Posted by Chris Showers on September 5th, 2009.
 La Yecla is a narrow pass that many rare birds call home. As most of you who read this blog probably already know, I recently took a trip to the Monasterio de Santo Domingo de Silos. What you probably don’t already know is that I made another stop on that trip in addition to visiting the “singing monks.” That other stop was to a nearby natural park known as “El Desfiladero de la Yecla.”
As you can see from the photo above, La Yecla is basically a very narrow canyon which happens to have a path constructed right through the middle to allow visitors to explore its depths. The interesting thing about La Yecla is that it is home to many rare bird species — especially vultures. I didn’t manage to see any vultures during my recent visit; however, I did enjoy the rock formations and the various man-made fountains that are fed by the river which runs through the bottom of the canyon. Continue reading this post…
Posted by Chris Showers on August 26th, 2009.
I’ve noticed something since returning to Spain a couple of weeks ago: everyone is gone. What do I mean by that? It’s simple, really: August is “vacation” month in Spain and lots (and I do mean lots) of Spaniards go to the beach, the “pueblo,” or another country during this month.
Now, it’s not at all a bad thing that Spaniards leave in August, but I kind of wish they didn’t have to close down entire stores for the duration of their absence. It’s a little inconvenient to walk down the street to your favorite bakery and find a sign on the door that says that they have closed up shop for the whole month of August due to vacations. Of course, I guess everyone — even the baker — needs to get away and relax a little, right? Speaking of relaxation for the baker, I wonder how the owners of little “mom and pop” stores in the USA go on vacation? You never see shops closed there.
Here’s a little something fun for this August “vacation” post. How about if everybody who reads this writes a comment about their most recent and/or most memorable trip? I’d be interested in hearing about the great places that you’ve visited and the corners of the world that you’ve found yourself in. Continue reading this post…
Posted by Chris Showers on August 23rd, 2009.
 The cloister of the monastery. I just got back from visiting the Monasterio de Santo Domingo de Silos and thought I would share a little information with you about the monastery and the monks that live inside it.
The monastery is located about 45 minutes outside the city of Burgos in a quaint little village known as “Santo Domingo de Silos.” It’s home to a group of Benedictine monks. Certain parts of the monastery are open to the public and visitors can pay three Euros to have a guided tour. On the tour you will see things like the beautifully landscaped cloister of the monastery and some very interesting (and very old) religious sculptures and carvings which line the walls of the complex. Continue reading this post…
Posted by Chris Showers on August 20th, 2009.
 Cars parked outside the blue lines… is this a way for Spaniards to rebel against the parking police? I took this “aerial shot” from the living room window of my apartment (I live on the fourth floor). I wanted to share it with you because, as you can see, there are four cars parked along the street and, to my disbelief, none of them are actually parked within the blue lines the way they should be. But don’t take my word for it — click on the picture above to see the larger version and judge for yourself just how “off the mark” each car is.
No matter what time of day it is or how many cars are parked along my street, none of them ever use the blue lines. In fact, I am looking out the window right now and see over 20 cars parked everywhere but within the blue lines. When I see this, I can’t help but wonder why and how it happens. In the USA, it’s pretty unlikely that you would regularly see cars parked like this for the simple fact that they’d be fined almost immediately for taking up more than one space.
So, here’s something for us to debate in this post. Why do you think that “park jobs” in Spain are so “unique?” Are Spaniards in Burgos starting a non-conformist parking movement? Is this a way for them to rebel against meter maids everywhere? Maybe it just boils down to a different way of looking at the world? Leave your opinion below. Continue reading this post…
Posted by Chris Showers on August 20th, 2009.
 I never tire of walking past the Cathedral of Burgos on a sunny day. Here in Burgos, we are lucky enough to have a Gothic-style cathedral known as the “Cathedral of Burgos” (unique name, right?). Construction on the cathedral began way back in the year 1221 and the marvelous building has been standing ever since then. As far as Spanish cathedrals go, this one is actually a bit on the famous side and, during the summer months, tourists flock to see it.
You know, I have been living in Burgos for about a year now, have walked past this cathedral hundreds of times, and have made numerous visits to see its interior. Still, I can’t help but stop and admire it every time I walk by. When I think of the age of the building and the fact that its ornate artwork had to have been done by hand, I simply can’t help but be impressed — and believe me, the building is impressive both inside and out. I guess having it here is just another “perk” of living in Burgos.
For those of you who are interested, you can visit the interior of the cathedral any day of the week (the times vary by season). If you’re going to be in Burgos either the second or fourth Sunday of the month, you can enter the cathedral for free after 4:00 PM; otherwise, entrance costs four or five Euros. The visit includes seeing the actual cathedral itself and a walk through a small museum that explains how the building was originally built and later restored. Continue reading this post…
Posted by Chris Showers on August 16th, 2009.
After a lovely five-week vacation in the USA to see friends and family, I’m now back in Spain and hopefully will be back to writing entries as normal on the blog. It’s funny when you first return to a country after being away for a while – often times you notice things you hadn’t noticed before. On this re-entry to Spain, one of the things that I noticed is what I like to call the “sidewalk shuffle.”
You see, here in Spain there is a very large aged population and, since returning, I’ve come to realize that, well, old people are everywhere. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; however, it does present a certain problem when you are trying to make your way down a sidewalk.
Imagine the following. You are late for an important appointment. You go out of your house to the street below and being walking hurriedly to your destination. All of a sudden, you come across a row of very old “señoras” sprawled shoulder to shoulder across the entire width of the sidewalk, walking at a snail’s pace, and happily gossiping with each other. They’re pretty much oblivious to the fact that you would like to get past them or that you even exist. You try to pass them on the right and somehow they drift in that direction. You then try to pass them on the left and they drift that direction too. You can’t get around them, they’re taking up the entire sidewalk, and you’re worried about arriving late to your appointment. You’re doing the sidewalk shuffle.
I guess this is just something that happens in Spain… nobody is ever in much of a hurry to get anywhere. Maybe it goes with the more relaxed lifestyle that, culturally, most English speakers aren’t as used to. In any event, I’m back in Spain and back to doing some shuffling when I walk down the sidewalk. A guiri has to do what a guiri has to do to get around in the city, I guess. Continue reading this post…
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