Now, it’s not at all a [...]]]> 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.  Leave me a message below.

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

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 [...]]]>

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.

One of the many religious sculptures housed within the monastery walls.

Still, the tour of the monastery was not what I found most interesting about my visit. You see, each day around 7:00 PM there is a vesper held in the abbey church in which the monks of the monastery sing Gregorian chant. The thing that makes this special is that the monks of this particular monastery are very well-known internationally for their Gregorian chant and they even have released two albums — entitled Chant and Chant II — which have actually topped the Billboard music charts. Thus, for me, the most interesting part of the visit to Santo Domingo de Silos was not the actual visit to the monastery. Instead, it was being able to watch the “monk concert” (which, incidentally, was a much more solemn affair than a Kiss concert).

If you’re interested in hearing what these monks sound like when they chant, you can check out their CD on Amazon. You may also be interested in taking a look at their official website. I would absolutely recommend a visit to Santo Domingo de Silos if you’re ever in the area — it’s a visit that can be done in as little time as one afternoon and, whether you’re religious or not, it’s extremely interesting to see how these monks live and to watch them chant.

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

On my recent excursion to the Cañón del Ebro, one of the stops that I made was in the village of Covanera, located just outside of the city of Burgos, at a place called the Pozo Azul.  Basically, the [...]]]>

A diver emerges from the water after exploration of the Pozo Azul in Covanera.

On my recent excursion to the Cañón del Ebro, one of the stops that I made was in the village of Covanera, located just outside of the city of Burgos, at a place called the Pozo Azul.  Basically, the Pozo Azul is a bluish colored karst spring that has a submerged cave underneath it.  Indeed, the cave below the surface of the water is said to be the longest submerged cave in all of Spain.

The Pozo Azul is quite famous in Spain amongst cave divers and, to my surprise, a diver ”appeared” from the blue depths after I had been at the location for about five minutes or so and I was able to snap a picture as he made his way out of the water.  Once he got out, he told me and my travel companions that several of his fellow divers were still beneath the surface wrapping up their exploration mission and that diving in this location is not uncommon.  He also explained a little bit about this history of the area and said that the bluish color is due to the way the sun reflects off the surface of the water and the rocks. 

I thought it was really cool to actually be able to see and talk with one of the cave divers who frequent the area and learn a little more about the history of this karst spring.  It’s also pretty interesting to think that they began exploring the cave in 1964 and still to this day there are unexplored areas.  I would definitely recommend a trip to Covanera if you’re ever in the Burgos area. 

If you’d like a little more information about the Pozo Azul, check out this site.  You can also view my rural photos on Picasa. 

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

I wanted to share with everyone some pictures and stories from a recent trip that I took to the Ebro River Canyon located near Burgos.  I took the trip with [...]]]>

Here I am at a lookout point over the canyon. You can see the Ebro River behind me... I'm squinting from the sun, but that's ok.

I wanted to share with everyone some pictures and stories from a recent trip that I took to the Ebro River Canyon located near Burgos.  I took the trip with some other teachers from the school where I work and, honestly, before going I wasn’t really expecting a lot.  You see, before we went, the other teachers told me that this would very much be a “rural” trip — we would be visiting small “pueblos” in the countryside and walking along rural routes.  Since I consider myself a “city boy,” I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this trip very much… but I went anyway.

After going on the trip, I have to say that I was quite impressed.  The villages that we visited were all very pretty, the landscape was very green (I didn’t even know things got that green here in Castilla y León), and I had the opportunity to see something that is a little less “touristy” and a little more “Spanishy,” if you know what I mean.  Plus, it was nice to leave the city behind for an afternoon and get a breath of fresh, country air.

Really, I think the pictures from this trip speak for themselves.  Below, I’ll leave a few more pictures for you to take a look at.  If you still want to see more, you can check out my “Pueblos of Burgos” album on Picasa.  Also, if you would like more information about the “Cañón del Ebro” you can check out this site.  Enjoy!

A waterfall on the outskirts of one of the villages we visited.

A view of a small village street.

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

PS: On an unrelated note, let me apologize to everyone for not updating in such a long time.  Since it’s the end of the school year here, I’ve been busy tying up loose ends and making preparations for next year.  All of that takes time, which means that the blog has been a little dead over the last couple of weeks. 

If you read this blog regularly, you probably already know that this week there are several Italian and Turkish students visiting my school.  Since I’ve kinda become their “official translator/guide” for the week, I had the chance to take them [...]]]>

Guides talk about a human scull found at the Atapuerca site in Spain.

If you read this blog regularly, you probably already know that this week there are several Italian and Turkish students visiting my school.  Since I’ve kinda become their “official translator/guide” for the week, I had the chance to take them to the Atapuerca Archaeological Site that is located just a few kilometers away from the city of Burgos. 

Before going on this little excursion with the students, I was kinda grumbling to my friends about having to go.  Honestly, I didn’t think there would be much to see at Atapuerca and I felt a little as if I had better things to do with my time.  I was wrong.  In fact, I really enjoyed Atapuerca and found the history behind the place to be extremely interesting. 

For those of you who don’t know, Atapuerca is probably one of the most valuable archeological sites in all of Europe, if not the world.  Human and animal fossils as well as tool remains have all come out of the site.  Visually, the site isn’t impressive — it’s basically a bunch of rocks and you can’t really “see” anything inside them; however, when you stop to think about the history that is locked up inside that place, you can’t help but be impressed.

Our tour had two parts: first a visit to the actual archaeological site where we were able to see the techniques used to unearth fossils and later a visit to a recreated “prehistoric” village.  The village was interesting because it showed you how old “grandpa Neanderthal” lived “back in the day.” 

If you’re ever in the area, I recommend a visit to Atapuerca.  It’s worth it.  You can find out more information on the official website. 

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

Well, I’m finally back from my school trip to Barcelona and I’m still alive after spending four days with sixty students.  Honestly, the students were for the most part well-behaved and we, the teachers, really didn’t have to discipline anyone very much at all [...]]]>

A man sells roses on Sant Jordi in Barcelona.

Well, I’m finally back from my school trip to Barcelona and I’m still alive after spending four days with sixty students.  Honestly, the students were for the most part well-behaved and we, the teachers, really didn’t have to discipline anyone very much at all — so, it was a good trip. 

I wanted to write a little something in this post about an interesting holiday that I just happened to be in Barcelona to see.  It’s the day of Saint George (“Sant Jordi” in Catalán) and it’s celebrated on April 23.  You see, Barcelona is quite well-known for its Saint George celebration because there it is customary for men to give women a rose on this day.  Thus, as you can see in the above picture, “Las Ramblas” in Barcelona gets FULL of people buying roses at outdoor stands that are setup just for the occasion.  

It just so happens that Saint George’s Day also coincides with International Book Day because both Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes, two of the most talented writers of all time, died on April 23 (of different years, of course).  That’s why the Saint George celebrations of Barcelona are somewhat twofold: the men buy women roses and, in return, the women buy men books.  As a result, there are also temporary “book stands” like the one pictured below along the streets of Barcelona.

Books are also given as gifts on April 23.

It was pretty cool seeing firsthand how Saint George is celebrated in Barcelona and honestly, I was really surprised by the number of people walking along the street buying roses and books.  In fact, there were so many people wandering down the street in the area of the city where the roses and books were being sold that I had a bit of a hard time even getting the above two pictures because every time I went to push the shutter button someone from the crowd stepped into my shot.  In any event, after a while I managed to get the pictures I wanted and I also had the chance to live a celebration that is somewhat unique to the city of Barcelona — it was a good day.

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

PS: If you’re planning on taking a trip to Barcelona to see Sant Jordi firsthand and looking for a good place to stay at a great price, you may wish to take a look at Hotel Travel’s fantastic Barcelona Hotels section.