Adventures in Spain 2020

The Rain in Spain

Opening

With the new decade only a day old, we set off for Spain. Taxi booked for a 2.30 am pick-up to meet the ‘three hours before departure’ advice, everything went as smoothly as it could have on our way to the airport for a 6 am scheduled take-off. We were excited.

The first dampener was at check-in, when the very friendly and efficient Emirates staffer advised us that the airport’s security and immigration operations only start at 4 am. That was still more than an hour away. With at least two large international flights due to take off at about the same time, competition for seating near the entry to the customs hall was intense. A ‘millennial’ opposite us was sitting engrossed with earbuds and phone, his hand luggage taking up the next seat - the scowl on his face when he was asked to move the bag was a treat.

Too early for most of the shops, we couldn’t even try to emulate the wonderful Kath and Kim episode involving a flight muck-up and subsequent weekend shopping at Melbourne airport. Luckily, we were allowed into the Emirates lounge for coffee and a bite to eat. The lounge experience was extended following announcement of a delay while an ‘engineering issue’ was resolved. This turned into a full-blown ‘operational issue’ that could not be quickly fixed. The solution was to switch to a new aircraft that had landed sometime after 6 am. We got away at about 11 am.

That delay gave us time to contact our travel agent to try and cancel the first few items on our itinerary and research some new plans as we were clearly going to miss our connecting flight to Madrid, the scheduled pick-up at Madrid airport, and our first night’s accommodation in central Madrid. Emirates operates two flights per day from Dubai to Madrid, so we were expecting to be rebooked on the morning flight the next day, with an overnight stay in Dubai. That is indeed what the airline offered us on arrival into Dubai. A hotel voucher for the ‘Copthorne Airport Hotel’. A quick Internet check showed that to be a very new and large possibly 4-star hotel near the centre of town. However, the logistics of getting 400-odd people rebooked and cared for following the Emirates failure were not to be underplayed. Sure enough, once we had been herded onto one of several buses taking passengers to their overnight destinations, the driver announced that everyone on that bus would be staying not at the Copthorne, but at the Al Bustan Residence. This was definitely not an experience involving stars of any number.

The trains in Spain

Did General Franco develop the Spanish train system? Probably not, they date back to the mid-1800s and apparently four different rail gauges are in use. Nevertheless, trains seem to be ubiquitous, well used, and quite effective. Our pre-booked tickets were of no use in the end, following our delayed arrival in Madrid, but we managed to buy new ones. The platform was posted on an electronic board shortly before boarding time, and we found our seats without problem. Minutes before scheduled departure, an announcement in Spanish saw everyone repack their gear and head for the doors. A friendly neighbor translated for us, to say we had to board a different train. No problemo.

Where are the black faces?

Seville seems to be a rather monocultural city. The well-informed Cristina, our guide for the visit to the Alcazar, told us of the various racially - and religiously-based pogroms that have occurred in the history of this part of the world, affecting especially Jews and Muslims, but seemingly now also reflected in the absence of dark-skinned people despite Spain’s proximity to the African continent. Interestingly, on ‘three kings day’ (Epiphany, when they celebrate the visit of the three so called wise men to the infant Jesus) a huge parade occurs each year, with floats and brass bands a bit like Moomba, or the Mardi Gras, celebrating aspects of their history and Christian culture. And throwing ‘candy’ by the bucketload to the crowds lining the streets. Kids (and some adults) come prepared with a plastic bag for storing their booty and could be seen at the feet of the large crowd scrounging for the droppings. Approximately half of the hundreds of people in the procession (either on the floats or marching with or without musical instruments) were in ‘black face’. Hard to believe this but we saw it with our own eyes. Eat your heart out Justin Trudeau.

Regionalism and nationalism

At the Plaza de España, a most spectacular building constructed for the Ibero-American Expo of 1929, we found the most extraordinary collection of beautifully decorative ceramic panels, one for each of the former regions (actually city states) that were eventually brought together as what is now Spain. Each panel depicts some significant story in the history of the region, most of them showing violence of one kind or another, involving the church, various regional kings and their armies, and often the local resistance. Also, many of the panels depicted women in prominent roles.

I suspect we will revisit this theme as we explore different parts of southern Spain on this trip.

Later:

Each place we go to claims some unique feature, better than similar features found elsewhere. For example, the Alcazar in Seville features some decorations carved directly into stone that is either the only or the first instance of that style. The Mosque in Córdoba has the original version of several features that were subsequently copied in the Alhambra. The Ronda bathhouse is the most complete such structure in the world. This helps to reinforce the local sense of difference and speciality that sets it apart from every other place and allows locals to avoid any sense of connection as part of a national whole.

Show me your shawarma

How easy do you reckon it would be to find middle Eastern food in Seville? It turns out not easy at all. Despite the rich local history involving Muslims and various Arabian peoples over several centuries, the hotel desk did not know what I meant by ‘middle east’ and did not know of any such restaurants to recommend. Incredible, but perhaps speaks again to the monoculture that is modern Seville. We searched using Google and found a more than acceptable place literally around the corner from the hotel.

Mine is bigger than yours

The Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba presents a picture of the March of history and the seemingly endless battles between forces competing for political, and cultural dominance. It’s worth a visit, enhanced greatly if you employ a knowledgeable guide. We had Anna.

Córdoba was part of the Roman Empire from about 190BC, then of the Western Roman Empire from about 400AD, the decline of that empire saw the Visigoths take control, until about 700AD when the Muslim conquest of the region was complete. This lasted until about 1200AD when King Ferdinand lll of Castile took control of Córdoba. The Christians have been in control since then. Remains of each of these periods can be found in and around the Mosque-Cathedral.

Relations between Muslims and Christians have had their ups and downs through that long period, and it’s interesting to contemplate the current cultural and political landscape in relation to the events of the last 2000-odd years.

At its zenith, following expansions by various caliphs and other leaders over the period of Muslim control, the Mosque covered about 24,000 square meters (2.4 Hectares). It is an extraordinary construction. The Christians retained most of the structure and built a gothic basilica inside it! A most amazing combination of styles from an architectural and design viewpoint. And with it being one of the world’s earliest and largest Mosques still more or less intact, you’d think Muslims would be welcome to pray there, but this is not the case.

The people you meet

We notice Australian accents wherever we go. She who cannot be named slides lower in her chair and feels the need to turn her face to the wall despite her elaborate disguise.

In a Ronda restaurant for lunch, the family next to us were clearly from Australia, and the bloke recognised us as fellows. I was not able to avoid the discussion. While they were currently resident in Brisbane, he had recently been in Melbourne for a year, living in Watsonia (ie, in the federal seat of Jagajaga). She who cannot be named made herself very small indeed.

The next day, after an early walk that took in the amazing Arab bathhouse, we sat in a square for coffee, and again heard the distinctive nasal tones. As Jen walked back from her brief visit to the baños, she veered a little too close to the neighbors, and was greeted with an enthusiastic cry of ‘[redacted, she who cannot be named]’. It was Patricia Karvelis and her family. They were even staying in the same hotel as us, not that we saw them there - we really took great advantage of the private facilities there (the bed, especially for afternoon kips) and barely at all used the more public facilities (spa, pool, gym, restaurant, bar). We had a nice chat and gave them some travelers tips about their next destination (a place we had been already).

Dancing the night away

We’ve had a few experiences of Flamenco. I must say I barely understand it, but it is totally engrossing when well done. Apparently, it is an Andalusian art form, one with many regional variations, and possibly reflecting the influence of Romani peoples. The best example was in Sevilla, at a place called Los Gallos, in a performance space off Plaza Santa Cruz. There were four dancers (3 women, 1 man), three guitarists (all men) and three singers (all men). A most amazing experience. I could barely control my laughter whenever the main male singer started. Such a mournful sound, but it was his facial expressions the killed me. We saw some performers in the street, also heard snatches from restaurants as we walked past (eg in Ronda). And last night a group performing in Cueva de La Rocío. About 80 people lining the edges of a cave in the Sacromonte area of Granada, where early Romani (Gypsies) had lived in the caves. Again, 3 women and 1 man dancing, with just one guitarist, a man playing flute, a drummer, and one male singer. I recognised one feature of the singing, which is that much of it is based on the ‘Phrygian mode’ (I’ve been studying modes as part of learning Sax - think the notes of the C major scale, but starting at E, so you have a minor 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th). There are different ‘palos’ (these are regional styles), different ‘cantos’ (the songs) and different ‘compás’ (rhythms). The women’s outfits were all different, quite spectacular, and they often changed their costumes between stanzas. Last night’s group performed for an hour, and they were scheduled to do this hourly starting at 8, 9, 10 and 11. With the energy and effort involved, I don’t know how they do it.

Hours and hours

One of the first questions we asked on hotel check-in was whether there were any good jazz music venues in town. We compiled the list for each place, and went on line to check the times and talent for gigs during our stay. Always good options - the Naima Café Jazz in Seville, Café Málaga and the Jazz Café both in Córdoba, the Bohemia Jazz Café in Granada, and options also in Valencia and Barcelona. The problem was their typical starting time. Not before 9.30 pm, and often later. Almost not possible. If my jazz aspirations survive, I’ll need to totally change my body clock and lifestyle.

We did make it to Café Málaga in Córdoba, and saw a great group (Angel Andrés Muñoz trio, with an additional guy Igmar Alderete playing electrified violin).

Less is more

The Ross Reduction Program is at greatest risk when we are travelling. However, some aspects of Spanish life are helping. First, there is the combination of jetlag, residual tiredness, and the fact Spain is in the wrong time zone (they align with Germany rather than UK and Portugal, a hangover from poor decisions about who their friends were in WWII). Second, the food is actually not that great.

We have tended to have a healthy and substantial breakfast at our hotel to start the day, a good long walk followed by some form of tapas for latish lunch, then a sleep or a rest with lots of reading having been done by both of us, often sleeping through what might usually be dinner time. We have generally eaten only twice a day, with lots of walking (and sleeping, which is excellent non-eating time) in between. The Spanish rhythm is almost totally misaligned with our own. Dark until about 8 am, almost nothing open until late morning, lunch service at restaurants not before 1.30 pm, tapas in late afternoon, dark at about 6.30 pm, and restaurants serving dinner mostly not open before 8.30 pm or even later. We are usually asleep by then, unless we have found some music or other entertainment.

For the rest of the trip, we will be spending time with my maths colleagues, so things could change.

Los trenes en España

We think the Spanish train system is pretty good. Not perfect, but pretty good. It is a way more relaxing way to do internal travel than wrestling with a car, the roads, the traffic, parking, and local driving customs. Of course, we have been staying near to the city centres, where it is so convenient to not have a car. And we have not even needed to make much use of public transport in each place, because the places we’ve wanted to see have mostly been in walking distance.

The fast trains travel at up to 300 kph, and the service is much like that of an airline - way better in fact than the budget airlines. Makes you think that Australia could benefit from progressing the fast rail idea that seems to get floated prior to every federal election. Perhaps people’s consciousness about the environmental effects of air travel will change, and more people would be willing to shift from cars and airplanes to trains. Better rail infrastructure would be needed of course.

... and again, rain

Returning to the title of this note, we watched the Spanish news on TV last night, in our Barcelona hotel room. We are in and near more ‘unprecedented’ weather events here. About 60cm of snow fell in Valencia after we had left. The storm named ‘Gloria’ has lashed the entire country, with flooding, heavy snow, rain, very strong winds, wild coastal conditions and accompanying damage. Trains have been delayed, and flights cancelled, delayed or diverted. Other news reports are showing footage of Australia, with fires, storms and floods all occurring simultaneously in different parts of the country. Imagine how it could be if we had climate change and global warming.

Gaudi (not -Chaudi)

After visiting the Sagrada Familia basilica and seeing the progress made over the 20 years since we were last here (slow and steady), we had the very good fortune to be taken to another Gaudi building, La Pedrera, very near to our hotel, by a mathematician mate Claudi Alsina. Claudi has done some of the technical mathematical work advising the architectural team on design details for the main towers at the Sagrada. He and his ancestors have had strong connections to that project going back many decades, so Claudi was well placed to reveal some of the mathematical and artistic features of La Pedrera (and other Gaudi works). Most extraordinary stuff. The basilica is scheduled to be finished in time for a big event to take place in 2026, the centenary of Antoni Gaudi’s death (incidentally, he was run over by a tram!).