A Nomad's Life

There's something about being uncomfortable that is so comfortable sometimes. Driving through Castilla and Andalusia in 100 degree weather in a 1989 VW Golf with no air conditioning and the windows rolled down. Marking the map. Watching the landscape change. Having to stop every few hours to buy ice for the cooler so that we could have something refreshing to drink. Setting up the tent. Blowing up the mattress. All the while with sweat dripping off our noses. Walking around 24/7 with our bathing suits on so that once we were finished visiting a small town we could run down to the beach and spend the afternoon splashing around and sunbathing covered in salt and sand. Once the sun started to set we'd head back to the camp ground (though it looked more like a refugee camp), take a shower, make dinner (typically just sandwiches and beer), eat by the light of our lantern, then sit out in the dark in our Crazy Creeks and talk about that day's adventure and plan the next day's.

We spent five nights by the beach in southern Cadiz and visited lots of quaint, small towns, the capital, secluded beaches, busy beaches, passed fields of spanish bulls, relaxed and we even made our way down to Gibraltar for a day. Then we took down the tent and headed up a little further north in the province to another beach town for five more nights where we went to Tablados Flamencos, ate lots of gazpacho and salmorejo, drank sangria and tinto de verano, saw the famous Andalusian horse show, visited the Tio Pepe winery, visited the pueblos blancos in the sierra and made our way to a few beaches too.
After ten days of camping we decided to splurge and spend two days in a hotel in our favourite Andalusian town, Córdoba.

I've lived in Spain for over 6 years and this is the first time I actually saw the stereotypical Spain, what it's famous all over the world for. But it's such a diverse country, diverse languages, cultures, people, etc. It's not fair to limit the escence of a country to the culture of just one region. Bulls, flamenco, and sangria (only found in Andalusia) are what Spain has always "sold" to the world as it's identity. Most spaniards who aren't from Andalusia hate this stereotypical identity because it's not who they are. It's sad that the Andalusian culture has been reduced to this exterior image, what is considered and comercialized as "Typical Spanish" because it really is a beautiful region and culture that's so full of life and light, and deserves more than shops full of plastic bulls and cheap plastic dolls in flamenco dresses. This comercial exterior image cheapens the Andalusian culture and takes away from the cultures of the other regions in Spain. It was nice to finally get to see such a beautiful area and I can't wait to explore more of it. I'm lucky to be able to see it all and experience first hand the diversity that truly defines Spain.

And all behind the wheel of a 1989 VW Golf with no air conditioning.