Step 7

Nose goes: Pomegranate!  Oh wait, I meant Granada!
 

I can see the resemblance, can't you?

Granada translated from Spanish is pomegranate.  According to an article titled "10 Interesting Facts About Granada," this city is filled with many other interesting and fun facts.  One of the most important I have found: this is the only place you receive free tapas with your drink!  Also, this city basks in 250 days of sunlight annually.  For the adventurous tourists (of which there are around 2.5 million from all over the world) there are several hidden gardens scattered throughout the city to discover and further explore.

Grenada is approximately a 3 hour drive from Alicante, or a 73 hour walk if we are not pooped by then!  It is 630 meters, or 1181 feet, above sea level and is nestled at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains right where the flat land begins.  The highest point of continental Spain rests at a comfortable 3,487 meters in the air and claims the name Mulhacén with an accent over the "e."  It's water supply originates from the high, snow covered mountains (Basic).

Decades ago, Granada served as home to Muslims for about 800 years.  It was the last hold the Muslims had over Spain which then fell to the Catholics in 1492.  People of Arabic decent also had a hold on part of Spain, claiming it as their own.  There is a fantastic map of the Language Evolution of Spain, take a look!



One of Granada's most recognized features is the Alhambra; a beautiful, and extremely large, castle that overlooks the entire city including la Vega (the meadow).  It's name in Arabic, qa"lat alHamra, translates to "Red Castle."

This castle has an extensive history dating back to before the Muslim possession.  Sawwar ben Hamandun, back in 889, sought refuge in in the fortress.  It is from him whom we see the first written historical documents.  As Hamdun worked to restore the fortress. the surrounding fertile ground began to populate, and draw more residents from all over the surrounding area.  The fortress was added to the city limits when it seemingly converted into a military garrison due to the prominent location atop a hill.  Time passed and, in the 13th century, the Alhambra assumed it's first royal resident, Mohammed ben Al-Hamar, also known as Mohammed the 1st.  Mohammed II and III followed, adding their own personal touches including a watch tower, warehouses, public baths, and the Mosque (where the current Church of Saint Mary rests). This castle has undergone several partial demolitions, additions, and enhancements since its original erection as well as many inhabitants from varying backgrounds (Historical).

Guided tours for the Alhambra are at 10 am daily and cost 55 euros.  They last for 2 1/2- 3 hours.  Guests explore Nasrid Palaces, Alcazaba (the fortress), Charles V Palace and the Generalife Gardens and Palace.









Sources used to gather information throughout entire post:
"10 Interesting Facts About Granada." Erasmus Granada. N.p., n.d. Web.
"Basic Information About Granada (Spain)." Basic Information About Granada (Spain). N.p., n.d. Web.
"Historical Introduction - History." Alhambra De Granada. N.p., n.d. Web.

Step 6

Alicante es !Aye, caliente!



Researching for this blog I have discovered every city... EVERY city, has eluded to the extravagant and "you-can't-miss-it" night life.  Alicante is absolutely NO exception!  The main beach (pictured above) is Cala de la Palmeras which is a heavily visited spot.  The entire coastline has been appropriately named Costa Blanca or "white coast" and refers to the 200+ kilometers of Spain's Mediterranean coastline touching the Balearic Sea.  This destination is even great to your health according to the World Health Organization!  The consistent warm temperatures (averaging a tranquil 18 degrees C or 65 in Fahrenheit), clean air, and low rainfall make this region a perfect home especially for those with arthritis or asthma!

Remember: Alicnte is the Valencia region's second largest town.  It is located directly below Valencia:


There is an extremely large face of Alicante that is home to the Porte de Alicante.  It houses ships and freighters taking refuge from the ocean and their long journey.



From this port, there is a shoppers dream to the west.  This place consists of small shops and even a leisure complex.  To the north there is the sandy Playa del Postiguet beach that is frequented by many tourists every year but, if we want some sand to ourselves, travelers guides suggest the larger and less crowded Playa de San Juan.

     If you are a pyromaniac, get ready!  We will just miss the most celebrated festival in the area: Fiesta de Sant Joan which takes place around June 24th.  This is Alicante's own home-grown version of Las Fallas de San Jose- a festival that originated as a feast day for St. Joseph and has turned into a day in which the entire city is set to flames!  Las Fallas (another name for the fiesta) is literally translated as "the fires" in Valencian and that is exactly what happens.  Locals work together with their neighbors the entire year to construct the lifelike ninotos, which translated means puppets or dolls.  They are constructed using materials such as cardboard, wood, paper-mache and plaster... and anything else that may be flammable.  They often resemble current politicians and Spanish celebrities, no one is safe from being a model!
     The puppets are set on display and stuffed with fireworks the night before.  Then, at exactly midnight, the city lights are extinguished, the crowds begin to chant, and the puppets are set aflame lighting the city.  A traveler, Janet Morton, states: "The scene at Las Fallas is extremely cathartic and difficult to describe, but resembles a cross between a bawdy Disneyland, the Fourth of July and the end of the world!"  (Las Fallas)

A few food items to watch out for are rice and horchata.  Rice is one of the staples used in a plethora of dishes served in Spain.  We have already talked about paella but we will encounter it more often than I thought.  Dishes such as arroz a banda and arroz negro are popular along the coastline as well as the delectable horchata.  Tiger nuts blended with sugar and water is a common and refreshing summer drink some cafe's specialize in.  I know, when I read tiger nuts I was thinking something totally different too!  Don't worry, these nuts grow as roots in the ground and are even gluten free! They are apparently a fantastic source of fiber, vitamins and nutrients.  We may need to stuff our packs with them before we go on long day trips for an extra snack throughout the day!

"Las Fallas De Valencia, Spain - Spanish Traditions | Don Quijote."DonQuijote. N.p., n.d. Web.

Step 5

Valencia is our next destination!

Central Valencia

     This is not just the nave of the third largest city in Spain (following Morocco and Barcelona), but it is also its own entity, partially separate from Spain.  
     Valencia is known as one of the largest party hot spots in Spain.  It is famed for the "exuberant night life" and the Spring festival most likely being held right now, as you are reading this blog post: mid March.  


  Our group will be spending three entire days in this magnificent city, and it is not difficult to see why.  Valencia City is a hub for excitement, all conveniently packaged within, what are now, imaginary walls represented by streets.  A long time ago, when the city was in its formation stage, the locals built a wall to enclose and protect the city... 
     The city has expanded more than ten fold so those walls became more of an inconvenience than a protection device.  

     There are countless sights, historical viewpoints, and activities in Valencia that we need to be sure to visit.  Here are some of the ones I have come across:

• The Hop-on hop-off bus tour begins at Plaza de la Reina and your pass is valid 24 hours from its first use!  There are stors at the Quart Towers and Serrano Towers (Valencia's old city gates), Nou Mastalla (futuristic-style football stadium) or Valencia's zoo.  And, if you get the extended package, it includes an optional oceanographic aquarium ticket!
• Valencia's cathedral constructed over the Mosque after the 1238 reconquest.  It has a Gothic architectural style and a bell tower 207 steps up a winding staircase.  That should be no problem for Saint Martin's students!
• Do! Valencia Hot Springs Day Tours ... the address is 46005 Valencia, Spain.  There are 240 reviews and 222 of them are in the excellent category.  We may want to look further into this one, just an idea. 
• Guided Tours: http://www.visitvalencia.com/en/home

Sources:

Ham, Anthony. Lonely Planet Spain. Footscray, Vic.: Lonely Planet, 2013. Print.
• "Valencia Tourism: Best of Valencia." , Spain. N.p., n.d. Web.

Steps 4-900,000

El Camino (because if I wrote "The El Camino" it would be redundant)



     In English, El Camino de Santiago translates to The Way of Saint James and it is a pathway across Spain that leads to the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela.  In the Middle Ages, the route was walked as a pilgrimage that led to St. James the Apostle's tomb.

     Sitting at around 500 miles long, people gather from all over the world to walk, run, hike, bike, ride and experience a journey of a lifetime.  People also do it with different motivation: sport, culture, religious, adventure and many more.

     According to The Way of St. James,  the Camino has several different main routes that include:
1. The French Way leading from the French side of the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela.

2. The Northern Way: from the Basque country following the northern coast of Spain and the mountains of Asturias until Santiago.

3. The Silver Way: begins in Seville in Andalusia (Southern Spain) and concludes merging with the French Way.

4. The Primitive Way: also known as The Original Way, crosses the high mountains of Asturias.  This way was known to be the hardest but the most protective way of crossing the mountains.  It begins in the Asturias coast, in the city of Oviedo and ends at Santiago de Compostela.

5. The Portuguese Way: starts in the Portuguese city of Porto and ends at Santiago de Compostela



      I couldn't sum it up better than this history website: "Christian legend has it that when the Apostles divided the known world into missionary zones, the Iberian peninsula fell to James. Seventh and eighth century documents suggest that he spent a number of years preaching there before returning to Jerusalem, where in the year 44 AD he was beheaded by Herod Agrippa I. After his martyrdom, popular belief relates that his followers carried his body to the coast and put it into a stone boat, which was guided by angels and carried by the wind beyond the Pillars of Hercules (the Strait of Gibraltar) to land near Finisterre, at Padrón, in northern Spain. The local Queen, Lupa, provided the team of oxen used to draw the body from Padrón to the site of a marble tomb which she had also provided. Saint James was believed to have been buried there with two of his disciples. And there the body lay, forgotten until the 9th century.

Early in that century, Pelagius, a hermit living in that part of Galicia, had a vision in which he saw a star or a field of stars that led him to what proved to be an ancient tomb containing three bodies. He immediately reported this to the local bishop, Theodomir, who declared the remains to be those of Santiago and two of his followers and who in turn reported the find to the King of Asturias, Alphonso II, who forthwith declared Santiago to be the patron saint of Spain, or of what would eventually be Spain. That would come later. A small village named Campus de Ia Stella (Field of Stars) and a monastery were established on the site. (Or possibly the Roman word for cemetery, "componere": to bury, is the source.) In any event, news of the discovery spread like wildfire and a trickle of pilgrims began to arrive. Miracles came to be attributed to the site, and the miracles encouraged pilgrimage and pilgrimage elicited more miracles. This was all greatly encouraged by the powerful Archbishop Gelmirez of Galicia and the cathedral authorities, who were anxious to promote Santiago as a pilgrimage destination, as well as by the monks of the Abbey of Cluny in France who were anxious to support the Spanish Church in its struggle against the Moors on the Peninsula. And thus began the millennium-long relationship between the holy and the commercial."

Types of Terrain:
     This journey consists of several different types of terrain, not all of it is a cinch!

• beach
• rural areas
• farmland
• forest
• highway
• city

I am probably most excited about this part of our trip to Spain.  I can't wait to meet others that will be taking the trip with us and experiencing spiritual and life changing journeys!  Some day I hope to walk El Camino de Santiago in it's entirety!

Sources:

• "All About The Camino De Santiago." All About The Camino De Santiago. N.p., n.d. Web.
• "American Pilgrims on the Camino: History of the Camino De Santiago." American Pilgrims on the Camino: History of the Camino De Santiago. N.p., n.d. Web.
• "Camino De Santiago Pilgrimage Spain | The Way of St. James." Camino De Santiago The Way of St James. N.p., 02 Apr. 2012. Web.

Step 3

Pamplona!

   This is where I learned there is a lot more to Spanish history than meets the eye!  Pamplona is the capital of both the province and the autonomous community of Navarra or Northeastern Spain.  It was founded in 75 B.C. by Pompey the Great as a military settlement.

     Its name originated as Pompeiopolis or Pompaelo from the Romans when the area was then assumed by Visigoths and briefly by the Muslims and the Frankish were in there somewhere around the 770's.  With the dismantling of the Frankish king, Charlemagne in 778, Pamplona was distinguished and made capital of the kingdom of Navarre by Sancho III of Nacarre.  This new land was known as the Ciudad de la Navarreria.  This is when Pamplona reached its height as a blossoming and important city in Spain in the 11th century.

     In 1512, King Ferdinand of Aragon-Castile penetrated Pamplona, adding a section of land south of the Pyrenees to the Navarre kingdom.  When the First Carlist War (1833-1839) ended, Pamplona ceased to be the capital of the Navarre kingdom but remained the capital of the new Navarra province.

     Its merits and history were forever preserved as a significant part of Spanish history when it became a checkpoint on the Camino de Santiago.


     The city of Pamplona is home to several monumental buildings including the main cathedral (inside rests the Gothic cloister in the French style, this is also where Carlos III of Navarra and his wife Dona Leonor are buried), the House of Accounts (the royal treasury), the Consistory, and the Provincial Deputation.


     The most famous attraction of Pamplona is one know around the world for its stimulating and grotesque festivities: the Running of the Bulls.  This tradition occurs once a year and originates from honoring St. Fermin, the first bishop of Pamplona in a festival called the Fiesta de San Fermin.  Festivities begin on July 6th, the eve of the festival and last until July 14th when the Running of the Bulls occurs.
   
     The Running of the Bulls was originally called the encierro or enclosing of the bulls.  Initially, the activity was to fulfill a necessity: gathering the bulls from outside the city into the bullring.  It begins at the corral in Calle Santo Domingo precicely when the clock on the church of San Cernin strikes 8 AM.

     "Viva San Fermin! Gora San Fermin" is the chant sung multiple times before and after the race is complete.

   

     There is a total of four rockets fired
1: The corral gate has been opened
2: All 6 bulls have been released
3: All the bulls have entered the          bullring
4: All the bulls are safely in the    corral; the bull run has ended.

     The dobladores are a group of people present to welcome the bulls into the bull ring upon their arrival.  These are citizens with extensive bull knowledge, some even being ex-bullfighters.  They help the runners fan out once in the bull ring and drag the bulls toward the corral as quickly as possible.

      The total run is 825 meters through the city and takes between 2 and 10 minutes. After the first 6 bulls are released, there are three more steers that make the final sweep to ensure the bulls are all moving in the correct direction and make it into the bull ring.

Sources:

• "Pamplona, City, Spain." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web.
• "Running of the Bulls. San Fermin 2015. San Fermin Pamplona Spain 2015." Running of the Bulls. N.p., n.d. Web.

Step Two

San Sebastian is next on our list!

What you see here is the most famous view of San Sebastian, or as the Basque call it, Donostia.  Bahia de La Concha is the sea side view while the city is cradled by the rolling Guipuzcoa hills.  San Sebastian started out as a mere fishing village, mainly harvesting whale and cod fish which are staples of Basque cooking.  

San Sebastian is our first stop located in the Basque country.  The Basque country consists of four provinces in Spain (Bizkaia, Gipizkoa, Araba, and Nafarroa) and three located across the boarder in France (Lapurdi, Zuberoa, and Nararroa Beherea).  They were well known as skilled boat makers while also specializing in cod fishing and whaling.  Many citizens consider themselves Roman Catholic, this religion is by far the most practiced in this area.  They also have their own unique language: Euskara which is believed to be around 3,000 years old.
     One of the things to watch out for here is the dated rivalry between Basques and the Spanish and French.  With the Franco Regime in Spain many years ago, Basques were disapproving of the outcome leaving behind a constant battle between the Basques and their neighbors (Buber's Basque Page).  Another good source I found, take a look for more information:  http://www.janecronin.eu/index.php?id=98:the-basque-country-and-eta
    

Basques are known for their sportsmanship, participating in several activities and events including, but not limited to: grass-cutting, log-chopping, caber-tossing (the giant tree that is around 19 and a half feet tall and about 175 pounds), tug-of-war, an intense version of handball, and even cycling!

  There are three main activity hubs in this city:
1. Cathedral del Buen Pastor

    

 This is a 19th century neo-gothic cathedral which takes up 1,915 square meters (about 6,283 square feet).  It measures 75 meters high (or 246 feet, or a 20 story house, or around 23 African Elephants).

2. Parte Vieja
   Also known as Old Town, it was largely rebuilt following a detrimental fire in 1813.  "By day the Old Town is a maze of charismatic alleys and clusters of townhouses hosting the city’s chaotic daily Pescadería (fish market)" This area also used to be a bull ring and is said to be the best place to sample pinxos! This part of town is known to be lively and bustling with night life including, but not limited to, bars and restaurants accompanied by tons of laughter.

3. Gros (not gross but pronounced the same)
Gros is home to the Renfe train station, some local eateries, and its own Zurriola Beach!  This beach never seems to make it into pictures, it is sort of a secret from tourists!


Sources:

• "Buen Pastor Cathedral in San Sebastián, Spain: Monuments in San Sebastián | Spain.info for United      States."Spain.info. N.p., n.d. Web.
• "Old Town (Parte Vieja)." Tours, Trips & Tickets. N.p., n.d. Web.
• Ham, Anthony. Spain. 5th ed. Footscray, Vic.: Lonely Planet, 2013. Print.

Step One

El Capitol ~ Madrid

Madrid is the first stop on the adventure!  It has been the capital of Spain since 1562 and this is the Royal Palace, the official of the Spanish Royal Family however, it is only used for state ceremonies and is not their actual residence.  

And this is the Royal Family themselves.  King Juan Carlos is on the right and his predecessor King Felipe VI.  King Felipe was recently inducted on June 19, 2014.