Well HOLY CRAP...this is it! My last blog entry of my adventures in Espagne. I fly back to Oregon a week from today. How the hell is it possible?! As I roll that question around in my brain and think back through all the stories and wonderful people I've had the incredible pleasure to spend time with, I suppose it makes sense I've nearly reached the end of my allotted 90 days. So much has happened that, quite honestly, I can't distinguish between it being 90 days or 290 days! I'm beyond grateful for this experience. I don't know how else to express my gratitude.
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| Beautiful Valencia! |
Since my last entry and descriptions of Cocentaina and the quiet solitude I've enjoyed in my country home, I've traveled a bit beyond this tiny pueblo to see more of what the south-eastern part of Spain offers. Thanks to my hostess, Amparo, working in Valencia during the week, one day I rode in with her and explored around. Valencia takes my breath away! Compared to Madrid, Seville and even Granada, Valencia is in a league of its own. For starters, it's nestled along the coastline, so there's a freshness in the air, and a young, lively spirit. Reminds me of towns along the California coast, like Santa Barbara or San Louis Ibisbo. Valencia is clean, easy to navigate, modern, warm, and well, just down-right pretty. I'll wait and let my photos do most of the talking, but to give a flavor of the spirit and beauty there, the central part of the city is surrounded by what was once an old river. But the river now has been replaced by expansive gardens, monuments, and recreational centers...sort of a hub for nature, culture, and community activity a la New York's Central Park. And naturally, a place like this draws a fair amount of wealthy people, so the city has a certain degree of palatable affluence too. This lil ol' gal from podunk Oregon went nuts taking pictures of the high-class apartment buildings and store window displays. I also couldn't resist climbing to the top of a medieval-period gateway tower to overlook the city from above.
And speaking of climbing, I've also since made the trek up the hillside directly across from my house to Cocentaina's 14th century castle. I see it from my window every day, and now I've seen the opposite view from high above on the other side. The hike itself was actually quite easy. Just some steep paths to climb. And the views were spectacular! Who knew I would come to Spain and discover such a passion for seeking out towering vistas and mountain overlooks. I must find a way to continue that back home. Friends...I beg you to share all your favorite climbs and viewpoints.
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| Made it to the top - Cocentaina's Castle |
Another day found me in a nearby historic town called Bocairent, around the other side of the mountain from Cocentaina. Amparo and Eduardo suggested I see firsthand the ancient formation of the village's buildings. WOW! I wasn't prepared for its charm! There's a section of the town (the historic section) where the buildings and homes are stacked like a Jenga puzzle along the embankments of the town's river canyon. The sight of these buildings across the canyon stops you in your tracks because of its unique and picturesque beauty. Then, once inside the maze of buildings, you follow along the 'Ruta Magica' (Magic Route) through quaint, winding rock paths dotted with old walls and pottery artwork. It truly is poetic and magical! I'm just bummed I didn't get to visit during the normal, warm season. Planing a trip to Spain??? Do NOT miss the tiny, gorgeous medieval towns like Bocairent!
With that said, I'm realizing as I write about these brief outings, they've become fewer and farther between. The truth is, with the few exceptions I've just mentioned, I'm not as taken as I once was by the quaint, European streets and cultural differences here. Spain doesn't feel quite as foreign and exotic as it did three months ago. And I'm no longer wandering about as much taking photos and marveling at the scenery. It has started to feel "normal" now. Many things feel normal, like making my morning coffee in the small stove-top pot, automatically greeting people with a friendly 'Hola' or "Buenos Dias" and hanging my clothes out on the line. For the past few weeks, I've gotten more enjoyment out of simply hanging out with my house friends drinking wine and speaking 'Spanglish', looking at homes in the countryside or riding out to a buddy's new fixer-upper to help with yard work. I still feel like a foreigner in Spain, but I'm not a tourist anymore.
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| Medieval town of Bocairent - stacked village |
And well, there's another thing. As I began to settle in, sightseeing, studying Spanish, and enjoying a little solitude in the country gave way to something else...a husky Welsh accent and sparkling pair of blue eyes. With mere days to go before coming back home, I've met someone who makes getting on a plane and flying thousands of miles away from here seem like the worst idea imaginable. Dammit!! uh oh -- there it is. Cat's outta the bag now. And I'm afraid from here on this blog will cease to describe mountain hikes, ancient castles and all the other trials and tribulations of traveling in Spain. Nope. Now the floodgates are open and what follows will be nothing but the gooey, gushy, sugary musings of unicorns and rainbows. The true romantics in the room with interest in such personal details are invited to read on. The rest of ya'll should probably just give up now. Turn off the computer and back away slowly. [shrugging] sorry :-)
Taking a giant leap towards lunacy now in revealing that, in fact, I may have fallen in love. Shut up! Stop laughing at me! Yeah, yeah, I know. I remember how many people warned me about this. You girls chided me before leaving that I'd meet some handsome stranger and get whisked off into the sunset. Well, I'm not gonna lie, and I don't wanna hide it. An incredible man has stepped into my life...what can I say? He's swept me off my feet. He's brilliant. He's funny. He's romantic. He's insanely musical and talented. He laughs heartily and touches passionately. He dreams big and creates even bigger. And also, because he's Welsh (hhmm...a slight twist in the plot), he's got a fantastic dry wit, clever expressions, and an edgy 'bad-boy' appeal that's evident from coming of age during the 80s punk scene in the UK. It's just too irresistible! sigh. Oh, and his name is Huw.
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| Along the beach in Oliva - or...the Oregon Coast? |
We've spent nearly every minute of the last couple of weeks together and have gotten to know each pretty well. The hikes and exploring and touring small, romantic villages I described above were all done with him and it's been awesome having someone to share it with. (Dare I mention, in a giggly moment of bliss and exhaustion, we took photos of the upper walls and ceilings given that was the view we seemed to have been seeing the most of! tee hee hee) But seriously, this is big. It feels big. We've talked late into the night, many nights, about what happens next. What the hell do we do now? Truth is...I don't know. I don't have an answer. WE don't have an answer. How can we or anybody know for certain what to do about something like this. The stakes are so high and the distance is so long. I'll be honest, he wants me to tear up my plane ticket and stay here with him. He's buying a villa overlooking the ocean and says it'd be wonderful to have someone (ME!) to share it with. A VILLA!!! IN SPAIN!!!! OVERLOOKING THE OCEAN!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME???!!!!
So am I simply caught up in the romance of the ancient buildings, olive groves and the brilliance of the Mediterrean skies? Probably. Yeah, for sure. Make no mistake...I'm all too aware of the implications of the proverbial "cloud nine" that there's a certain amount (hell, a GIANT amount) of non-reality at work here. Who wouldn't get swept up by the sort of late-night, wine-induced, giddy, romantic day-dreaming of running off and traveling the world with someone, who in that moment is seeming like the answer to everything you've ever dreamed about...I mean, come on...this is the stuff of music and literature and art!
It's no secret that the main reason I took this trip was to do a bit of emotional "recovery" from the challenges in my life over the last couple of years...living with and caring for my grandmother, then of course, ultimately going through the divorce with Steve. Such things leave a mark on a person and, well, I needed to clear my head before I felt I could move forward into the next chapter. Now how ironic is it that near the end, as I've started to feel a swell of excitement to come home, get reacquainted with my friends and family, look for a job and a place to live, that I would meet somebody who's turned everything I was expecting upside-down and is now causing me to question where in this world, in fact, do I actually belong. I suppose I've reached the point where I was ready to open up to somebody again. The pain and loss I've gone through has lessoned enough that it can begin to be replaced again by joy and passion and...and...love.
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| Thanksgiving with my Spanish family Sandy, Amparo, Eduardo & Huw |
Much of what I'm feeling reminds me a lot of the weeks before leaving La Grande. I was terribly conflicted leaving there as well. As now Spain and the arms of this man have begun to feel like home, so too did La Grande and my friends and the community there felt the same. So, uhm, yeah...what DO I do now? I have my friends. I have my dog. I have my boys. And I have a much, much needed desire to figure out how to make my own lot in this world. I've never, since I was 18 and married my first husband, been on my own to make my own decisions, have my own place, invest myself in my career. And I wouldn't be my mother's daughter if I didn't have a healthy dose of independence in me, not to mention a wee bit 'o cynicism about relationships. Amparo and Eduardo have been giving us a lot of shit actually. The teasing is relentless, and they're enjoying every second of it. They're insisting that he's coming home with me for Christmas. Is it possible I might bring more home from Spain than gifts and souvenirs??
Let me take a quick moment to say how grateful I am to everyone in my life who's supported this trip and followed along in my blog: my mom and dad, of course, who have supported me in this adventure and shared enthusiastically in all of my stories and experiences -- it's no stretch to say a fair amount of their adventurous spirit and curiosity coarses through my veins and makes this journey possible; my awesome, incredible, wonderful, responsible, I-couldn't-be-prouder boys who gave me strength to make this trip by their very nature of having come into their own and proven to me on many levels that they're self-sufficient and perfectly capable of living their lives now without parental guidance (what more could a mother ask for?); my beautiful and fabulous girlfriends who by their spirit, grace, beauty, intelligent, inspiration and humor have given me the most encouragement -- it's been their words and memories of the love I have for them that kept me going when things got a little scary and I lost the courage to face the next obstacle in this foreign land; and all my other friends and relatives who've taken time to drop me a note, say hi, and told me they've enjoyed reading this silly thing.
I hope everyone who's taken time (sometimes, a LOT of time, I know) to read this blog, understands that I had to keep a record for myself. It's given me a chance to marvel, to joke, to share, and to process. And throughout it all, my sole intention was to be authentic and hide nothing. That's really all it's ever been for me. And, well, frankly, that's a new experience for me. It's not something I'm used to. But putting these words down and watching them stare back at me has been a tremendous exercise in reaching that point where I can share my deepest thoughts and laugh at myself for all that this trip has been. And writing about it all has been an absolute blast!! Thanks for reading. :-)
