The Hats of Peru

At 11,200 ft. elevation, Everybody needs a hat in Cusco, Peru.  Many wear it with style.

Pisac the 1st time

A hike to the ruins above Pisac yields a grand view.

A month of Ireland

Here are all the locations where we slept over the month of August

A country lass surveys her beach on the west side of Achill Island.  As they say... the next parish west is Boston.

Our hotel room on the west side of County Kerry, on the Dingle peninsula.
this simple dry-stone structure has remained waterproof and in near-perfect condition to the present day. The Gallarus Oratory was built and used by local farmers of the area at an early date, around 800 AD.

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This is a session we sat next to in Cavan.  We were lucky to arrive during the all Ireland traditional music festival.  Many young people were involved so trad music is still strong here.   All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil              see link=  http://www.bostonirish.com/node/15098  

Our country lass makes herself at home in the Boyle Abbey

We visited Kilmainham Gaol. (jail in english)  The majority of the Irish leaders in the rebellions of 1798, 1803, 1848, 1867 and 1916 were imprisoned there.  The leaders of the 1916 rebellion were executed in a manner that galvanized the community behind the independence effort and probably created the momentum that resulted in the Irish Free State.

We went on a seven day boat journey on the River Shannon with my sister Anne and husband John.  We were thus able to imbibe the stout and experience the trad music in the deep heart of the land.  Here is the Captain at the helm and the swarthy first mate casting off.

The captain left the deck for a moment and the fist mate and his sister speed dangerously toward reefs while looking over their shoulders.

Ireland

Hey, Guess who is with us in Ireland

A prospective occupant walking past an abandoned house

I think Kendall likes this humble abode better.

From the top of Mt. Torc looking down on Muckross Lake and Killarney

Adios Espana

Goodbye Spain
As we cruise on a train up the Mediterranean coast through France to Switzerland, I’ll recap our two months in Spain and Portugal (& 1 day in Morocco).
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Malaga (pop. 720,000)
Landing in Malaga was for logistical reasons so we were surprised by the charming centro viejo (the oldest part of town) where the streets are narrow and random, the 4 to 6 story buildings reek of history and craftsmanship. A few new buildings are mixed in that are architecturally compatible. This is the part of town we stayed in for all the cities we visited.
Malaga’s centro viejo was paved with beautiful polished marble that are pedestrian only streets.  And, of course, the church is grandiose in scale and visual impact.
The ped streets are full of well dressed, well behaved tourists at night sampling tapas and drinks at the various establishments scattered throuout the mazelike old town.

As the night proceeds the “fun bars” get full of convivial tourists. 
The well-dressed ladies love their shoes and love an appreciative audience.  Here are the shoes of Malaga displayed with delight by the dames of the ciudad.

Cuban rum in Spanish glasses

Grazelema (pop. 2000?)
This is a tiny white hill town of Andalucia set in the scenic Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema.  The day we arrived was the 2nd Sunday after Easter, which of course is a special day.  The narrow streets were cleared of cars and we waited outside the church with the townsfolk to see what would happen.  We were milling around in the crowd and suddenly a stream of rose pedals cascaded out of the bell tower.  Music of a full marching band announced the slowly moving procession of priests & well dressed youth. Then, 30 women carrying a platform about 8 feet wide and 10 feet long in a side to side swinging cadence in rhythm with the band that followed.  The platform had a statue of a woman saint and it looked herneous heavy.  They paused and set down the load on legs every 10 minutes or so.  The procession slowly made there way up the street, 2/3 of the town in the procession and 1/3 watching.  They made there way to a couple other churches in town presenting their treasure to a waiting group of dignitaries on the church porch.  This procession started about 8PM and finished at 10PM.  It was quite a powerful community ritual to witness close up.  I took no pictures of the event.
We enjoyed this town as a base for very scenic hikes in the area.  I have posted pic’s in prevous posts so here is only 2.

Ronda (pop. 37,000)
This is a very picturesque town with an centro viejo on a sort of island because it is surrounded by sheer cliffs with access via a stone bridge.  The views are stunning and the town a pleasure to stroll through and discover historical structures that reveals how life was in the late middle ages.  We were impressed with the well preserved Arab baths at the entrance to the city. 

A Moorish power pole

The Arabian Baths

The bridge to the old town

Granada (pop 300,000)
Granada is a great walking town.  Towards the end of the Moorish domination of southern Spain during the 13th and 14th centuries the fortress in Granada was enhanced into a palace complex.  It's an interesting place to explore and view from viewpoints around the city.   M.C. Escher was inspired by the constructions and decorations in the Alhambra and he returned many times as he developed his geometric drawing style.  We saw an exhibition of his work while here.

A stately entrance in the Alhambra

 details from the Palacios Nazaries in the Alhambra

The General Life gardens in the Alhambra

Me peeking through a keyhole in the Alhambra

We saw a flamenco show while here.  The group was a singer, a guitar player, a female dancer, and a male dancer who also played a percussion box.  They all used clapping as an instrument. (sorry no castanets).  The bold intense dance movements and staccato steps were fantastic.  The most unexpected for me was the Arabic sound of the singer.

Tarifa/Tangiers
Tangiers was the subject of a previous post

Seville (pop 700,000) capital of Andalucia
Two nights in Seville is not enough.  While there we ate great tapas some snails and drank muscatel from the barrel.  The centro viejo section of Seville is party central.  They are only just getting started at 11PM and go strong all night long.  

Metrosol Parasol A new structure, just completed in 2011,  in the center of the old town.  The largest wooden structure in the world.         Link-1   Link-2         The many people gathered there in this photo are part of a nationwide protest movement against predatory financial practices by banks, that is being condoned by the government.

               

This is the first city where we saw encampment protesters in the central square.   They are protesting the government’s acquiescence to the financial elite who receive government bailouts then want the government to reduce services to the people. (sound familiar?).  There is about 40% youth unemployment in Spain.  We saw these protest encampments in many cities around Spain.

gimme a ham over my tapa

not the muscatel your mother warned you about.

This lady needs to be fast to keep up with her quarry

And here is the rewards of the chase, fresh cooked snails. yummm.

I especially liked the squid in it's own ink but I looked very goth after dinner.

Selema (pop 800?) & Sagres (pop 1,940), Portugal
These are small towns on the west end of Portugal’s Algarve coast.  Sagres point is the last land sailors saw when departing for the new world.

Sagres, Portugal

Sagres has nice beaches and a fort

Selema, Portugal

 Lisbon (pop. 580,000)
  We took  one morning to walk all over the hillsides and enjoy these views. Yet another town that had their main square filled with groups of people gathering and protesting about economic issues.

Another Golden Gate Bridge

The castle on the hill.

O’Porrino (tiny)
The first town in Spain on the way north.  We stayed here to catch a train connection to Sarria.  The townspeople were especially open and friendly.  I think this is because they rarely see a tourist.  No castles or grandiose 500 year old churches here.  But they had a nice center of town that was an andador (no cars) A theme that we see repeatedly which make the city much more livable.  When will we emulate this trend in the U.S?
Sarria (pop. small)
Many people who do not want to walk the entire 750 km Camino Frances start in Sarria and finish in
Santiago de Compostela.  We started in Cacabelos and walked about 80 km over five days to Sarria.

5 days on the Camino de Santiago   (entering Galicia segment)
(see previous post - Friday June 3rd) 

Santander (pop 182,000)

A nice beach town with a......fine centro viejo with .....a protest encampement.

Bilbao (pop. 354,000) (& Guernica day trip)
Bilbao has a different feel than all the other cities we have been in.  It is working class.  The centro viejo isn’t overrun with short-term tourists.  The town is going to bed at 10 or 11PM about the time Seville is just getting started. But it still has an exciting, vibrant feel.  The weather is a little cooler and they get more rain on this north coast compared to the rest of Spain. It is in the Basque region. Euskadi (the land of the Basque speakers)  Many people here speak Basque (lots of x’s and k’s).  There is a strong separatist sentiment here and the full spectrum of violent to pacifist politicos expressing the desire for a sovereign state. 

This is the Puente Cogante, the world’s first transporter bridge, which opened in 1893.  It smoothly glides passengers and about 6 cars across the river at street level.  It cost us about $0.50 to go across and visit another old town called Portugalete.

The Guggenheim museum here in Bilbao is in a building designed by Frank Gehry (ala Experience Music Project (EMP) museum in Seattle).

 This is a much larger building than the EMP with expansive grounds around the building.  The metal skin is all stainless steel silver.  No hallucinogenic hues here.  The space inside is generous with a large atrium that can be viewed from various mezzanines. The effect is elegant and is a great museum space.  We spent about four hours viewing and experiencing the exhibits.  There was a great group of exhibits that were entertaining, and thought provoking.

Bilbao has a nice waterfront public space.  something to think about when Seattle's waterfront is redeveloped

Vitoria (pop. 230,000)
This is the capital of the Basque region.  This also had a strong separatist movement.  We were welcomed to Basque country by some students at a street café.  When we talked about traveling in Spain they reminded us that the Basque country was not Spain, and we modified our language.

San Sebastian (pop. 184,000)
This is the beach city.  We enjoyed the sun.  The water was a little cold.  In another month the ocean currents change and the water heats up for a comfortable immersion.

Madrid (pop. 3.1 million)


Great museums in Madrid for art history lovers and modern art too. 
 On Sunday June 19th, we were in the government buildings area when a protest march of hundred thousand people came through and rallied for a few hours. They were protesting the Euro-Pact.  Same issue, the rich have siphoned off the money and the people are being asked to bear the costs through "austerity measures",  an old IMF/world bank strategy with new financial sector collaborators .

I thought the museum line was really long, but they were going somewhere else.

Barcelona pop. (1.6 million)
Barcelona has a great centro viejo that is full of historical old buildings oozing history.  It's a navigational adventure, gastronomical delight, historical time warp, and architectural museum to wander around the old town section of Barcelona.  A newer form called "Modernista"  is best represented by buildings designed by Antoni Gaudi. Brenna's nice friend Carlos showed us our first Gaudi on a wonderful neighborhood walking evening. The La Sagrada Família church is pretty amazing.  After seeing so many earlier forms of huge churches, this one is the ultimate modern update of that Architectural form.

La Sagrada Família church

La Sagrada Família church

    Gaudi also designed "Park Guell" a splendid park that has many curious shapes of structures. There is also a great panoramic view of the city from the park.    

Ok, on to Switzerland.......then we take Berlin.