We left Granada and headed to the outskirts of a small town by the name of Nerja. Our guest have set us up in a cozy little cabin up in Parque Natural Sierras de Tejeda. The air is pretty cool and the views are unbelievable. Our host have an art gallery that is situated in the town of Cómpeta. The locals are all pretty easy going and the ex-pats are very kind as well. Not much more to say then time to relax and take in nature.
Le decimos adiós a nuestro primer huésped a viajamos al suiguiente sitio que queda cerca de Granada, España. Gracias a Jota por su hospitalidad y por dejarnos compartir con el de sus diarios que hacerse. Ayer como despedida me incluyo en preparación de un pollo para las fiestas. La experiencia fue única y me dio una apreciación por los animales y la carne que yo como seguido sin saber de dónde viene o como fue creada.
I am appreciative for this opportunity and I look forward to the next chapter of this adventure. Time to see more and see what other eccentric characters we run into.
Until next time folks, for now I leave you with this song by Groundation titled, “One More Day (live it up).” Beautiful song.
Our first week has been a nice experience, learning a bit about agriculture from our host on his organic farm. He says much has to be done but regardless there is still an abundance of winter crops in his garden. His green house is made of bent metal tubing lined with a thick clear plastic to keep the warmth and moisture inside.
His green house foundation could use a bit beefing up but it works for his application and also cuts his cost down because most of his materials are used, repurposed, or recycled from local construction sites. He still needs to close the back and front and add fans to circulate air within the greenhouse to maintain a constant temp but non the less it is still producing a good crop. 
Besides being in the country, Barcelona is a huge place with the same hustle and bustle of any other large city. The subway system is a bit difficult to get used to but not impossible to figure out. It is definitely a more economic way of getting around due to the high prices of gas in Europe. Compared to the U.S., gas is about 2.5 times more expensive in price. Regardless we are still making the most of it and looking forward to our next destination (wherever that may be).
Amongst all the amazing places to see around the city we have gone to see Sagrada Familia and the historic Gothic center near the ocean. I spent hours just looking at all the details that were carved into the outside and inside of both churches. An amazing display of wealth by the Catholic Church. Even to this day the church of Sagrada Familia is still under construction and will be for the next 20 to 30 years for sure. Instead of fronting the money to finish it the church relies on a 20 euro contribution for anyone wanting to see inside the amazing structure. ( I kept my money and I’ll see the inside when its free!)
More amazing to me was the architecture and decorations of Catedral de la Santa Cruz y Santa Eulalia de Barcelona in the Gothic district. This district is 500 plus years old so I can only imagine how long it was under construction when it was started.
We arrived at Jotas Finca on the south western part of Barcelona. We took a 25 min train ride from Estacion Barcelona Sants a el pueblo de Gavá. From there we took a taxi over to the edge of town to where Jota was waiting for our arrival. Turned out he had a similar experience to mine where at 34 years old he was tired searching for something different and started traveling the world. He finally settled not too long ago in this small town having been given the opportunity to own some land that some older folks offered him.
Maggie and I are thinking of staying here a couple of weeks then possibly make our way to another community where we are hoping to learn some food cultivation.
That big ass dog in the picture is Jotas Guard dog Fly boy. He must be mixed with polar bear because he is a pretty large creature.
We finally made it Barcelona after what seems like 20 hours of traveling (quite the adventure). We got to JFK airport early for our flight and I ended up checking in my bag without putting my knife in the bag before hand. I ended up having to give it away to some guy at the airport. I was quite sad about that but I guess it was written in the stars, c’est la vie. We boarded the plane a few hours later and headed to Moscow for our connection flight. When we landed it was 12 degrees below zero and the people were rude as f*$k. We flew out of Moscow at around 8pm and arrived in Barcelona, Spain 3.5 hours later. Note, at this point I haven’t slept but 2 hrs at the Moscow airport so I was hella tired.
Around 2 in the morning we got to our Hostel and were finally able to get some zzzz’s in. Now it is time to look up some things to do and the adventure begins!
I will be trying to update this as much as possible and in the process I hope my writing skills will get better. If anyone has any suggestions as to what you like to see in the posts write your comments in the comments section somewhere within this blog. I will try and reply whenever I get a chance so just give me some time and I will get to you asap.
To begin our adventure into Europe, we make a stop in Providence RI to visit with some friends and chill out a bit before headed to NY city. The weather is cold, the atmosphere is rushed and the food is delicious. Although not much effort is made to go out and explore I feel content reading and relaxing in the warmth of the house we’re staying in which belongs to Heidi and Kyle. This is good way to start the trip and gather our bearings before heading off into yet another place of unfamiliar sites, sounds, and people. This is going to be quite an adventure.
I don’t know what direction this blog will be going other than a way of tracking where I’ve been, but I hope that it starts taking shape as I learn the platform and how I want it to look. The hope is that it will become a way to record an experience, learn a new skill, share some thoughts, and let everyone know whats going on in my life to a degree. Stay tuned for some pics as soon as I can figure out how to post them.
Aventuras del Tingon 