Arrived in Barcelona, land of dance

I’ve been to Barcelona once before: the trip started off well but my then husband and I soon developed some kind of gastrointestinal illness and were hotel bound the rest of our visit. I always vowed to someday return and explore all that I had missed. Therefore this visit is a little bit of a make-up trip. My immune system feels good so far so looking forward to the next couple days in Barcelona.

I arrive in town late enough to check into my hotel to freshen up. I really have nothing on the agenda today except go watch the Sardana dance and maybe try to visit la boqueria, one of my favorite places.

I am staying once more in a nicer hotel. I like this chain, Room Mate Pau.

I wander around my hotel.

During my last visit to Barcelona I fondly remember catching the Sardana, the traditional Catalan dance. My current visit is timed just right for me to catch the dance again.

Now I head to La Boqueria via some of the Gothic Quarter.

First I stop for a pizza and a beer. I cannot resist the pizza with mortadella on it, a topping rarely seen on pizza.

Stopped by La Boqueria but most of the stalls are closed but nearby is a street party called Bulla ‘N ‘Barna put on by four local dance schools. They are doing the traditional dance of Ball de Bot. I stay here for a while to watch and buy my first vermouth in Barcelona. It is so much fun to watch all the dances.

I end the afternoon with a stroll down Las Ramblas. It is nice to just stroll with no destination in mind. Tomorrow I finally get to see the famous Park Güell.

Zambra Flamenco

Today has been a busy day but it is not over yet. Earlier today I visited the large Alhambra complex. I have since returned to my room to shower. Tonight I have reservations to see zambra flamenco in an authentic Sacromonte cave. This is not my first time seeing flamenco, I’ve seen various shows in the USA and even saw a fabulous show in Sevilla in 2012. However the flamenco here is different- it has been said that here in Sacromonte is one of the birth places of the famous dance. This type of dancing, zambra flamenco, has more influences from other areas: Roma (Romani and Indian), Moriscos, and Arabic. It is distinct in its use of hand symbols, ruffled dresses, and soulful singing accompanied by guitar playing. In Sacromonte it is performed in cave houses.

My reservation is at 10:30 PM . As an early-to-sleep person it is amazing that I book the late show but I figure it is Spain, everything is better later, isn’t it?

I have plenty of time before the show so I wander up the hills of Albaicín. My hotel is on a street that is technically at the edge of Albaicín but to really get a feel for the area you must climb the hill streets to get a view of the greater city of Granada.

My first stop is at Mirador Placeta de Carvajales a small park that overlooks the Alhambra. There is a music group filming a music video here. I sit back and enjoy the free entertainment.

I get my first flamenco show of the day.

The plan is to visit the popular Mirador de San Nicolás to possibly watch the sunset and eat a light dinner nearby. It is very crowded at Mirador de San Nicolás since everyone wants to watch the sunset today. It is too crowded for my taste and I’ve seen my fair share of remarkable sunsets so I decide to eat. I don’t see a particular restaurant that really catches my eye so I choose a place with outside seating. I order wine and a huge ass plate of cheese once again. There is a great guitar player performing while I eat though.

After my cheese I walk in the direction of Sacromonte. I end up in a quiet alley where someone is singing from a minaret. It is almost like a call to prayer, perhaps it is.

At this point I am far uphill so I need to start walking downhill to get to the cave that is hosting tonight’s performance. For once I am walking downhill and I guess my feet are not used to it because I stub my toe. Darn minimalist shoes on cobble streets!

I get to the narrow street I need to walk down. There really isn’t a sidewalk and it appears cars can come both ways. Perhaps many people get dropped off in this area by taxi? The venue isn’t too far down the street.

I am attending my show at Cuevas Los Tarantos. Most likely these performances were more “authentic” and catered to locals but now they are more catered to tourists like me. Some venues have more a of tourist-trap feel to them but the venue I am attending tonight has many good reviews. As long as I am entertained who really cares that I am in a “touristy” place.

I arrive very early as usual but it allows me to enjoy two sangrias prior to the show instead of one. I spend a couple minutes in a cave next door with my fun drink and then head over to the other cave when the previous show finally ends.

The band enters into the cave like room where the performance will be held and soon after the dancers arrive. The guitar player plays and the dancers clap along while seated. One by one the dancers perform solo acts. I have seen male dancers as part of a duo before but this is the first time I’ve seen them perform solo. In the show there were two very good male performers. Also a woman is very skillful with a dance using finger symbols. She is popular with the group.

Below are some still photos of the evening, one of these does not belong-see if you can point out the one that is out of place.

Overall it is a good show. There is a great night view of the Alhambra on the walk back. The streets are quiet but are well lit so I feel safe walking back alone. I do find entertainment in watching taxis navigate the narrow streets.

Tomorrow I climb the hills of Sacromonte once more to visit the cave museum.

Back to Medellín

M and I head to Medellín Colombia today. It is the second time for me and the first for her. A couple weeks ago I spent some days leisurely around the city. I hope to see more this time around.

The flight to Medellín from Cartagena is only around an hour and ten minutes so our travel journey is not long. The flight is in the morning and I order a cheese and ham toasted sandwich to hold me over before my journey.

When we arrive we check into the same hotel I stayed in prior, Diez Hotel Categoria in El Poblado. It is a good choice. Our room has two beds and a hammock that overlooks the neighborhood.

I wasn’t sure how we would feel when we arrived so we didn’t have much booked on our first day in Medellín. Luckily we are early enough to take a free walking day tour with Real City Tours (pay guide by tips).

Fortunately I already navigated the metro during my prior visit so we took the metro to meet our tour.

We are a little early for our tour so we stop for a beer in a old charming bar called Salón Málaga. Most were not drinking, in fact we thought we were getting a sneer from the table next to us but we ended up chatting with the girl and her mother instead. They were Spanish speaking but actually live in the USA and were tourists in Medellin as well. We made plans to share a taxi with them to Guatapé the next day but plans fell through when they had to leave town early.

We meet up with our tour guide who then takes us around the city and points out different landmarks.

El Monumento a La Raza (sculptor Rodrigo Arenas Betancourt) – bronze sculptures symbolizing the culture of Antioquia

At one point we sit by an old train station (Edificio Antigua Estación del Ferrocarril de Antioquia) where our guide gives us a “real talk” about the history of Medellin – tells us the history of all the factions that caused turmoil: the government, the military, drug lords, right wing militia, left wing militia. The losers are the ordinary people who had to live through the war and terror.

We are taken to a shopping district where there are lots of pop up stands you can get cheap goods (Carabobo pedestrian street).

National Palace Mall

Sex workers hang out in front of this church.

We are told where to go to get some great empanadas

We end up at the Botero park where we can see lots of Botero statues.

Our guide talks about the metro and the pride the locals have for their train.

We are told the area under the train is where people go to exchange goods. We don’t have time to watch but we go back later to see it in action. Mostly men take items to exchange (belt buckle, watch, coins or whatnot) and engage with conversations with others to see if a deal can be made. It is interesting to watch and seems to be a sport of its own in the city.

We walk by some musicians playing outside at Parque Berrío. People are dancing to the music.

Church across the street from Berrio Park

Our guide talks about some local fruits. I finally get to try that weird looking fruit (guama) from my first visit to Medellín.

Finally he takes us to the Parque San Antonio where he tells us the story of the bombed statue.

At the end there is a question and answer session about the city. Some was asking about seeing a futbol (soccer) game while in town. The guide tells us about the upcoming El Clásico Paisa game. I don’t listen too carefully because at this point going to a soccer game in Medellín seems too intimidating to me. Plus I am not sure we’ll have time. M pays attention though and is able to talk me into attending the game. More on that later.

Phnom Penh

To get to Phnom Penh I take a small plane of the same airline I took into Cambodia. It is a short flight and the experience isn’t quite as bad as when set out to arrive in the country.

Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia. The capital feels more contemporary and does not have all the ancient temples like Siem Reap. Also famous is that it was the capital of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970’s, the group responsible for horrific genocide. My stop in Phnom Penh is short and I just get a slight feel for the city.

I book a decent but affordable hotel near the Royal Palace (which I end up not visiting). Lately I make sure I book a place with a pool since it is a requirement anymore for traveling during these hot times.

I decide against visiting the Royal Palace right away because of the heat and it proves to be a bad decision because it seems to be my only opportunity because of two reasons: missing the limited opening hours on my other free day and the unfortunate death of a Cambodian princess which had many things shut down – including alcohol service at restaurants (I awkwardly found out when trying to get a cocktail at a restaurant and they refused to serve me alcohol. I am a little confused until somebody explained it to me on the table nearby).

The princess Norodom Bopha Devi is famous for helping revive traditional Apsara dance (unique style dance with intricate hand movements) after it is almost destroyed during the horrific time of Khmer Rouge.

I fortunately booked an evening to see Apsara dance at Cambodian Living Arts.