My EVS in Andalusia 15

A week ago, Renata and I went for a trip which, by surprising chance, allowed us to immerse into Andalusian culture more thoroughly than expected. People were celebrating the “Día de la Andalucía” (Day of Andalusia) including a three day bank holiday which we used to discover more of our region. Friday afternoon, our Spanish teacher brought us to the bus station in Baza (about 45 minutes by car) from where we took a bus to Jaén (the most northern city of Andalusia) and further on to a town called Baeza. The host of our AirBnB had called me before to tell me I should ask the bus driver to leave us a couple of stops before the main station and closer to his house. From this stop, he told us, it would be easier for him to pick us up. The bus driver agreed, but left us on a completely different stop. Only with the help of a map I had downloaded a day before, and the kindness of some people we asked on our way, did we find the way to our accommodation, shivering of the cold. The next morning, it was freezing 1°C outside, some snowflakes falling on the car roofs. We went to Mercadona, a Spanish supermarket to buy food and reached the main bus station after a hasty 25 minutes walk in order to go to a close town called Úbeda. After the short delight of a 60p hot chocolate from the machine at the station, we bravely plunged into the battle against the merciless weather. Úbeda is a town with 82 historic monuments and buildings, some waiting to get visited from the inside, some only to be admired from the outside. Almost dying from the low temperature, we started our tour by visiting the old hospital with a pretty “patio” (courtyard) and an exceptional modern art exhibition of an artist who used motives of Picasso paintings mixed with his own particularly colourful work. We continued the day by visiting churches, palaces and a synagogue. In the afternoon, we tried to bring back some life to our frozen bodies by having a snack in a bar. Renata had “churros con chocolate” and I ordered a cappucchino – it is the last time I made that mistake! As once before, expecting a good milky coffee with loads of the beloved milk froth on the top, I was deceived by getting a not definable calorie bomb, ¼ of sugar on the bottom of the glass, ¼ of ways to strong coffee and topped with ½ of thick, terribly sweet whipped cream. Until 17.00h, everything kept being closed (oh how I hate Spanish siesta time!) and we used the time by surrounding the town and getting some picturesque views whilst the sky was clearing up. At 17.30h, we spontaneously agreed to join a guided tour (it was only us, a Spanish couple and the female guide), leading us once again through the historic town, but this time with elaborated explanations about its history. We went into an old Andalusian house, another synagogue and a huge Moorish – Christian villa. The tour was absolutely worth it, although my teeth were chattering two hours non-stop and I was near to fainting due to 10 hours of walking in the bitter weather. At 20.00h, we took the bus back to Baeza and had to endure the walk back to our AirBnB before (finally!) being able to take the probably most appreciated and pleasant shower in our lives. The next morning, we went out to see Baeza, a very beautiful old town, but easy to visit in a couple of hours. For lunch, we were back at the accommodation and got directly invited to the big family and friends feast of our host. He had a spacious room with fireplace in the basement of his house were all 15 people (amongst them many kids) could find their place around the table. We got offered food all day long: all kind of steaks, grilled fish, crackers, mashed potatoes, pizza, biscuits, cake, pancakes with chocolate and loads more. We started on wine and got through all…whiskey, gin and rum. Not before two in the morning, did we stop chatting, dancing, playing games and enjoying the warmth of a traditional and cheerful celebration. The next day, we took the bus back to Jaén, visited the Arabic baths and spent long time in the impressive and beautiful cathedral. It was possible to go upstairs and once around the front to enjoy the amazing view on the mountains and the main square, where hundreds of people were assisting the celebrations of the “Día de la Andalucía”. At 15.45h we had to get the bus to Granada and were back in Purchena in the evening.