Tarifa and Marbella

We had a very special activity reserved for Friday: a trip to Tarifa, the southernmost point in continental Europe, just 14 kilometres from Africa across the Straits of Gibraltar. Once there, we boarded a boat that took us on a search for marine animals. Though we did not come across any whales, we did encounter several pods of dolphins of different varieties, such as the stripped dolphin and the bottleneck dolphin.

It was truly a fascinating experience to stand between two continents, surrounded by busy shipping lanes with all kinds of ships and, at the same time, plenty of wildlife. We saw dolphins jumping out of the water and even playing with our boat, adapting their speed to match that of our boat so that they remained just ahead of our bow. They are indeed magnificent creatures and we spent a long time admiring them; it had to be the captain of the boat who woke us from our reverie by saying that we had to get back to land.

Málaga

Yesterday our students had the final morning of lessons, which included a mid-morning breakfast of chocolate con churros, and they received their certificates at the end of the mini-course. We then travelled to Málaga, the capital of the Costa del Sol (Coast of the Sun); luckily, the Sun decided to come out and we enjoyed our first day out without any rain.

We started having lunch in the city centre to then visit the Flavian Roman Theatre, which was built on the hill on which the Moors built the Alcazaba, or fortress. The visit to the Alcazaba reminded us of the Alhambra, though this building is much smaller and has a primarily defensive function. The views from the southern wall, overlooking the harbour and the bay were very beautiful.

After the Alcazaba we visited the Museo Pablo Picasso. Pablo Picasso was born in Málaga, where one can visit his birthplace. Five years ago the Pablo Picasso Museum was opened to the public, and we were quite lucky to be able to visit it.

After the museum we had some free time before we met up to take the bus to return to Marbella, where we had our dinner and celebrated a birthday with cake and candles!

Seville

Yesterday we got up early for our trip to Seville, a city rich in history and art. Unfortunately the weather forecast was right and we spent most of the day under showers, and it was a pity not being able to enjoy the city in its full splendour under the sunshine.

We went straight to the Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza (the bullring), where we had a tour with a guide who introduced us to the history of bullfigthing and the different roles of those involved in this ancient tradition.

We continued with lunch in the Santa Cruz neighbourhood, right next to the Cathedral, which was our first visit of the day. We climbed the Giralda, the tower of the cathedral which was part of the original mosque upon which the Christian temple was built. That was very common in this area, with many churches built upon mosques, which were also built upon Roman temples, and so on.

The Cathedral is a magnificent building, majestic and filled to the brim with works of art. For some of our students it was the first time inside such a building, and you could tell by their faces.

After the Cathedral we went to the adjacent Reales Alcázares, but unfortunately King Juan Carlos had decided to pay the city a visit and was staying there, which meant that the monument was closed for visitors. Instead we had a hot chocolate to warm us up and give us energy to wander around the Santa Cruz area, where some shops proved to be too tempting, so we came back with a few more bags than we had at the beginning of the day.

We had dinner at a cosy restaurant with a menu consisting of traditional dishes: plates of iberian ham and cheese, scrambled eggs with mushrooms, iberian ham and prawns, and flamenquines (deep fried ham rolls with meat and cheese covered in bread crumbs) with fried potatoes and roasted peppers, as well as spanish omelette with cumin sauce for our vegetarians. Just across the road we got ice-cream, and we ate them on the way to the flamenco show at the Tablao Los Gallos, one of the oldest flamenco shows in Spain. The performance was very powerful and moving, with both male and female cantaores (flamenco singers) and female bailaoras (dancers).

We got back to Marbella at 1 am, so we went straight to bed, and this morning we had breakfast and took the students to the language school for their last morning of lessons. Afterwards we will go to Málaga. I will post information about this tonight.

Ronda

Today we started with breakfast followed by the second morning of lessons at GEOS Language School. Immediately after the lessons we boarded the bus that took us to Ronda, a city that was founded by the celts, who called it Arunda. We arrived just in time for lunch, so after lunch we walked around its famous bullring on our way to el Tajo, the gorge that gives the city its distinctive flavour.

After many a photo was taken, we went down to la Mina, a staircase built connecting natural caves that was used by the city to get water from the river when under siege. The steps were irregular and sometimes wet, and this gave us the adventure component for the day. The group did very well going down and then up the staircase, though a few sighs of relief were heard when we resurfaced!

By the time we got back to the city center we decided to have some free time to roam around, and quite a few of us grab the opportunity to test the delightful desserts that many cafés in the area offer.

Afterwards we headed back to the bus for the drive back to Marbella. As we entered the hills surrounding Ronda we entered a big cloud and we were under heavy rain for a good while, which prevented us from enjoying the beautiful landscape (on sunny days you can see all the way to Gibraltar's Rock and beyond to the Atlas mountains in northern Africa). So instead of looking out of the windows we decided to play another movie, and Ice Age 2 was quite successful in making us laugh.

We got to Marbella just in time for our scheduled dinner at "The Orange Tree", where Frank and his team had prepared a very tasty beef bourguignon with mashed potatoes, and a surprising cheeseless lemon cheesecake with orange ice-cream!

After dinner we walked back to the hotel for an early night, for tomorrow we have to get up quite early for our trip to Seville. At least we'll have time to catch up on our sleeve on the bus!

Tales from the Alhambra

Today we got up a bit earlier so that we could get on the road for the trip to Granada. The trip was uneventful, apart from the traffic jam at Málaga's ring-road, which delayed us slightly. Our bus has a DVD player and two screens, so a movie was requested and luckily Marcus, our Indago guide, provided a handful to choose from.

We started the visit to Granada walking along the city centre on our way to the Royal Chapel where the Catholic Monarchs, Isabel and Fernando, were buried. We enjoyed an introduction to the history of Granada and the role it played in the unification of the many kingdoms that conformed today's Spain, as well as the role of queen Isabel in supporting Columbus' expedition to what he thought where the Indies.

Next to the Royal Chapel stand the Cathedral, an impressive temple filled with works of art of different styles. The organ attracted a good deal of attention, as well as King Fernando's crown and sword.

By the time we finished the visit to the Cathedral we were quite hungry, so we enjoyed an hour to try some of the culinary delights of the city, such as its famous tapas, or the icre-cream displayed in a highly artistic manner.

The Alhambra is one of the most beautiful buildings one can visit, and is such a popular destination (with more than 3 million visits last year) that it is essential to organise tickets well in advance. Since we had an appointment at 3 pm at the Alhambra, we had to then walk quickly uphill to ensure that we were there on time.

Once inside the Alhambra, we started by visiting some of the palaces and buildings part of the complex, before visiting the Generalife palace and gardens. Unfortunately the rain appeared again, but luckily it was almost time for us to get back to the bus for the return trip to Marbella anyway.

I am not sure how many of us watched the movie in the return trip in its entirety, for we had indeed walked a good deal and we were feeling quite tired. We got back to Marbella in time for our dinner at the promenade, and some free time to before heading back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we will have the second day of lessons and then a trip to Ronda, another beautiful destination. But let's not jump ahead!

Lessons on a Sunday?

Our second day in Spain started with wake up calls at 7.30 am, followed by a nice breakfast and a very short walk to GEOS Language School, where our students had the first of three morning sessions in classes arranged according to their level.

After the lessons, we took a bus to San Pedro de Alcántara, a village close to Marbella that is celebrating its feria, a yearly week-long celebration that commemorates its Saint Patron, San Pedro de Alcántara, who is remembered by the Catholic Church every 19th of October.

There we had the opportunity to blend in with the sampedreños in their celebrations, and we had the opportunity to try some of the local delicatessen such as pinchitos, queso manchego and, of course, jamón! Unfortunately, the rain decided to dampen the celebrations and we had to take refuge, but this did not prevent us from enjoying the experience; it also gave an excuse to get some hot chocolate which, in order to respect the local tradition, had to be used to dunk churros!

Afterwards we walked to Puerto Banús, a very famous marina where some of the biggest yachts in the world moor. We had time to walk about and listen to the roar of a couple of Ferraris that attracted a good deal of attention. Tonight we enjoyed an Italian meal and ice cream, and by the end it was clear that we needed to get back to the hotel for an early night, which is what we did.

Tomorrow we are off early to Granada, where the astonishing Alhambra awaits us. Let's hope that the sun is on our side!

Greetings from Marbella

We are going to use this blog so that you can follow what we do in our trip. Access to the blog is restricted to users who have been invited (only students taking part in the trip, their parents and the staff involved).

We are finally at our hotel in Marbella. The trip was long and tiring but we made it without any problems, appear from a little worry about our luggage! Once we got to the luggage carrousel at Málaga Airport we waited and waited but not one of our suitcases came out. We checked with the airline staff and it turned out that one container got stuck inside the plane, and it happened to be the one with all of our luggage... Luckily it was sorted out and we got our luggage soon after.

Our Indago guides were waiting for us and we boarded the bus that took us to Marbella, where we settled down in our rooms prior to the meeting where we discussed the rules and procedures for our time here.

We then had some time to have a very late lunch (even for Spanish standards ;-) and a pleasant walk around Marbella that ended with a lavish three course meal.

By the time the dessert was served it was clear that tiredness was taking its toll, so we came back to the hotel and got ready for what we hope will be a long and restful night!

Gabriel Abad