Aloha's

As I walked in search of an Internet cafe two hours ago the sun began it's routine decent towards the visible horizon and eventually as I crossed between streets the only thing keeping me from complete darkness were overhead street lamps. The sky became completely black as I exited the building and paced alongside palm tree laced sidewalks towards the city center. 

Currently I find myself in Malaga, a medium sized Spanish city that hugs the often sunny Andalucian coastline. Famous for its beaches and as the birthplace of Pablo Picasso, I arrived here last night after a brief twenty four hour visit of Amsterdam. The daylight that escaped a few hours ago was the last sunset that I will see in Spain for possibly a long time because tomorrow morning before it rises again I will already be flying home. 

In less than ten hours I will be on a Norweigan Airlines flight destined for Los Angeles and a second plane will eventually send me to San Francisco. A trip that started with wandering New York City with one of my best friends Jack Colombo is now coming to a close in Malaga, Spain. A lot of different feelings have arisen since saying goodbye to close friends and former co-workers in Murcia. Sadness, happiness, readiness, and curiousness are all ingredients of a current smoothie of change. I feel sad parting ways yet again with a life that was created last school year but at the same time I feel ready to start progressing towards a new set of goals that have blueprinted in my mind during the course of this trip. Inside I know it's time to come back, to be with family, to see friends from home, and also to start working again. A big thank you to my bosses Julie and Kamran at Cellar Door is necessary because they were generous in letting me keep my job for when I came back. 

After visiting Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles in El Esparragal one last time on Friday and saying "hasta pronto" to my friend/mentor Ascen, the students, and the rest of the teaching staff, a farewell dinner was hosted at Lola's house. Food, laughs, and goodbyes were shared between myself and some really great people. Early the next morning I left my set of house keys on Lola's, my host in Murcia, desk and walked with a full backpack to the cities' bus terminal. The sun was beginning to lift it's head above morning clouds as I headed via an ALSA bus to the Alicante airport and flew to Amsterdam. 

The reason for a single night in Amsterdam was to meet up with a longtime friend Jow Gallardo. We met when I was traveling in Quito, Ecuador over three years ago and the last time we hung out was during a night of dancing with Nick Holmberg at Bungalow 6 in March 2013. She currently is studying German in Düsseldorf and by luck we were able to arrange a time to see each other before both of our Europe experiences drew to a close. In spirit with us were Nick and John Beswick, the other two members of our "Wolfpack" who weren't able to make the journey. Jow, her friend Adriana, and myself met in the lobby of the Hans Brinker Hotel yesterday afternoon. From there we took advantage of our single day in the city by going to the Anne Frank House, the Sex Museum, Red Light District, Kebabs, dancing at the Remember Cafe, and more dancing at Smokey's Bar. After multiple attempts we were unable to get a DJ to play the original version of "Light it Up" by Mazor Lazor however we did hear a few interesting remixes.

After taking pictures on Sunday morning in front of the "I Amsterdam" sign it started to snow. This was a cold signal that it was time to leave the city, and a short while afterwards the three of us parted ways. It was truly great to see Jow again, and like I've written in previous posts I absolutely know that we will see each other again in someplace in the world. 

Jow and Adriana took a bus back to Düsseldorf as I boarded a plane to Malaga. The main reason for me coming here was to visit the small white painted Andalucian town of Ronda. I saw a picture this place for a brief instant last year in a magazine I can't remember and from that moment I wanted to witness it with my own eyes. With an unreal mountainous cliff passageway that guides visitors to a monumental stone bridge the town of Ronda has statues dedicated to Orson Wells and my personal favorite Ernest Hemingway. The views of Ronda are hard to capture with words but as I crossed Puente Nuevo which was constructed in the 1700's inside it felt fitting to have waited to see this place during my last day of the journey. 

It's been nearly seven weeks since seeing family and good friends in the United States. I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to do this trip, and I feel equally fortunate to have people like you to share it with. Writing about things like this are for me a way to remember because my memory is mediocre at best, but also because even though traveling is a major passion of mine, maintaining bonds with people who are important to me is also a life passion. Thank you for reading, for being my friend, and for being truly awesome. 

Tomorrow I'll be home in California. As one journey ends another one continues where it was last put on temporary pause. 

This isn't goodbye, Spain. After leaving and coming back I know that will share a tapa together again. Take care of yourself and save a seat at the dinner table because you will see me again soon :)

This isn't goodbye, 

this is Aloha.