Watch us Run!

Our investigate teams found this video that shows the running from start to finish the day that Nithin and Mike ran with the bulls. If you look closely and in slow motion, you might be able to see us!

Click the photo below to see the video.

Taking Risks: Fiesta De Agua

Posted by Nithin Coca

The best things about traveling are the unexpected, random adventures. So two days ago, when I spotted a sign that said ¨Fiesta de Agua,¨ I had no idea what to expect. A Water Party? On the beach?

I grabbed the phone number slip, and headed off to get some Tapas. For some time, I completely forgot about the Fiesta.

Next scene, we are relaxing at the Mirabor San Cristobal, my favorite part of the Albaicin, the old Moorish neighborhood in Granada, admiring an amazing view of the Alhambra (pictures coming soon), with my fellow trippers and Couchsurfer Kat, when we get to discussing what we are going to do that following day.

Before I knew it, we had texted Manolo, and were going to get up the following morning to catch a bus to the beach.

What is the fiesta de agua? Good question. We were on the bus, me, Brandle, Mike, Aaron, and Kat (Mr. Ryan had to drop out due to Moroccan repercussions), when the only other English speakers on board told us we would be drenched with water on the alleys of a small village in the mountains. We had brought no extra clothes (as everyone else on the bus had), nor had we brought a towel, due to a Spanish miscommunication (damn you Ryan for being sick!)

When we got off the bus, we were handed buckets. That´s right, Buckets. Medium sized, blue, plastic buckets. We followed the throngs (12,000 people in total) through a beautiful, green, mountain path toward a picturesque small valley town, the lights glimmering over the clear night sky. This was where the fiesta was taking place?

The crowds were amazing. The streets were packed with students, families, children, grandmas, all with buckets. From the balconies, people with hoses sprayed water down on the crowds, everyone trying to catch as much water as possible in their buckets. ¨Mucho agua, mucho agua!¨chanted the completely Spanish crowd. Within minutes, we were completely soaked with frigid water, but so was everyone else. The energy of the crowds was amazing, people were being sprayed with fire hoses, buckets, even the occasional gutter splash. The streets were running with dirty, warm water, not a single soul in the city was dry, even the hosers on the balconies were not spared the pain.

I could never have guessed when I saw that sign that I would, with 12 hours, be ambushing random people with buckets of cold water, evading super-soakers, and in general having a fantastic time. This experience, one I will never forget, could have been so easily lost had I glanced the wrong direction, had the slip fallen out of my pocket, or had Manolo never texted me back. But most of all, the experience never would have happened had we decided to take a risk. You can never get anything out of traveling unless you take chances.

All I know it...the Spanish sure know how to have a great time!

Late, but Finnaly, La Alberca Remembered

Time passes differently when you are taking a trip around the world. You of whom have sent me emails understand that all too well, with my horrid response time.

The same goes for those who participated in Pueblo Ingles with me, at La Alberca. I’ve been meaning to put up a post, complete with pictures, commentary, and expert analysis on this site for weeks. Now, a month and a long week since the end of the program, I got the will power and here you go. April 21-28th La Alberca.

22 Anglos, 22 Spaniards. The day I arrived, I was certain there would be no way I would remember everyone’s name by the end of the week.

Three days later, I knew many of you better than I knew some of my best friends.

That was what was amazing. How within one week, a group of people can share so much and grow so close. How, in all my traveling, I’ve never felt so close to the culture and the vibe of the country I am in. The Sevillana flamenco on the last night, I can’t explain what it meant to me in words. All I know is that I can travel around the world for the rest of my life, but I’ll never experience that feeling ever again. Now I truly understand what people mean when they say traveling is a once in a lifetime experience.

La Alberca was the bridge between the first month of my trip, which included family traveling and solo traveling, to the 2nd half, which was all group traveling. And though traveling around Spain, and settling in Granada has been fantastic, it hasn’t been the same. I don’t feel that same connection to the soul of Spain that I had up La Alberca.

Would I do it again? I would love to be back, on day one, and experience that week again, but, at the same time, I know that it was not an experience that can be recreated ever.

Those of you from La Alberca reading this, email me! One of the problems has been that La Alberca has a wrong email address down for me, a email I don’t check that frequently (I know, excuses, excuses). Others, I don’t have your email (or don’t know which of the many encoded addresses on the mass emails is yours).

To lose touch would be to lose a part of ourselves. I changed that weekend, I learned new things about myself and about humanity, some bad, but mostly good. I don’t want those memories to become nothing more than memories, fading with time.

The Sevillana sums it all up with this.

Don´t go away yet. Please don´t go away. Even my guitar is going to weep when saying goodbye to you. The ship is getting smaller as it goes away. And when it gets lost, how big is the solitude.

A Cordoban History Lesson

By Nithin Coca

First, a few facts. Did you know

• For over 100 years, Cordoba, Spain, was the largest city in Europe, with a population of over 1 million?
• That, for over 300 years, it was the capitol of Al-Andalus, a Muslim kingdom that controlled most of Spain?
• That this Muslim kingdom tolerated freedom of religion, and allowed all religions of the book (Judiasm, Christianity, and Islam) to be practised freely?
• That the largest mosque in Europe, a freaking enourmous ediplex, is in Cordoba?

Can´t say I knew any of that before I set of to Spain and began reading about the riches of this country. Cordoba has been out of the limelight for over 1000 years, its population today only 300,000, a city of archealogical digs, ruins, and a deep, troubling yet intriguing history.

But imagine the city, the center of Europe, back in its heyday in 770 AD. The intellectual capitol of Europe, where Jewish, Muslim, and Christian philosophers debated the merits of life, love, and how to best govern a enlightened community. While the rest of western Europe was mired in the dark ages, Byzantine clerics travelled to Cordoba to learn from the brightest.

When you are in a city like Cordoba, you cannot understand it unless you try to understand the history. The Cathedral, formally the Mosque, has changed dramatically over the years. The hunderds of red striped arches now lead to chapelas, and a golden, ornate new dome in the center, highlighted by its 200 meter organ. No place else in Europe can you see the strark contrast between Islamic simplicity, and the overexuberance of the Catholic church in Spain.

The rulers of Al-Andalus, who had their own Caliph, seperate from that of Baghdad. The Caliph lived outside the city in the enormous Medina Al-Zarya complex. On our second day in Cordoba, we took a half an hour bus ride outside the city to see the remains of this once vibrant city, with our resident Anthropoligist, Aaron Tobias (pictured left inspecting the walls).

Medina Al-Zarya used to the the adminstrative, religious, and diplomatic capitals of Moorish Spain. It took self appointed Caliph Abd al-Rahman twenty-five years to build Madinat al-Zahra. The city existed for merely sixty-five years. For nine centuries it slept, forgotten beneath a hard dirt cover. Following eighty years of restoration work, about one tenth of the medina has been excavated, representing one third of the upper terrace: the noble part which houses the alcazar with the caliph's palace and the most important dignitaries' houses, together with the government bodies and military buildings. On the middle terrace, only the mosque has been excavated. The souk was also at this level, together with many gardens with pools, fountains and cages housing wild animals and exotic birds. The lower terrace was devoted to infantry and cavalry housing. Excavation work is still continuing so that we may learn the real beauty of this beautiful, mountainside medina.

How do we know all this? Because me and Ryan were hard at work as historians.

There´s no better way to experience history than to read it when you´re there. Córdoba was fantastic, an lesson into one of the most interesting periods of European History, Moorish Spain. How the relatively tolerant Moorish Spain led to the Conquisition...well, that´s for next week!

For more information about Cordoba, check out these links.
Ayuntamiento de Córdoba - Códoba local Government.
Maps of Córdoba
Turismo de Córdoba

Sunset

This is why I travel around the world. The view of the sunset over the mountains of Granada, from our apartment. Cada Noche!

Windows on the World

The Windows on the World section, in which I post the views from every window that I have stayed in, has been updated. Go ahead, take a look!

Indigo Youth Hostel, Valencia, Spain

The Results are in!

We interrupt this blog for some late breaking news! The Results from the the World Trippers´election are in. Let us not waste time, here are the results.

Granada - 2 first place votes, 1 second place vote
Seville - 1 first place vote, 1 third place vote, 1 fourth place vote
Lisboa - 2 second place votes, one fourth place vote
Madrid - 2 second place votes
Valencia - 1 fourth place vote

No hanging chads here! It´s Granada in a landslide, with 66% of the first place votes, beating Seville´s 33%. As of tomorrow, Granada is the home of portion #1.

Campione, Campione, Olé! Olé! Olé!

Election Night

Recap: The three of us have been traveling from city to city, to find the best place to settle down for 1-2 months on the Iberian peninsula. In every city we have been investigating numerous factors, such as youth population, relative ease of housing, nightlife, cultural activities, touristiness or lack thereoff, and general vibe. Here is the list of cities that are on the ballot as to where we could live.

• Barcelona (Nithin only)
• Valencia (Nithin only)
• Madrid
• Salamanca, Spain
  
• Porto, Portugal
• Lisboa, Portugal
• Seville
• Cadiz, Spain
• Torre del Mar (Ryan only)
• Marbella
• Malaga
• Granada

Tonight! is election night! The three of us will go into a Tapas bar, sit down, all write down our ballots secretly (detailed ballets with no hanging chads) and then choose the city. Where will we live? Check back in 7 hours - that´s right, 7 hours - to find the results posted almost live on this website.

Where will the World Trippers´ be for the next month and a half? Tonight, the long awaited question will finally be answered. Stay tuned!

Look

So you see why we haven't posted often?

Scorecard

Haven't posted in a while. But, for those keeping track, here's a list of things that I've lost so far in the trip.

• 2 Tubes of Toothpaste
• 1 Tube of Campsuds
• at least one pair of socks
• numerous important pieces of paper
• my 10 ride Madrid Metropass with 9 rides remaining

In one month, with me being diligent as all hell. But, nothing terribly important. A few close calls, but nothing else. Check back next month for the updated scorecard.

Nithin

Speaking English for Food

Sadly, this will be my last post for a week. I know, how will you ever survive?

As many of you know, I got accepted into a unique Teaching English program in Spain. Basically, what they do is take us all via bus to some small historic town about 4 hours from Madrid, put us up in a decent or nice hotel room, give us free food. And all we have to do in return? Participate in games and activities to help Spanish businessmen learn english. Basically, all I have to do is speak english for a week. I know, taxing.

Here´s the link for any of you that are interested. http://www.vaughanvillage.com

So no posts for the next week. But don´t cry, Ryan and Aaron are joining portion one in a few days, and they´ll (hopefully) fill you in on their whereabouts and adventures! On the 28th the three of us meet up, and then the fun really begins.

Paella Valenciana

Posted By Nithin Coca

One piece of advice...don´t go to Valencia, or any part of Spain outside of Andalucia, on Easter Weekend.

Valencia seems like it would be cool. Its pretty, lots of bars, restaurants, famous paella places, not touristy at all, yet large. Beautiful beaches.

But on Easter weekend...everything, and I mean everything, is closed. Most of the bars, all stores, many restaurants. The few that are open have been booked in advance, as me and an Australian found out yesterday after being rejected at 10+ restaurants on a strip known for having the best paella in town. We thought everyone just hated us, but they were rejecting everyone, even Spaniards. All the restaurants were crowded and, strangely, understaffed, so they wouldn´t let anyone else eat even though many of them had some open seats.

Tomorrow I take the slow train to Madrid. I did get Paella, eventually, at a restaurant on the other side of the beach. Then had Spaniards stare at us cause we were the only ones eating food on that entire half of the beach. Ahh, traveling. Hasta Luego!

Barcelona Redux

Posted By Nithin Coca

It was almost 3 1/2 years ago that I first stepped foot into this small, not entirely Spanish corner of Spain, Barcelona. I remember the day vividly - our train arrived in the evening, and our hostel was far away from the city center in a shady neighborhood. The only eatery we could find, a Tapas bar, was run by a mean middle aged man who apparantly didn´t speak English, French, or Spanish, claiming he only knew Cátalan. Oooo, see how I made the á! Yay for español keyboards!

The next day was possibly the most hectic day of my life. We got up at 9AM, saw all the famous sites of Barcelona, ate 3 meals, then went out till 5AM. We had no place booked that night, so at 5AM we tried sleeping on the beach, the metro, and a hostel (different one) sofa. Each place kicked us out. Then the day only got weirder.

So today, I was back in Barcelona, the first city on this trip around the world that I have visited before. And possibly the only, with the exception of Paris on Bastille Day, and Bangkok, the only re-visit of my journey around the world. Today was much more relaxed, since I´d seen more of the sights, I only tried to see everything in a new light. I spent a few hours at the Sagrada Familia, walked around the Barri Gothic, chilled on the Ramblas. Its 10:14PM right now, so ít´ll be a few more hours until the night life starts to pick up.

2 1/2 more months on the Iberian peninsula. Adios!

Belle Italia

Posted by Nithin Coca

Internet Access is hella expensive in Italy. Seriously. In Lucca, I paid 4 euros for 15 minutes of internet. So, even though this website means a lot to me, I wasn't about to pay an extra 4 euros to post an update.

But it has been one interesting and exciting week. I've gone from one side of Italia to the center of Slovenia, from Central Europe to Cinque Terre, Venice to the mountains. Through rain and shine, I've perisisted. And now, I'm back in Florence, reflecting on Italy and what it was.

But who cares about that? I know what you want...photos! And voila, here you are!







Crazy Italians and their graffiti, which, by the way, is EVERYWHERE.












Venice was like a romantic, picturesque Disneyland, full of tourists all with maps in hand, walking from ride to ride, overpriced restaurants and stands everywhere touting souvenirs. This was the "Gondola" ride, which cost $62 (too much for a budget traveler.








A few more days in Italy, and then, I'm off to Spain on the 12th, via night train, to Barcelona. Then officially begins portion one, as the next 2 months will be spend on the Iberian peninsula, with a dip or two into Morocco. Expect more updates and such! And, of course, everyone is free to email me at excinit{at}gmail.com.

Week One Update

From Venice, Italy

I'm writing this from a very overpriced internet cafe in Venice. The last few days have been, without a doubt, eventful, from eating the best mango gelato in Milan, to talking to a hyper Italian girl on a train who was going across the country to confront her boyfriend, who broke up with her via phone. The last two days have been in Venice, a beautiful but horrendously expensive and touristy city. Its more like a Disneyland than any place I've been in the U.S.

Longer update tomorrow, when I shall check in from Slovenia...or Croatia, not entirely sure yet. Ahh, unpredictability!

Italia, Here I Come!

Yes, I know, this portion is supposed to be the "Spain, Portugal, Morocco" portion. But our portions are uneven. So I'm starting my trip at the boot that longs to kick siciliy, but fails - Italy! My brother is currently spending a semester studying abroad in Florence, so me and mi familia are going to visit him. Except, when they leave, I stay, chill in Italy for a few weeks more, then jet off to Spain.

I'm leaving in three days. I promise to post regular updates and post photos as frequently as possible. Also be on the lookout for fantastic stories. And please, click on the "leave a comment" button and leave a comment!

Nithin Coca