Andalucía via Spanish Guitars

Today is Saturday and at this very moment I am sitting in the backseat of a dark grey BlaBla car as it passes slower vehicles along an unknown motorway. Snow capped mountain ranges are engulfing the immediate horizon and not a single trace of clouds can be seen overhead. Sergio and his friend are manning the two front seats while a really good friend and I are relaxing in the back.  It's been about two hours since we left Murcia and currently the scenery that is welcoming us along both sides of the car's glass windows is that of Andalucía, the autonomous community of Spain that borders directly south of where I am living. 

The person sitting to my right is none other than Sharon Walsh. We used to be neighbors in our hometown of Sausalito, California and our friendship spans back to the days of carpooling in middle school. She is taking a few weeks off work to explore Spain and it's been really fun catching up with her while also doing as much exploring as possible. 

Sergio, our BlaBla driver, is from a city in Andalucía that also happens to be our final destination for the weekend: Sevilla. 

We currently don't have any accommodation booked and at the moment our plan of action will consist primarily of what some people in various parts of the world call winging It. It should be a really fun time no matter what we end up doing and just having an opportunity to see this part of the country with a great person is something that makes me feel truly fortunate. 

Last weekend another longtime friend, Anna Sun, from back home was visiting Barcelona on a work related excursion. Thanks to a day long extension of the trip with help from her manager Melinda we were able to meet up for the first time in nearly six months. Between seeing La Sagrada Familia, trying some delicious craft brews, and a great deal of wandering through the cities' various neighborhoods, the short trip to Barcelona was a pleasant break to the routine of teaching in school. 

Seeing Anna and Sharon serves as a warm-up to something that has been sparking a growing sense of anticipation for quite some time now. In three weeks I will be coming home for the first time since crossing the big pond to Spain and the sensation of knowing that a return is about to take place feels nothing short of amazing.

I love Murcia, feel absolutely lucky to be here, cherish the people who I've met here, and wouldn't change this experience for anything. This being said I am also really missing home and seeing two great people from there gives a suspicion that  possbly the timing of our meetings was not a coincidence. It's time to be with family and friends from the place where I grew up. If any of you are reading this then let's definitely make plans to meet up when I'm back :)

Sevilla will be a really fun time and as this car races with the sun I can only imagine what new things we will see. In three weeks something even bigger is approaching. Spanish guitars of some unknown band are jamming in increased rapid rythims through the cars front stereo sound system. Physically I'm here in Andalucía, but the smile on my face is coming from a different place, one from across the way, and one that I can't wait to see again. 

To whoever is reading this I hope you are happy and what ever it is you are doing I think you should keep it up because your looking really good right now :)

-Daniel Anetac (Catena)