'm seeing here in the city of Córdoba is the mixture of the Arab and Catholic. Or rather, the superimposition of the Catholic over the previous Arabic structures.  The Mezquita is enormous and gorgeous and it is filled with undeniably Arabic architecture and decoration.  It has rows and rows of arches and columns and all of the entrances have their key-shaped frames. The walls are covered with the plaster impressions and colorful tiles.  However, mixed into, yet standing out, are clearly catholic pieces.  Around the perimeter of the mosque are the capillas, the small chapels dedicated to different saints. And then, smack dab in the center of this beautiful Arabic structure is a catholic cathedral with the organ, the Eucharist, and the statues of Jesus on the cross.  It was somewhat of a jolting experience because the catholic church part of the mosque is somewhat hidden from different sides due to the walls of the choir stalls and the wall behind the altar.

But the Catholic on the Arabic does not just apply to the Mezquita.  The Catholic King's Alcazar is situated right on top of old Arabic baths.  It's quite the combination if you ask me.  Up in the Leon and Castilla regions of Spain, a Spanish architectural style, Múdejar was developed. Múdejar is a synthesis of the arabic, jewish and christian architecture due to all of these cultures living side by side in the Spanish peninsula. Although much of that style can be seen in these structures (or should I say, many of these structures can be seen as influences in the múdejar style), here in Córdoba, they remain pretty distinct.

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As I'm on the bus from Córdoba to Málaga, my Semana Blanca trip is pretty much over. I saw a lot this past week and it's safe to say that I'll sleep well when I get back to my own bed. So at the beginning of my trip, I was pretty nervous about traveling alone. Now, when it's all done, here's what I think about it:

Pros:
--You can do things at your own pace - I especially like this for museums.
--You meet other people. - If the hostel is good, you will meet other people since you won't be stuck in your own group of friends.

Cons:
--It gets lonely at night if you're not in a good hostel. Especially in the winters when it gets dark early so you get back to the hostel earlier.
--There's no one to take your picture at a lot of places.
--You can't talk with a friend about what you're seeing and experiencing.
--Bus rides and flights are super boring.
--Taxis cost more since you can't split them with anyone. Plus, you want to take them more since you're traveling alone and don't want to get lost or walk alone in the dark.
--It's extremely awkward to eat alone in Spain.
--You don't laugh as much. If you laugh out loud at your own thoughts, you'll look pretty crazy.

Overall, it's more lonely and boring. I don't think I'll travel alone again unless there's no other way I could see the sights that I want.  I don't think I would have been able to go to Mérida or Cordoba with anyone else, so I'm glad that I did this. But my first instincts about traveling alone were correct. It's really not as fun as traveling with friends.  I'm glad I didn't go to Italy alone. It wouldn't have been close to as good of an experience as it will be with Laura.

Diary of a sola traveler Part 3

2/28/12- Sevilla

The atmosphere here in the south is so obviously distinct from that of the north. Sevilla, by size of the "old city" feels much bigger than that of Barcelona, yet it still has the charm of a small city. Today was also the Día de Andalucía, so everyone was off work and enjoying the warm weather Sevilla has to offer (Sevilla is  probably the warmest city in all of Spain, not counting the Islands). And I thought the day at the beach in Barcelona was warm. That has nothing on the weather today. It felt almost as if it were the end of Spring/beginning of summer. And it's still February!
Like I said, the atmosphere is so quaint here. The streets are narrow and you never can tell where it will take you. All the little restaurants have their tapas and everyone is sitting outside.
The hostel that I'm staying at does organized "tapas crawls" but unfortunately there aren't any on Tuesdays. The downside to traveling alone is that it is incredibly uncomfortable to eat at a restaurant by yourself here. Eating out is a very common thing, but it's always a social thing. You hardly ever see anyone sitting at a table alone.

I wasn't so rushed here in Sevilla. I was here for orientation for this program and I'll be here again with my parents in no time at all.

2/29

Sitting here on tis bus from Sevilla to Mérida, I feel very homesick actually. It may be a residual effect of traveling alone. The things I see, although magnificent and unique, don't give me the same sense of awe as before. Maybe it's becoming "normal" to me to see things like this and I'm getting accustomed to it. It also could be that half of seeing these things is experiencing it with other people.  In a way, I'm really ready to go home. I miss the strong relationships I have at home and even doing normal day-to-day things with friends could be just as exciting at this point. I know this feeling will come and go within the next couple of months and that when I feel like this I need to think positively and enjoy this unique experience.  I miss real, lasting, deep relationships. And with how important those are to me, this is really hard.


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These entries should be called the bipolar ramblings of a sola traveler. I just spent a really nice evening with the people with whom I am couch-surfing. Now Mom and Dad, when you read this, don't freak out. They're both auxiliares de conversación too so knew we had that in common and I know they had an FBI background check to get the visa to come here.
Although I really miss the true, deep friendships I have back home, I do enjoy meeting new people and getting to know them. I like encountering different cultures and perspectives. So far on this trip, I have had great conversations with people from Canada, Australia, England, Panama, Portugal, France, Venezuela, Argentina, etc.  That is really amazing. But in Sevilla, I was pretty much just left to myself and my own thoughts and those kinds of situations seem to tend to make me sad and homesick. But for the next day, I'll be here with these couch surfers and I'll have people to talk to and eat with and all will be good. I only have on day in Cordoba by myself so hopefully I won't go too crazy there.

3/2

Mérida was amazing. Pretty much everywhere you looked, there was another Roman ruin uncovered. You could even get the feel for the whole ancient city pieced together, between the Temple of Diana, the theatre and the residential buildings, etc. Just by walking the streets of Mérida, I was walking where people back in the Roman Empire walked everyday.  Apparently building contractors don't like to do construction here because inevitably, they will come across ruins and then have to go through all the red tape that comes along with it.
The Roman theatre was obviously my favorite part of the ruins. It's what drew me to the city in the first place. A lot of people are disappointed because it is so reconstructed, but I appreciate that they did that so I could see more or less how it looked when it was in use instead of being random rocks and stones that are really old in some sort of unnatural pattern.  They still kept areas of the theatre pre-reconstruction so you can see more or less how they found it, but the general appearance of the theatre was restored.  I'm sad that I won't be there for the Mérida theatre festival where they actually put on classical shows on this theatre. But I still sad in the seats for a bit and just imagined a show there.
Also, last night, I met another theatre major. He's and Auxiliar too, and it was great to finally talk theatre with someone. It's definitely something that I've been missing over here. So far, I think Mérida has been my favorite place of this trip for a couple of reasons. One, it's a completely new city for me. I had already done Barcelona and Sevilla, so I didn't want to do the same touristy things every time. Another reason is that I was with people. During the city explorations in Mérida I was by myself, but that I was fine. I actually think that I prefer to do museums alone because I can move at my own pace. But I had people to eat with and talk to. Edward and Fanchon fed me so well, more than I could ask for and they were so incredibly nice. I don't think I could thank them enough. Not only did they give me a place to stay in Mérida, but their company probably kept me sane for these last couple days of this journey. So thank you!

A section of the old Roman aqueduct

The Roman theatre

The Temple of Diana

The original entrance to the Roman city

The courtyard of a Roman house

Now I'm off to Córdoba. I'll get there this evening, so I'll probably just take it easy at the hostel tonight and do all the sights and then tomorrow evening, I'll head home. I can't believe that I've already been traveling for over a week on my own. It's gone by both slowly and quickly at the same time.

Diary of a sola traveler Part 2

Feb 24th


Today I have written considerably less. And that can be attributed to one simple thing- I talked more. No, not like a crazy to myself. Maybe not in my native tongue. But I had people to talk with and share the experiences with me.  Last night at the hostel, I met three really friendly girls from Buenos Aires, Constanza, Agus, and Flor. We hung out at the night outing through the hostel as well. Then, we realized that we were all planning on going on the same walking tour through the Gothic Neighborhood of Barcelona. So we met up for that, went to the Picasso Museum and then just looked around some cute shops. It was really nice to have these people to hang out with and it was really cool that since I knew Spanish, these possibilities were opened up for me.




Feb 26th

Yesterday (Saturday), I met up with my Irish friend Peter and we walked around the Grácia area. The Grácia area of Barcelona is a newer part of the city. Very residential, but also has some really cools shops and pretty streets. We meandered from this area to the beautiful Parc de la Ciutadella. I feel like if I lived in Barcelona, I would be going to this park a lot. There were people just laying on the grass, people playing catch, people playing music. Just a lot of people relaxing and just enjoying the beautiful weather.
After the park, we went to a cool cava and tapas bar (Cava is the Spanish version of Champagne).  Leslie had recommended this place to me before coming and Peter's friend had recommended it to him, so we decided that we absolutely needed to check it out. It was really cool and the place was completely packed!  They had their very own brand of cava that was delicious (and not very expensive either) and you could tell that this was not just a place for tourists, as it seemed like it was mostly filled with Spaniards.  It was kind of a rush being in a place so packed. I felt like I was one of those old time stock brokers talking with my hands to try to get the bartender's attention so that we could get served.

Feb 27th

Sitting here on top of this mountain, I understand why there were monasteries and hermitages built here. The views are incredible and it is so peaceful. The breeze blows slightly in the trees and a bird lazily flutters by. It's a place whose magnificence makes you speechless. You don't want to intrude your voice into the silence.

This was written on top of Montserrat, a mountain with a monastery built outside of Barcelona.

The History of Montserrat according to "Sacred Destinations"


According to Catholic tradition, the statue of the Black Virgin of Montserrat was carved by St. Luke around 50 AD and brought to Spain. It was later hidden from the Moors in a cave (Santa Cova, the Holy Grotto), where it was rediscovered in 880 AD.

According to the legend of the discovery, which was first recorded in the 13th century, the statue was discovered by shepherds. They saw a bright light and heard heavenly music that eventually led them to the grotto and the statue.

The Bishop of Manresa, present at the discovery, suggested that it be moved to Manresa, but the small statue was discovered to be so heavy it could not be lifted. Thus the Virgin had indicated her will to stay on Montserrat to be venerated there.

By the 9th century, there were four chapels on Montserrat, of which only one remains - St. Aciscolo's, which is in the monastery's garden. In the 11th century, the abbot-bishop Oliba founded a monastery on the mountain of Montserrat, next to one of the chapels. Many miracles were reported through the intercession of the Virgin Mary at Montserrat.

According to historians, it was then, in the 12th century, that the statue of the Madonna and Child was made. The Madonna statue soon earned widespread fame as numerous miracles were associated with the intercession of the Black Virgin of Montserrat.

Many of the first missionary churches in Mexico, Chile and Peru were dedicated to Our Lady of Montserrat and many saints and popes have visited the shrine over the centuries. St. Ignatius Loyola made a pilgrimage to Montserrat after being injured in war, and it was soon after that he wrote his famous Spiritual Exercises.

Due to the great numbers of pilgrims that flocked to Montserrat throughout the Middle Ages, the monastery was enlarged from its original humble size. In 1592, the grand basilica of Montserrat was consecrated.

In the late 18th century, almost the entire sanctuary was destroyed during theNapoleonic invasion. But due to the widespread devotion to the shrine, it was soon restored.

In 1881, Montserrat's Black Madonna was crowned in accordance with Canon Law and proclaimed patron saint of Catalonia by Pope Leo XIII.

The town and monastery were really beautiful, but the most beautiful part of the trip for me was the hiking on top of the mountain.  You had to take this incredibly steep train up to the top where many different hiking trails split off.  We took one that led us past this small chapel and an old hermitage built into a crevice in the mountain. Up a thin, steep staircase that was falling apart it was so old, and up to ruins of an old convent with incredible views.  From there we ended up taking a wrong path and getting lost, but it was worth it since even more beautiful views opened up to us.  We made it back just in time to catch the only bus back to Barcelona.  The woods and forests reminded me of hiking back home.  The smells, the sounds, the fresh air. It's something I didn't know I missed until I experienced it. I can't wait to go home go camping with friends and take Twix for a walk at Woodlawn (Yes, Dad, I'll take Twix for walks this summer).  There's something so enchanting about being in the wilderness, especially at the top of the mountain of Montserrat. It's pretty obvious why it became a place of worship.

 

Thoughts about Barcelona:


So by now, I've pretty much done all there is to do tourist-wise in this city. It continues to be incredible but I feel that a lot of the things to see, don't need to be seen twice (Except for the Sagrada Familia as it continues to develop as it's built). The only reason I think I would come back would be to see the people that I met here, and most of those people aren't even here permanently.
Barcelona, it was great to come and visit you again, but it might be a while until our paths cross again. Hurry up and finish your Sagrada Familia and I might come back.