Spain: Andalusia's Cultural Treasures: Madrid and Granada: un monton de cosas

Greetings once again from Spain! When last we checked in Spain had just finished winning the 2008 European Championships in soccer and the country was still delirious with the excitement of their first major soccer championship in 42 years. Since then we have done a "monton de cosas" as they say in Spain. We spent the first few days in Madrid tramping around the city, where we saw the Palacio Real, the works of Picasso, Miro, Dali, and the photographer Steichen at the Reina Sofia museum of modern art, the Parque del Buen Retiro, and the Spanish classics at the Museo del Prado. With its bustling nightlife and vibrant crowds Madrid proved to be the perfect place to introduce the students to the Spanish way of life.

We left the hustle and bustle (and traffic) of Madrid to head south to Andalucia and the city of Granada. Situated at the base of the Sierra Nevada, Granada has provided an extremely mild but still welcome respite from the heat which invariably envelopes the south of Spain in the summer; the views of the city with the highest peaks in the Iberian peninsula in the background are truly incredible.

On our first full day in Granada we visited La Alhambra, which was deservedly shortlisted for status as one of the 7 modern wonders of the world. We spent the day wandering among fountains and gardens which were once the envy of the Muslim world and which are a remnant of the last Muslim part of Spain to be conquered by the Christian monarchs Ferdinand and Isabela.

Later that day we met up with our National Geographic expert Tino Soriano, who is a world famous photojournalist and travel photographer. We spent the next few days working with him in On Assignment teams and learning photography tricks both in Granada and in the Sierra de las Alpujarras, home of the famous pueblos blancos. Tino is a wealth of information, enthusiasm, and knowledge, but more importantly he is also an incredibly kind and motivated teacher who was excited to share his art and worldview with the rest of us. We were all truly sad to see him leave on Sunday.

To help ease the melancholy mood of the group after Tino's departure we left on Monday for the Cabo de Gata, which forms most of the southeast coast of Spain along the Mediterranean. We made our way through some truly tremendous landscapes to a beach that has escaped the rampant development that has characterized so many other parts of the Spanish coastline. The area of the Cabo de Gata is the driest region in Europe, and it was here that Clint Eastwood and other Western stars became famous in the early Spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone and his Italian peers.

Tomorrow, Wednesday the 9th of July, is our final day in Granada, after which we leave for Sevilla by way of Cordoba and the famous Mezquita. The trip is progressing fantastically, the students are starting to make some noticeable progress on their final projects, and everyone is getting along very well and having a wonderful time. Beware, because some of them said they want to live here forever!

Hasta la proxima vez,
Davin and Britt