My EVS in Andalusia 8

The 24th of December in the afternoon, my Dad and his girlfriend came to fetch Renata and me in order to take us to a flat they had rented in Guadix, a town on the way from Purchena to Granada.

The landscape of Guadix and the town itself are as exceptional as they can be. The town is situated in a mountain area which, with all its rock formations and caves, incredibly resembles my imagination of Afghanistan. A big part of Guadix consists of cave houses and apartments, some poorly maintained and shabby looking, some newly plastered in a white that, reflecting the sun, dazzles one´s eyes.

Our cave flat belonged to the latter. From the outside reminding very much a hobbit cave, it was entrancing with its oriental furnishing and warm atmosphere in the inside. The first days, we spent cooking, baking chocolate cupcakes, talking and driving around to admire the landscape. On Christmas Eve, Renata and I went to church at midnight, as it is tradition in Poland and Spain, and assisted at a rather unusual service: The priest held a very short and informal speech and the songs (sang by a gipsy choir) belonged much more to flamenco dancing music than Christmas music. At the end, everyone could eat sweets and drink cider.

A day later, Renata went back to Purchena and Francesco (the Italian I had met on the training in Toledo) took her place. We went to meet him in Granada were he arrived by bus and, ambling along the streets, squares and the river beneath the famous “Alhambra” fortress, we discovered the beautiful Andalusian city together. In the evening, we bought a small oven for our flat in Purchena, to finally have the possibility to make Pizza, gratins, quiches, cakes and cookies the upcoming months.

The next day, before returning to Purchena, we went to LIDL for a big food shop. After that, our fridge was bursting. Even more so because Canan, the Turkish volunteer, had left us her food before going back to Turkey.

Francesco spent another three days with Renata and me, preparing homemade “Pierogi” (a Polish speciality (filled samosas) comparable to Italian “Tortellini” or German “Maultaschen”), and going up our castle Rock at day and night time, taking thousands of pictures of the pretty sunset.