(Pontevedra, Spain) - Really? Did that just happen?

WOOO!!!!

So, for those of you who don't know (which is probably everyone...) I am in Spain doing research and learning how to hablo mexican for the summer....oh, and traveling a bit too! I am staying in a Galician city called Pontevedra. It is north of Portugal on the Atlantic coast - VERY beautiful! I arrived here in Pontevedra on July 2 and have had an absolute blast so far! Lots of stories from my many antics....but I'm sure that's hard for you all to imagine, coming from me and all. Let's begin with a little journey down memory lane, reflecting on my first day when I arrived in Spain.

My trip began as I flew out of the Charlotte-Douglas International airport and headed to Washington D.C., where I would catch my next plain directly to

Madrid. However, since I am a complete idiot, I scheduled my flights 6 hours apart and was forced to entertain myself in the Dulles airport for quite some time before I boarded for Madrid. Flights leave from Charlotte to D.C. every 30 minutes all day so the score so far is Spain 1, Ronnie 0. Well, actually I guess that is actually America 1, Ronnie 0.....So it's really still Spain 0, Ronnie 0. But don't worry, Spain will get plenty of points later on. This photo is not actually me, but you get the picture - pun absolutely intended.

Anyways, when I finally landed in Madrid, after a 7 hour flight, I made my way to the train station to purchase my ticket to Pontevedra, which I was under the assumption was a 2 hour trip (this is where Spain get's her first point). Oh no! I order the ticket in Spanish somehow and the train ride is 8 HOURS LONG! And not only that, but I have to wait 5 hours for it to depart from the station. Baller! I rock at this travel planning business! Spain 1, Ronnie 0.

While I was awaiting my train in Madrid, drifting in and out of consciousness on the bench (Laying on top of my backpack of course), I woke up at one point and a guy about our age or older was sitting beside me with a notebook and TWO – count ‘em – TWO The Sims computer game magazines. Naturally I thought to myself, “I would not be caught dead reading that out in public.” Of course I, myself have played this game before, but a public display of such infatuation with the game is beyond what my pride can handle.

So, there I am, with "Super Sim Spaniard" beside me....straight chillin', waiting for my train to arrive.....just as things could not get any stranger, as he was entranced in the pages, he lifted up the magazine and noticed marinara sauce that was splattered all over the magazine and notebook, smooshed all in between. He licked the sauce off of his hand and then, staring at the magazine, contemplated his next move…. I could see his wheels turning…. i wanted to scream out “NO! Don’t do it for Christ’s sake!” He casually flipped the magazine over, examining both sides to locate all of the sauce, and proceeded to lick the sauce off of the cover of the magazine AND notebook. It was a multiple-licker too. Not just one lick was cleaning off this bad boy. Then, he casually got up from the seat like I wasn’t even there (of course I’m obviously staring at him by now and from a foot away) and walked away. “Where the hell am I!” I thought to myself as I looked around to see if anyone else noticed this scene, or even cared for that matter. I went back to sleep.

The 8 hour train ride from Madrid to Pontevedra was absolutely beautiful! The landscaped changed from grassy plains, to rocky cliff sides falling into crashing waves below, to small villages and mountains. It was very nice to see once, but I shall not be partaking in any other 8 hour train rides unless I can lay down and sleep.

So far, I have visited several places in Galicia, the most famous of which is Santiago de Compostela. If you have time, look up some info about it. It is a huge religious pilgrimage spot for Catholics. Every year folks walk from France to this far west location in Spain to visit the cathedral of Santiago. It was very interesting and uplifting to see all of the pilgrims complete their long journey. Next week I head to Paris to meet a co-worker from the Olympics in Beijing. Excited!

I hope everyone is having a great summer so far! Great idea with the blogg Mike!

Adios amigos!

Ronnie