I've dreamt about this road trip for a long time.  I didn't know until a few weeks ago exactly where it would lead me. I still don't know exactly what's next, but I know I am happy out here in these open spaces. 

The summer before 8th grade we took a family trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. We spent a week roaming the park and taking in all that it had to offer. I had never seen anything like it before. The wild mountains, rivers, animals, geysers...it was all different. Landscape dominated, not people. We parked the car one night on a long stretch of road in Montana. We  sat on the roof and marveled at the milky way and counted shooting stars.  I was hooked. I like to think of this as a pivotal moment in my life.  I wanted to be a part of this place.   

I've lived in some of the more isolated places in the country the past few years.  During my summer spent working in Wyoming, the least populated state, I relished the clean air and absence of crowds.  The hard work, good company, and nights around the campfire spoke to my soul and left me feeling full.   Alaska was a similar escape from the heat and crowds of the South.  It was more isolated and wild than I ever could have imagined at the start.  The tiny town of Haines was home to some of the most adventurous, creative, and happy people I have met.  Perhaps the feelings I had while living in these places is what draws me to southern Utah.  I want to explore one of the last expanses of remote wilderness in the continental 48 states, the "American Outback".

On the journey out here we drove through the rolling hills of Alabama and Arkansas, the green fields of Oklahoma, and the high plains of Kansas and Eastern Colorado was beautiful.   The sunset on the last leg of our journey with the rocky mountains and lights of Denver in the distance left us breathless.  It was 1, 500 miles from Atlanta to Denver and will be another 1, 000 miles to my final destination of Escalante, Utah. So far, it has been the trip of a lifetime.  

One of my best friends from college, Adam, now works in Denver.  We are using his apartment as a home base to explore the infinite number of places and things to do around us.  We strolled through the monoliths in the popular Garden of the Gods park and then escaped the crowds into mountain backroads.  We spent a day in the vast Rocky Mountain National Park, reflecting next to mountain lakes and streams and then driving up thousands of feet on twisting mountain passes.  Spending a day in Denver offered some unique urban attractions and activities.  A tour of the Great Divide Brewery and a concert at the historic Bluebird Theater on Colfax Avenue, a street which Kerouac writes about in On The Road, topped the list.  The most memorable and rewarding part of this trip so far was climbing La Plata Peak, a 14, 377 ft, mountain which proudly stands as the 5th highest peak in Colorado.  The experience of hiking this mountain with two of my best friends will remain with me for a long time. 

I will be sad to leave Denver, and the comfort and ease of life with good friends, but I am excited about what comes next.  Tomorrow I drive to Boulder, WY to visit my old roommate and good friend Becca at the ranch where she works.  From there I head to Logan, UT where we begin training on Monday and then caravan down to Escalante on Tuesday.  I'm in for a lot of change the next few weeks.  It will take some time to get adjusted but I know it will be worth it.    

Here is the Flickr account I started. I'll still try to update this even if I don't have time to blog. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcpostma/

Semana Santa and Feria

Semana Santa (Holy Week) is one of the most important weeks of the year in Sevilla, followed closely by Feria.  Residents of Sevilla prepare for Semana Santa year-round.  I saw a lot of these preparations during my semester here in Sevilla.  Almost every night I could hear a band practicing tradition Holy Week music from my window, and during March and early-April I would see groups of people practicing carrying the floats around the University campus at night.  I was in the Picos de Europe for most of the week, but fortunately was still able to experience part of Semana Santa when I got back.

The Semana Santa celebrations consist of different religious brotherhoods processing toward the Cathedral throughout the week.  Each brotherhood prepares and practices for months before Semana Santa for these processions which are called pasos.     The first to appear in the paso is usually a group of nazarenos, whom are members of the brotherhood that wear robes and a cone-shaped hood (purple robed-men in photos below).  There can be hundreds or even thousands of nazarenos, depending on the size of the brotherhood.  The men who aren't nazarenos, or playing in the band, carry the floats.  The floats are works of art; ornate, heavy, and beautiful sculptures of the Virgin Mary and various scenes of the Passion, and are carried by dozens of men standing underneath.  The floats are incredibly heavy but are always carried by men rather than set on wheels.  Different brotherhoods carry the floats in different ways, often rocking back and forth, and moving in a way that distinguishes one brotherhood from another.

This past week in Sevilla was Feria, the annual Spring Fair that occurs two weeks after Semana Santa.  During Feria hundreds of casetas (tents) are set up on the fairgrounds across the river.  The casetas are usually private tents for families and groups of friends, but there are a few public tents as well.  During Feria all the women dress up in Flamenco dresses and everybody dances the special dance of Sevilla called Sevillanas, which is similar to Flamenco but a little faster and livelier.  Lisa and I went and looked around the fairgrounds and saw all the casetas during the day on Monday, but the festivities didn't really begin until that night at midnight when the huge portada (facade and main entrance to the fairgrounds) is lit up.

Raincloud over the cathedral.

Nazarenos in Triana. 

One of the massive floats. 

The Virgin Mary float.

Float headed towards the bridge.

Headed across the bridge and in the direction of the cathedral.

Everybody leaving after the paso ended.

 The rain is over!

Awesome clouds.

Looking across the river at Triana.

My host mom and I.

Flamenco!

Feria!

Fairgrounds.

To the mountains!

My favorite trip thus far during my adventures in Spain was, of course, to the mountains! Two friends (Sam and Emily) and I spent six days during Semana Santa exploring the majestic "Picos de Europa" in Northern Spain.  I was so happy during the entire trip and could have stayed up there for weeks.

We were flying by the seat of our pants on this trip, but trips tend to be better that way, especially if you're with the right people.  We flew into Santander, the capital of Cantabria, on Friday afternoon with still no hostel booked for the night.  After taking a bus from the airport into the city we found a cafe with free WiFi to search the internet for hostels.  There was one single hostel in the city with open rooms that night, which magically ended up being right down the street and very nice.  That evening we shopped for groceries for the next five days since there were no stores in the tiny mountain town we were planning to stay in.  We packed all the food into our huge backpacking packs and got a good night sleep in preparation for the long day ahead.

Early the next morning we caught a bus from Santander to the Picos de Europa.  We got off at a tiny place called Urdón - a stop so small that we had to ask the bus driver to stop there.  With all of our stuff on our backs we started our hike to the tiny mountain town of Tresviso, far above us at that point.  We had the whole day ahead of us though, and although the hike was completely uphill, it wasn't too long.  We hiked leisurely, taking time to look at flowers, watch birds, and peek into cool caves.  We arrived in the little town of Tresviso that evening around six, and met friendly locals who helped us get settled into our hostel.  That night we cooked a good but simple meal of spaghetti and vegetables and slept soundly in our cozy bunk beds.

Tresviso looks like a town straight out of a storybook - or like a town Heidi might have lived in.  One road goes into the town, but from the opposite direction of where we were coming from.  And certainly no bus makes the trek to Tresviso, which is why we hiked.  There are also no stores in Tresviso, just one small bar/restaurant that we spent lots of time at.  The old men who ran the little bar were there all day, going about their duties at a relaxed pace and always ready to help us and give us hiking suggestions.  During our stay in Tresviso we were constantly in and out of the bar - getting our coffee and hiking suggestions in the mornings, sampling the blue cheese in the afternoons, and drinking tea before bedtime in the evenings.  We were usually the only customers in the place, the influx of tourists would arrive later in the season.

We had three full days to explore the beauty surrounding us.  The first day we took a hike up one of the ridges close to town, a spot well-known to have spectacular views.  We lost the trail pretty early one and ended up doing a lot of scrambling to get to the top.  As we hiked higher and higher the snowcapped peaks facing us seems to get bigger and bigger, looming magnificently over Tresviso.  And on the other side of the ridge, once at the top of it, you could see the ocean in the distance stretching on and on.  We spent a lot of time up on the ridge that afternoon, eating our picnic lunch, writing in our journals, and taking in all the beauty around us.  In the afternoon the clouds started rushing towards us coming off the sea, and as we hiked down we watched the shoot like jets over the ridge and swiftly down in the valley.   We also saw tons of magnificent large birds enjoying the air currents lifting them from the bottom of the valley high up in the sky.

The next two days we did lots more exploring and relaxing.  We hiked down into a nearby valley, made daisy crowns in a huge field of flowers, and climbed an old dilapidated stone farmhouse.  We climbed up a long, prickly, scraggly slope just to find that there was an easy trail that led straight to the top!  We found a cheese cave, where they let the cheese age and turn into blue cheese.  We stayed in the cozy bar/restaurant the last day when the whole town was engulfed in a thick fog and drank tea and read books and wrote in our journals.

We met a woman named from Madrid, Ana, during our stay who we shared meals and stories with.  Not only was I in a beautiful mountain town but I got to practice my Spanish a lot.  She was an extremely kind and cool lady and offered to drive us back to Santander on our last day, so we didn't have to hike back down to Urdón at 5am in the rain!  We had a lovely drive through the mountains with her, stopping at a small coastal town on the way back for coffee.  She dropped us off in Santander and we were sad to see her go, and sad to leave northern Spain ourselves.  We flew into Madrid that evening, took the metro to the bus station, and then took a six hour bus ride back to Sevilla, arriving around 6am the next morning.

Semana Santa was in full swing upon our arrival in Sevilla.  We hadn't missed much though, as it had been raining in Sevilla the whole time we were gone.  When it rains during Semana Santa here in Sevilla, it is a very sad time for the people, because all of the processionals have to be cancelled.  Luckily the rain let up a little bit when we returned.  I was able to see one processional and experience the intense atmosphere abundant in Sevilla during Holy Week.  I also just returned from Lisbon, Portugal, a beautiful city with such an international and friendly atmosphere.   I have not uploaded pictures to my computer from Semana Santa or Lisbon yet, so will post more about that experience later on.  I also received news this past week that I beat out 20 other candidates for a museum internship in Haines, Alaska!  I can't wait for another summer adventure full of new experiences and lots of learning!

 Since the mountains were right by the sea, we found tons of cool shells while hiking.

 Part of the trail we hiked up to get to Tresviso...it looks like it disappears off the cliff.

Welcome to Tresviso! 

On top of  the ridge with the ocean in the background!

Me, Sam, and Emily

Clouds shooting over the ridge.

In the valley being flower children.

After hiking up the dangerous prickly slope and finding out a road let to where we were. 

Picos de Europa!!! 

Getting back into town in the afternoon, welcomed by a herd of goats.

The beautiful countryside of Northern Spain on a stormy day.

Pretty coastal town at low tide.

Goodbye Santander!

Las Cuevas y Sierra Nevada

Oh, beautiful Granada!  It was one of the most beautiful places that I've visited so far in Spain.  Our program took us on this trip, no extra planning needed on our part!  We were free to enjoy the mountains and beautiful hilly city at our leisure, with a few planned excursions thrown in throughout the weekend ...and a sweet hotel to stay in (yay non-army showers!).

We stopped in Córdoba on the way to Granada for a few hours to see the great mezquita (mosque).  The mezquita is significant because the continuous shifts in power and religion are so apparent within the current structure.  The site originally housed a pagan temple during the Roman rule of the Córdoba, and later a church, during the Visigoth rule in Córdoba.  When the Muslims took control of Spain (Córdoba specifically in 711) they built a grand mosque on top of the structure.  During this time Córdoba was one of the most advanced cities in the world, home to over 3, 000 mosques, 300 public baths, and the largest library in the world at that time.  It was also thought to be the most populous city in the world during this time.  During the Spanish reconquista, when Córdoba was recaptured by Christian rulers, the mosque was converted into a cathedral.  However, the Islamic mosque was so grand and expansive, that much of it was left as a mosque even after it became a cathedral.  The center of the building was converted into a traditional central nave for the cathedral, but the arcaded hypostyle arcs (Umayyad traditional style - the first picture below) make up a large part of the building that was not changed.  So today, in the center of the massive complex there is a cross-shaped cathedral which is surrounded by Umayyad-style rectangular Muslim prayer halls.  

Back on the bus, and two hours later we arrived into the bustling town of Granada!  The streets were packed with young people.  Even though Granada is smaller in population than Sevilla, it has way more students and young people.  The night we arrived was the Festival de Primavera (Spring Festival) in Granada, one of the biggest bottelóns in Spain.  The streets were packed with people who were out to celebrate the beginning of Spring!  Later that night we went to a flamenco show in one of the cuevas (caves) up in the hills of Granada.  Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, the city-center is located in the valley but the town spreads far up into the hills.  Up in these hills there are tons of caves that are home to gypsies, tea-houses, flamenco performances, and lots and lots of hippies.  We had the fabulous chance to see a flamenco show in one of these caves the first night.  Flamenco originated in Andalucía and I'd never seen anything like it before, and was completely blown away by the performance.  

We visited the Alhambra the next morning - Granada's famous Moorish palace/fortress complex.  It was built in the mid-14th century for the last Muslim rulers in Spain.  Granada was the last city to be taken back by the Christian rulers during the Spanish reconquista.  And because of this the Alhambra is the most recent Islamic architecture in the history of Spain, much different than the mudéjar style Muslim architecture found in Sevilla (the Alcázar palace is the most important example in Sevilla).  Everything about the Alhambra was beautiful and exquisitely ornate.  Whereas the Alcázar feels tropical and cozy, the home to peacocks and palm trees, the Alhambra is the opposite.  It sprawls majestically on the top of hills overlooking the city with grand views of the Sierra Nevada's all around.  After spending a few hours walking around the Alhambra, Sam and I went down into town to meet with her friend who lives in Granada.  After lunch the three of us started out on hike to explore Granada.  We hiked up high into the hills, past the highest plaza with the last few cafes in town, and up to where people lived in caves.  Sam's friend knew a lot of the people that lived in these caves and had even lived in one a few years ago.  We got to meet the people and look into their cave homes.  Our final stop was at a wonderful tea house/cave situated on the back of one of these high hills.  We relaxed, sipped green tea, and got to enjoy the beautiful afternoon sitting in a garden surrounded by art and mountains.  

On the bus to Granada I overheard someone talking about skiing while they were in Granada.  I had been trying to figure out a way to make it to Granada to ski, but hadn't really found anyone to go with.  Turns out the guy, Derrick, didn't have anyone to go with, but was going to go regardless.  So I eagerly agreed to join him and ski all day Sunday.  We woke up early Sunday morning and took a bus from Granada into the mountains and had an awesome time.  After a long, long day of skiing we took the bus back into Granada and waited for our bus back to Sevilla - separately from our program since they had left earlier in the day.  I unfortunately didn't wear sunscreen while, and definitely paid the price the following week.  I spent most of the week cooped up inside with sun poisoning - a red puffy face and swollen eyes.  Never a mistake I will make again, but nonetheless I'm very happy I had a chance to go skiing in Spain.

I've been having a hard time getting this post written and posted! Surprising, since I spent most of last week inside trying to heal - and hiding my red puffy face from the sun/people.  This past weekend, however, was the first weekend I've spent in Sevilla in a while! I went with friends to some thrift shops to get some clothes for our hiking trip, spent lots of time at the river, and have been making some Spanish friends.  We leave for the Picos de Europa in northern Spain this Friday and return next Wednesday, just in time to see the best parts of Semana Santa.  

    

Arcaded hypostyle hall of the mezquita.

Here you can see the altar of the cathedral on the left, and the Moorish arcs and columns on the right.

View from the Alhambra.

So much work went into the detail of the Alhambra.

Wood carving found up in the hills. 

Walking to the tea-cave.

The outside of the tea-cave

Delicious tea and tapas.  This is where the word "tapas" came from...small appetizers literally covering the top of the drink.

Skiing in the Sierra Nevadas!  Before I got tooo sunburned...

Barcelona

You can't go to Spain without visiting the wonderful Catalonian city on the sea, Barcelona.  As the second-largest city in Spain and the sixth most populous city in the European Union, it was quite the metropolis.  Barcelona was vibrant and exciting, and has a ton to offer.  So much art and architecture!   But just so...big.  I'm starting to realize more and more that I don't like big cities.  I like natural beauty over man-made beauty and get stressed out by so many people all around me!  I'm glad I saw Barcelona, but it just made me even more sure that I don't ever want to live in a big city like that in the future...

Last Thursday my Literature class took a field trip to the Alcazar here in Sevilla, and it was magnificent!  It's actually right across from the University, nestled behind Santa Cruz, and I had no idea.  I had noticed the tall walls and gates before while walking around, but somehow never realized that behind them was Sevilla's royal palace.  There are beautiful gardens, peacocks strolling about, and the mudéjar style palace.  The literature class I'm taking is all about the literature and history here in Sevilla. We read a story called "Romance de la muerte de don Fadrique" (Romance of the Death of don Fadrique) and learned that don Pedro I, the King of Castile and Leon in the 14th century, ordered the death of his step-brother don Fadrique and the deed was done in the courtyard of the Alcazar.  I love this class because we learn about history and then actually get to see where it happened! There are several streets in Sevilla named after the convoluted history of don Pedro and his many lovers.  Don Pedro was obsessed with a woman named Doña Maria Coronel for many years.  She was married and wanted nothing to do with him.  Don Pedro (often called "The Cruel") had Maria Coronel's husband killed and continued after her. She entered the Santa Clara convent, hoping to escape the king, but he followed her in disguise.  Finally, she could take it no longer, and she deliberately threw boiling oil over her face to produce a horrible disfigurement.  She was mummified and to this day, every December 2nd her body is taken and exhibited in public in Sevilla, and people flock to see it.  

Right after our field trip to the Alcazar ended that afternoon Lisa, Molly, Daniel and I caught a bus to the Sevilla airport.  After a pretty short flight we arrived in Barcelona with a full moon greeting us over the ocean.  We hopped on a bus that took us right into the middle of Barcelona and found our hostel right off of the famous street, La Rambla.  We got some cheap falafel for dinner (finally some food with flavor!) and hit the hay.  Or tried to at least.  Let's just say the hostel in Barcelona was no where near as nice as the one in Venice.  Every time you moved a muscle it sounded like your bed was going to fall apart.  But that's more of what I expected from a hostel, we just got lucky the first time in Venice.  

Gaudí, the olympic stadium, and Picasso were on the agenda for the next day.  We went to the famous Sagrada Familia cathedral, which was truly remarkable.  It's still a work in progress and construction relies solely on donations.  The outside of the cathedral is magnificent.  It looks like the drip sand castles I used to make on the beach as a kid.  And the inside is suposed to look like a forest, with columns modeled after trees and branches, and vaulted ceilings that look like the sky.  The stained class is brighter than any I have ever seen, and cast beautiful colors of light all throughout the inside of the cathedral.  We went up into one of the lofty towers and had a beautiful view of the city.  Later that day, we made our way over to the other side of the city to see the 1992 Olympic Stadium up on a hill.  The stadium was actually built in the 1936 to house the People's Olympiad, but the event had to be cancelled due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.  We made our way back on the metro into the center of Barcelona to go to the Picasso Museum where we saw a lot of Picasso's early art.  It also had one of the many recreations Picasso painted of Velazquez' "Las Meninas", which was my favorite thing to see.

That night I went to synagogue with Lisa.  She had been looking forward to going to synagogue in Barcelona for weeks.  There is a very, very tiny Jewish population in Sevilla and no synagogues to be found.  We found the synagogue her brother had gone to when he had visited Barcelona and went inside.  She knew it was an Orthodox synagogue, but it was nothing like she expected it to be (and I have never been to a synagogue before so I had no idea what to expect).  The men and woman had to sit on different levels of the building, the women up top and the men below.  The women didn't participate in the service at all and weren't allowed to sit with the men so that the men weren't "distracted".  And Lisa pointed out to me that the woman sitting in front of us was wearing a wig , because once you're married you have to hide your hair from other men while at synagogue.  Lisa wasn't used to any of this and didn't like it at all (and neither did I).  She was used to synagogue being a family activity, something she loved because she got to do it with her mom, dad, and brother.  She wanted to leave early, and so we did.

The next day we saw more Gaudí - we went to Parque Guell on the side of a big hill overlooking the city.  We also went to the harbor and sat in the grass for a long time next to the water.  There was a group of jolly old men playing guitar and singing next to us, so we felt like we were being serenaded.  Then we had to go pick up our backpacks from the hostel, we didn't book a room that night because our flight was so early the next morning.  We hung out in a plaza that night and got dinner, then headed to the airport at about 11pm to sleep (hah)/wait for our flight which was at 6:30am.  After a long, long night in the cold airport we finally got on the plane in the morning and made our way back to Sevilla. Sevilla was nice and sleepy in the morning when we returned, and I walked through the park back to my apartment very glad to be out of the hustly bustly city (and also back to a city that speaks Spanish - not Catalan!) and home in laid-back Sevilla.

They've been starting to prepare the last couple of weeks here for Semana Santa, which is coming up soon.  But this week the preparations have really been getting into full swing.  They practice the processionals at night.  It's actually pretty creepy - you see dark figures walking ever so slowing collectively carrying a heavy platform on top of their heads (which during Semana Santa will hold various wooden statues depicting various scenes from the Passion).  This week is also midterm week at the University.  I had three exams today, one tomorrow, and then we leave for Granada and Córdoba for the weekend with our program!  I can't wait to see the Sierra Nevada mountains, the Alhambra, and la mesquita.