Well I realize that has been quite a few weeks since my last entree, so let me get you caught up to speed with what is happening here in Spain. Since the last post, I made a short jaunt down to southern Spain for a weekend with Brian and Martina. One of Brian's college friends is working as an English Language and Cultural Assistant in Almeria. Almeria is a small sized city (large compared to Cuenca) on the southern coast of the Mediterranean. Brian's friend Katrina was celebrating her birthday and Brian wanted to go make a surprise visit. Martina and I being the adventurous people that we are decided to accompany Brian in his surprise visit to Almeria. While planning the trip, we realized that taking either the train or the bus to the South would be both long and expensive. We figured out that it would be faster and just a little more expensive if we rented a car and divided the price between the three of us. Renting a car turned out to be a good choice but the only major drawback was Martina got stuck with all the driving, since Brian does not drive and I can't drive stick shift. So Martina was our chauffeur for the weekend.
Upon arriving in Almeria, we immediately noticed that it was quite a bit warmer than Cuenca. People were out walking around and wearing shirt sleeve shirts at midnight. It had been about a month since I had worn a shirtsleeve shirt outside of my apartment. The warmer weather was welcomed by all three of us and we enjoyed it all through the weekend. Another difference that I noted while in Almeria was the variation in architecture from Cuenca. In Almeria, there seemed to be a lot more Arabic-style architecture than there is in Cuenca. I believe this can be attributed to Moorish rule in Spain and its concentration in the South. In fact, there is a massive Moorish fortress that is in Almeria. The last major difference in Almeria was the accent. The Spaniards in Almeria were a lot more difficult to understand and spoke a lot less clear than our Manchego friends. It reminded me somewhat of the Chilean accent.
Saturday afternoon Brian, Martina and I headed to a replica Old West Town outside of Almeria. You might think it is strange that there is an Old West (as in American West) in Spain, but in fact many famous Western movies were filmed near Almeria. As we drove to the replica town, I began to realize why they chose Almeria. The landscape of Almeria was spectacular. It was a very dry landscape with huge jagged mountains that protruded from the ground. It reminded my of Arizona and a bit of Southern California. The town itself was a little bit cheesy and felt a little bit like a tourist trap but we still enjoyed the afternoon there. We grabbed a drink at the saloon and watched a short Cowboy reenactment with bad acting but cute cowboys (according to Martina). That evening was the birthday celebration for Katrina. There were tons of Language Assistants in Almeria. At Katrina's party I met Assistants from England, Australlia and Germany. It was great to get to share experience with these people. I had a blast at the party with the new people I met. Afterwards, we went to some dance clubs and bars and ended up staying out to 8 am the next morning like true Spaniards!
Sunday was a day of rest and recuperation for the Assistants from Cuenca. In the afternoon, we met up with some of our new friends from the night before and had a late lunch. After eating, we were able to explore the city a little bit. The next day we got up early and got on the road for Cuenca and the cold weather.
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