Keeping faithful to my blog in Spain

Well I dropped the ball in Spain, but I am going to quickly catch up and enclose a few pics of key events. Having a basic working knowledge of Spanish came in very handy and led to several long conversations with locals who were patient with me, especially since despite the number of Americans, many people knew less English than I knew Spanish.  Going to the GP doctor, and then a rehabilitation doctor, relying on Spanish was a very good test. I even got the treatment for the right problem on the right part of my body. Spain was colder than I expected. Fortunately I brought jackets and sweaters so I was okay.  The whole last month I was there it rained torrentially almost every day, everything was flooded. There was always something washing up on the beach. I didn’t see it but Roman Ruins were uncovered in Cádiz due to the violent storms. I learned the difference between when to pronounce the sound “th.”  The letter Z is a hard “th” like in “think.” Ci and Ce are pronounced more like a soft “th” as in “then.”  Got it?  Good, because that’s the best I can do.

Ronda

So my trip: I posted pix of my day trip to Sevilla in the last post. I visited Cádiz the oldest (?) continuously occupied city in Europe. I took a road trip to Arcos, Grazalema and Ronda.  Ronda’s landscape and landmarks are featured heavily in the new animated movie “Ferdinand” which is also a very good movie. Granada was also quite beautiful, but the real attraction for my trip was the 12th century Alhambra palace and fortress overlooking the city. Gibraltar was another very cool space especially with the added dispute between Spain and England over who should really own it. The Rock of Gibraltar and the Barbary apes were impressive. The many Orthodox Jews surprised me as much, maybe more than the massive mosque on the south end.
My last weekend was reserved for a long weekend in Tanger and Chefchaouen Morocco.  There were not many big surprises except for the fact that they seemed to glory in the widespread acceptance of all people from all races, religions and other identifiers.  The people were very helpful and friendly.  I was not amazed so much as impressed.  Maybe the fact that it rained torrentially most of the weekend kept the aggressive touts at bay, but there was no hassling to buy trinkets and souvenirs.  I did however meet my goal to buy a hand-woven Moroccan Berber Carpet and a Jalaba (traditional garb). I even made a video about it.

I am including links to my Spain and Morocco videos here so instead of looking at a few pics, you can see as much as you like.

Spain video

Morocco video

Welcome to España!

Rota panorama

I am planning to be more faithful to my blog in 2018.  There are always interesting things happening and lessons being learned and I always have the intention, albeit not the follow through.  That said, I am now in Rota, Spain where I am doing the same job working with military children and their families. Rota is a very pretty beach town that feels pretty “walking-dead” right now because it is also a tourist town with many empty villas and apartment complexes waiting for the summer holiday onslaught.  Good food…lots of fish. It turns out that the local specialties are fried; not really good for cholesterol management I am sure. Tuna is the big fishing industry but I hear that most of the tuna is shipped to Japan. Go figure. The beaches are beautiful and the area of Andalucía is famous for sherry production, Andalucian horses, and cities that are thousands of years old including Rota, Cádiz, Jerez and Sevilla, which I visited this weekend. Also on my agenda are Córdoba and Granada and Morocco.  Driving here is more “civilized” than in Sicily and although people definitely drive fast and love to tailgate, it feels pretty safe.  I have been practicing speaking Spanish as much as possible and although I am far from fluent, I am able to communicate pretty well. I went to buy a sweatshirt in Seville yesterday because it got cold fast when the sun went down and I did the whole transaction in Spanish, but the man thought I was Italian.  Still working on going native wherever I am, and though it is not working, nobody guesses me for an American. When they learn I am American they always enthusiastically welcome me to their country, in English.  Spain is no exception! The general goodwill and friendliness of people all over the world is the gift that keeps on giving.  That it is, Garry.  That it is.

Here are a few pics of Spain…with captions.

Rota Cathedral

Sunset from my balcony

From the Bell Tower - Seville Cathedral

World´s largest Gothic Cathedral - Seville

Inside El Alcázar - Seville

Torre de Oro, Seville

La Vita Siciliana

Mount Etna

Motta S. Anastasia

Valley of the Temples - Agrigento

Remember when I first started this blog?   Yeah, I had a hard time too but I do recall that when this was all new, I had to write every weekend. After the years of being at home and raising kids and working the 9-5, it was a dramatic shift for me.  Even Ft. Stewart Georgia was exciting, but then came Germany, back to Georgia and then exciting Oklahoma. The next year I went to Washington DC, then England, Hawaii, back to England, Pensacola NAS, and Turkey. Then things started becoming blurry: Japan, Korea, Germany, Netherlands, Okinawa, Italy. Over time the newness of the blogging wore off and in some ways the newness and excitement of the job wore off. Don’t get me wrong.  I love the travel and I love the opportunities this job affords me.  It is just that my life now consists of moving and traveling.  It is what I do. After all, who gets to say, “I think I will fly to Barcelona for the weekend” or “I need some downtime…I’m going to the Amalfi Coast.”  Please don’t get me wrong.  I love my job, I love my opportunity and I do not take any of it for granted. G-d has blessed me with a skill set which I can get paid for and travel at the same time. So it never escapes me how fortunate I am…I just forget to blog about it.  I like writing and I actually keep a journal of things I would not reveal to the world, just yet. It would hurt too many feelings, and in 2017 we all know that hurt feelings can turn into riots and meltdowns, so these thoughts I will keep to myself. Also, I don’t want to seem braggadocious, because although my life for the past 8+ years has been spent traveling, I don’t know what else to compare things to. All that is to say I am updating now with two videos from my recent trips to Rome and Naples and a few pix of my adventures here in Sicily. Oh and I just completed certification to teach English as a foreign language, so I have been doing a little of that too with local Sicilians.  Who knows, maybe next I will be in Morocco or Cambodia…as a teacher?

Catania Market

Naples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku1Zd9Mlimg

Rome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKPS71gG-Cc

Taormina

Summiting Mt. Etna

Cefalu

Erice

Catania

Buongiorno dalla Sicilia

Three weeks ago I arrived in Sicily on a very gloomy rainy Sunday afternoon and drove to my hotel then on to my new home at Sigonella Naval Air Station the next morning. I think I am going to like being here once I get used to the rules and customs.  I have written before about the unique driving experiences in different countries. Like Turkey, you never know when you might have to stop for a flock of sheep and just wait for them and their shepherd to walk around you. Also like Turkey, it’s a little nerve wracking to be driving along and suddenly there are 4 cars abreast all vying for the same 2 lanes. The big difference is that I have not (not yet, anyway) had to share the 2 lanes with a donkey, a family on a moped and a pushcart. I have been cautioned that there are really no rules for the road, stop signs are stop suggestions, and if you get a chance to merge – take it or somebody else will. And parking: As I understand it, there are blue curb areas where you have to pay to park by printing out a ticket – but most of the machines don’t work although gentlemen are happy to sell you a parking ticket for jacked up price.  OR if you prefer to park in an unmarked parking area, there are gentlemen who are happy to watch your car for a couple of Euros. I did the latter and when I went back, my car was safe but there was no sign of the gentleman who was gonna watch it.  I have so much to learn. Nevertheless, I ventured out to Catania to check out the piazzas, markets and antiquities. The Greco-Roman Amphitheater is downtown and they keep unearthing new stuff including recently external walls that are around 5^th or 6^th century BC. Unfortunately, like Jerusalem and many ancient cities, houses and businesses have been built on the rubble or ruins over hundreds or thousands of years so whenever they dig, they find something new. The market is a bustling and winding collection of hundreds of venders selling everything from dried fruits to jewelry. Waiting your turn is ridiculous; it is like driving.  You just go for it, but don’t touch the fruit! And all of this in the shadow of Mount Etna’s steaming and snow covered peaks.

My Israel videos

A few new videos are published on youtube by me. These are bout my recent trip to Israel.

about Israel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oFDO0RHmV4&t=1s

and about Bethlehem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsfH91Ghc0c

Having it all

Me & Blake at Alexander Spring

After getting back from Germany on August 28^th, I had a whirlwind visit with my brother Mark, who the next morning flew out to return to Iraq, his home away from home. Habibi. Then after three weeks visiting with the folks and horse and cat-sitting for my dad, I took off for Florida to visit Andy and the fam, John and the fam, a few friends and enjoy a little RnR on and around the beach. I even managed to work in a weekend with Blake in Orlando for a mere $58 roundtrip airfare. Then it was off to Israel again. It was a different kind of visit this time as I really did not

Pensacola Beach

allow myself much down time and was able to go to some places I never went before, meet new people and revisit some very special people and places. The holiday of Succot (Feast of Tabernacles) was in full swing, so again, it was a unique experience. I got back to Pensacola to recuperate and to vote in this unusual and historic election.  Historic indeed. Now I can watch the election drama unfold and decompress for a couple of weeks before heading to Sicily for a year.  It sounds glamorous and I suppose it is, but being a nomad means sacrificing time with my family, being disconnected from my friends, couch-surfing while having someone else live in my house and borrowing the truck I sold to my dad. Why can’t I just have it all?

Western Wall Plaza - Jerusalem

John & Cayden - Pensacola

Me & Rivka at The Dead Sea

My Beard & I

 
Time sure does fly by even when it doesn’t seem that way.  In June 2015 I kinda dared myself to embark on a journey to let no razor touch my head or my face. It was not a religious quest or anything, just doing it because I can and because David started it and Matic said it would make me smarter.  There were times on the journey when I was tempted to just give up, but I persevered, determined to see it through, not wavering in my cause. My beard and I had a big year, but I finally brought it to a close. Since my last confessional, we have been to Barcelona, which was excellent.  I think I could live in Barcelona but there don’t seem to be many Spaniards living in that city.  Maybe I should have ventured further away from the greater metro area; nevertheless what a cool city! I got to practice speaking Spanish and the best part was people let me finish my sentences and even helped me when I struggled for a word, instead of cutting me off and saying, “Just speak English, like everybody else.” This spring has been good for wein festivals and long walks: these two things are about as German as you can get without actually going full German. Memorial Day at the Meuse Argonne American Cemetery in France was moving. I have been now to several War Cemeteries commemorating the great losses of the great wars in Europe, and the Pacific. The price paid is overwhelming…. Cinque Terre and Pisa, Italy was great, but I could have done with less Pisa and more Cinque Terre. As always, there is plenty to do and see in Germany, too. With under 6 weeks left in Germany, I have a couple more trips and outings in the works, but time sure does fly by.