At the end

“I don’t need no proof when it comes to God and truth, I can see the sunset and I believe”- From the song “Heaven” by LIVE, one of my favorite rock bands.

(Picture taken in Ibiza, August 2007)

Believe!!! That is exactly how I feel: I just BELIEVE: no ifs or buts, no questions asked. I believe that you can accomplish everything you set your mind and heart to do when you believe in yourself, you believe that God will guide on your journey and, as I do today, believe that everything happens for a reason (for you to learn from the experiences – the good and the bad – along this journey) at the time you are going to gain and learn the most of out it; just as it happened to me.

I’ve decided to take a break from packing. This room looks as if a bomb had exploded with almost all of my belongings lying on the floor and me standing in the middle of all of it and thinking what would be the best way to maximize the use of space in my suitcases. I definitely need a break. Tomorrow I take the flight back home to Miami which means I’ve arrived to the end of this amazing adventure. When I started this blog (the very same day I was taking the flight that would bring me to Munich) I made a promise to myself to make it just a means of sharing my day to day life experiences while living in Europe and not to make it one of those philosophical/existentialist writings where you question not only yourself but everything that surrounds you with the intention of finding an answer for things that do not necessarily have one. And I think that on a big extend I’ve been truth to that promise, except for a handful of moments when I had to stop and reflect on what I was living and I just had to share it. Well, this is definitely one of those moments: the end of a very exciting year filled with lots of happy, fun and emotional moments and experiences and lots of valuable teachings. A year where I’ve lived so many wonderful things I can’t avoid to think back on what a journey this has been, how many things it has left me and everything that I have learned from it.

Almost one year ago I arrived in Munich with a suitcase filled with dreams and expectations but also with many uncertainties: living arrangements, school and classes, meeting people and making new friends, what to do during my free-time, places to visit, etc. However, sooner than what I expected my doubts and fears began to fade away, everything worked out itself without any problems, the experiences began and I started collecting the intangible and invaluable souvenirs of this trip. I connected with the German culture and language, a culture that means so much to me and that was such a big part of my life while growing up and which to a certain extend still is today (I can be so German sometimes). I learned and improved in the French language, something that I had wanted to do for a very long time. I met lots of wonderful people along the way from whom I learned a lot and with whom I shared happy and exciting times and; people with whom I developed friendships, friendships I hope will remain over the years despite the distance between us. During this year I was extremely happy and felt very lucky that life gave me the chance to share time with old friends from my childhood, friends that are more like brothers and sisters to me; and extremely blessed to have from the very beginning the caring and loving words of encouragement and company from all of my friends (which also include my family and co-workers) from my before-I-took-a-sabbatical-life. And last but not least seeing all the amazingly beautiful towns and cities across Europe I was able to set a foot on and learning from all the new cultures I encountered. I had all the time in the world to take all of this and reflect on what I want next in my life, reshuffle my priorities and set new goals and dreams for the future. All in all this sabbatical has been one of the most enriching experiences in my life; one that I will treasure forever, one I wouldn’t trade for anything.

So now that the end is near, am I sad??? I have mixed emotions. I’m sad for leaving a world where I’ve had so much fun and have lived life to its fullest. But I’m conscious that nothing lasts forever. Life is full of moments; some longer than others. And this was just a moment: a great moment in my life where I’ve enjoyed every minute of it; a year that has with no doubt left a mark in my life and one that I will treasure forever. I once read that the melancholy is the happiness of being sad; and that is exactly how feel. But just like Dorothy said it in The Wizard of Oz "there is no place like home". After traveling like a gypsy for the last 2 months, living out of a suitcase, sleeping in a different place almost every night (som less comfortable than others) and catching always a train a bus or a plane I feel physically tired and I’m longing for being home; with my family and friends. And I’m very excited about the uncertainty of everything that awaits for me in Miami and how my life will be after getting back.

I arrived with the dream and hope of making Europe my playground to realize it is just another sandbox. The world is the playground…one that I’m dying to play in. And at the end, was this all a dream? Yes, it was a dream of someone who wanted to get out of the sandbox, someone who wanted to get out of the bubble she had always lived to go and explore a part of the world with the hope of seeing magical places, meeting charming and mysterious characters, spending time with enchanting friends , and living thrilling experiences. I was part of that dream, and that dream was part of me. It was a dream that became my reality.

Gran Canaria - Spain

Las Palmas

Plaza de Santa Ana (Las Palmas) - Agaete (Gran Canaria)

I arrived in Las Palmas, the capital city of Gran Canarias and my last stop on this backpacking tour, after a 45 minute flight from Lanzarote. I was planning on staying about 4 days and ended up extending my stay to 12 days, having an awesome time and not wanting to leave. I went to Las Palmas to visit Manu, another lifelong friend from the German school in Medellin whom I’ve known since we were 4 years old and whom I had not seen in 12 years. The meeting at the airport was very emotional (we were both crying for a while) but it was very comforting to see that we haven’t changed a bit…Its as if time had stopped, we look exactly the same as we did 12 years ago....ji ji ji, or maybe it´s just us refusing to accept that time does pass. In any case, after the airport we went straight to “Las Canteras”, a very famous beach in Las Palmas and a very lively place too. We had a great lunch at a restaurant right on the beach. It was the perfect setting: great company, good food, nice weather, a beautiful view and wonderful music in the background. There were 2 older men sitting on a bench across from the restaurant who were playing a guitar and singing. They were actually signing a lot of old Cuban music I love: Mama yo quiero saber…de donde son los cantaaaaaanteeees…..seran de Santiago, seran de la Habana..la la la…..cuando sali de Cuba deje mi vida deje de mi amor…cuando sali de cuba la la la la la. In the afternoon we picked up Alica from school. Alicia is Manu’s 4 year old daughter. Alicia is beautiful, adorable and super kiut; and I also have to publicly say she is the best little girl I’ve met in my life. She behaves so good is unbelievable.

Las Canteras - With Manu and Felipe in Las Canteras

That night Manu had invited me to Chambao’s concert. Chambao is a Spanish group which plays what I call Flamenco-pop and who are very popular here. They are also known in Latin America and US (at a smaller scale) specially after the groups lead singer (Mari) sang a song with Ricky Martin for his Unplugged Album. The song is titled “Tu Recuedo”. The concert was given at the Plaza Santa Ana, located in the area of Vegueta which is where Las Palmas’ Old Town lies. On one side of the square you have the Cathedral and on the other side we had the stage for the concert. It was awesome. They played beautifully for 2 hours, they danced sevillanas/flamenco and they gave 100% to the public. (I have included a video from the concert at the bottom)

The touristic south of the island

On Saturday it was off to the southern part of the island: Playa de los Ingleses, Maspalomas and Mogan. This area of the island is 100% catered to tourists; most of them coming from Germany and England. The beaches are very nice and they are full of hotels, resorts and apartment buildings that are rented out to tourists. When you walk passed the restaurants all the signs are in German and everyone you overhear talking or placing an order is also talking in German. In there we went to a resort to have a session of Talasoerapia (Thalassotherapy). Imagine yourself in a jacuzzi the size of the swimming pool at the Fountainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach (just imagine a very big swimming pool that has no precise shape) filled with seawater; that is what Thalassotherapy is all about, letting your skin and pores benefit from the salt in the seawater. Afterwards we continued on our tour of the south of the island by visiting Maspalomas; another town filled with German and English tourists. A town that reminded me a lot about the Juno Beach/West Palm Beach area in Florida. We went there mainly to visit the dunes that are right next to the beach and which were pretty cool. Standing on top of one of the dunes and looking at the vast amount of dunes on the horizon you can to a certain extend imagine what it is like to be in the dessert. With the exception that in Maspalomas there was a cool and very nice breeze which I imagine you would not get in the dessert.

In Mogan

The Dunes of Maspalomas

On Sunday we made it a family day as Manu, Alicia, Felipe (Manu´s husband) and myself headed to the northern part of the island: Teror, San Mateo, Roque Nublo, and La Cumbre among other towns: a road trip that took most part of the day. I was surprised by 2 things: how big the island is and how geographically diverse it is. For some reason I thought Gran Canaria was smaller. I guess I grew up with the reference of San Andres island in Colombia, a rather small island I must add, in my head and therefore everytime I think of an island I think it is small. But it was not the case with Gran Canaria. We drove for many hours up and down the mountains (both Saturday and Sunday) and we still did not cover the entire island. On the other hand the island is very diverse, geographically speaking. On the southern part of the island for example the land is very dry, very arid and therefore everything has an orangy, brownish, sand color. Ey, you even have the look and the feel of the dessert with the dunes of Maspalomas. The mountains are just rocky and the only green you see is from the palm trees that are planted in a rocky/sandy soil to decorate the streets and sidewalks. The norhtern part is the oppossite. As you begin to drive north the mountains become greener, the vegetation becomes more dense (more trees appear as do flowers) and the temperature begins to drop as well. We drove all the way to "El Pico de las Nieves", the highest point in the island (1949m), visited the outdoor market in San Mateo, the Virgen del Pinto in the town of Teror (the patron of the Canary Islands), and had a delicious lunch with some typical Canarian food (papas arrugadas).

The South - The North

View of La Puntilla - In the town of Teror

During the remainder of the week I continued doing a lot of tourism with Manu like for example visiting "La Cueva Pintada", an archeological park located in the town of Galdar, the first capital of Gran Canaria. I was impressed by how well preserved they have the place and how organized they have the tour of the cave. The main attraction there is a cave built by the indians of the island which has its walls painted with the original artistic representations of these natives. Unfortunatley they do not allow you to take any pictures. In the mornings I would sometimes accompany Manu to drop off Alicia at school and then we would go have breakfast at the beach (Las Canteras). Some other days I stayed home sleeping and we would then meet for lunch and go to a mall or a nearby town in the afternoon. In one ocassion we even went to Yoga Class together and another time we went to a concert given by a group from Morocco. It was great to have the opportunity to spend this time with Manu reminiscing about the past, sharing our present, dreaming about the future and making plans to see each other again... in less than 12 years. It was also great being with Alicia. She is so loving and funny too. You know I love kids and I was missing so much being near one. At nights I would read a story to Alicia before going to bed (Surimus es una linda ratica gris que le gustan los quesos y los libros, Hoy la luna brilla y Surimus...etc etc. - Surimus is a beautiful gray mouse who likes cheese and books, Today the moon shines and Surimus etc etc-I learned it alsmo by heart as it was her favorite story and she would ask me to read it everynight) and in the mornings she would come into my room to wake me up with a glass of water for my thirst. I had so much fun with her!!! I had a hard time leaving and saying good by but I was once again very greateful to have had this chance after so many years of spending all these days with them. But just as the Nelly Furtado song goes "All good things come to an end" and so did my trip to Canaria...as will soon do my sabattical.

Alicia "adorada"

I´m writing this post from Alicante (in the southeast of Spain) where I am this weekend visiting a friend from the German school in Munich and where I´ll be only until tomorrow when I head back to Madrid to write the final chapter of this adventure.

Chambao Concert

Lanzarote - Spain

Lanzarote

Lanzarote is one of the 7 Spanish Canary Islands. These islands are actually closer to the African continent than to Europe so I was still optimistic about finding good weather there. I landed sometime close to 3 o’clock in the afternoon without my bag. I had my suspicious. If I almost missed my connecting flight in Barcelona I was pretty sure my bag would not make it. 2 years of working at baggage service in American Airlines thought me about the danger of these tide connections…and also about the white lies sometimes employees tell to comfort passengers. The girl at the counter told me a story about my bag coming later that night from Madrid (which did not make too much sense). However they told me it would be delivered to my hostel. I left in search of a hostel for my stay, so that I could call them back with the address. The guy at the tourist information office gave me some suggestions of hostels in Arrecife (the capital of Lanzarote) which is the place where I wanted to stay. I took a 1 Euro bus from the airport to Arrecife, checked in at the hostel and then went out for a walk of the city. My 2 years through the school of “Everything I need to learn I learned at the baggage service at the Miami International Airport” also taught me to pack certain things in a backpack (which I carry on in the plane) just in case my bag does not arrive with me. However there were other things I did not have with me which I did have to buy. Arrecife is the biggest city in the island with 51,000 inhabitants. It has a couple of historical churches and the remains of a castle (fortress) as its top tourist attractions but other than that is just a city with lots of stores, cafes and restaurants and small businesses.

Leaving the African continent - Arriving in Lanzarote

Arrecife

But once you leave Arrecife and go to the many small towns of the island and explore its mountains and national parks you are left breathless. The natural beauty of the island is indescribable and breathtaking. That day during my walk around Arrecife I noticed there was a dense “fog” which did not allow you to see much in the horizon. I had noticed the same dense fog from the airplane when arriving but did not give it too much thought. The next morning I was hoping for a clear and sunny sky but the dense fog continued. It was impossible to see a ray of sunlight and the sky was all congested. It was not cloudy. It was just congested. I later found out that it was all due to the “Calima” phenomenon (in English it is called Saharan Airl Layer): a dust layer which originates in the Sahara dessert. Calima is caused when high winds in the Sahara stir up a duststorm and then other winds drive it to the Canary Islands.

More spectacular views in Lanzarote

I rented a car on Thursday to drive around the island and be able to see as many places (town, parks, and views) as possible. First I drove to the Timanfaya National Park, a park entirely made up of volcanic soil and which has been declared a Biospherical Reserve by UNESCO. The drive through the park is amazing; I wanted to take a picture everywhere I looked. You drive about 3 miles after entering the park and paying the 7 Euro fee and park you car. You then take a 100-seat coach with 97 German tourists which takes you into a tour inside the park (by the way, the other 3 non-German tourists in my bus where a Spanish couple and myself. I swear the place was filled with German tourists. Everyplace I went I overheard people talking in German). While in the bus they play a recording which explains a lot about the history of the park and how every landmark inside it was formed. Of course the recordings are in Spanish, English and German.

Timanfaya National Park

After the bus tour I drove to Los Hervideros: another beautiful site of rock formations on the ocean. I then drove back up towards the northern part of the island to the town of Teguise: a small villa which was the first capital of the Island. Almost all of the towns I drove by in Lanzarote looked very similar: white houses with green doors, windows and balconies. The surroundings of every town are very dry and therefore they are of a reddish/orange color and there are lots of palm trees as well. I continued driving up north to the Mirador del Rio which is said to have some amazing views of Lanzarote and from where you ca also see the small of island of La Graciosa. However, due to the Calima nothing could be seen at a distance. What a shame!
I got back to Arrecife, returned the car and got back to the hotel just before 9 o’clock. While on the road I had called the airline and they told me my bag had arrived at 3 o’clock and it would be delivered later on. I got to the hotel hopeful to recuperate my belongings and of course the bag was not there. They assured me it had been picked up by the delivery company and that it would be delivered that night. Just 5 minutes before midnight, as I was loosing hope, they knocked at my door and there was my bag. I was soooo relieved, especially because I was catching a flight to Gran Canaria the next morning and then it would have been a mess trying to have my bag catch up to me.

Los Hervideros - Mirador del Rio (Notice the Calima)

Typical town in Lanzarote - Too windy

On my flight to Gran Canarias I was given the local paper and then on the front page there was this very interesting article: the Calima that had taken place the 2 prior days was so high it was not recommended for small kids and older people to be outside and for healthy adults to do any physical work.

Driving towards Timanfaya

The Coast

Sevilla

Sevilla

I think I’m going to have to shorten my stories or else I will get to Miami before finishing the blog. I arrived to Sevilla around 11 o’clock at night where my friend Sandra picked me up. I also met Sandra at the German course in Munich and she is now back home in Sevilla working on a PhD in journalism. I was so tired I did not feel like going out that night. Ever since the beginning of my backpacking trip I was hopeful that the weather would get better, meaning that it would be warmer and warmer (specially as I moved south) and I would not have to be wearing a winter coat, gloves and a scarf. But that was not the case. It was cold everywhere I went. I thought for sure than in the south of Italy it would be warmer but no luck. When I arrived to Sevilla it was also cold and windy. I was about to give up, but the following day things changed and I finally got some warmth and no need to wear a coat. The day was beautiful as was the city. When I went to Sevilla with my family 2 years ago the city center was undergoing a lot of construction because of a tram system being build. It was really chaotic back then to walk around the city center because of all the noise, you could not walk on certain sidewalks, there was dust all over and then when it rained everything became muddy. Now, that project is complete and the city looks really pretty with very wide and walkable boulevards, lots of lanes for bicycles only (it reminded me a lot about Munich) and of course lots of tourists; many of them arriving in the city just in time for the famous fair being held the following week.

La Giralda - With Sandra by the Cathedral

Unfortunately my friend was going to be away in Berlin during that week so I was not able to be there for that one week the fair lasts. During the 4 days I was in Sevilla I visited all the must-visit places in the city: the Cathedral, La Giralda, Plaza España, El Parque de Maria Luisa; the neighborhoods of Santa Cruz and Triana with the very very tiny streets, colorful buildings with their typical balconies and inside patios. We walked along the Guadalquivir passed the Torre del Oro and crossed the bridge to the site where the world expo was held back in 1992. And all of a sudden I found what I had been looking for the longest time: a Mascarpone ice cream. I was so happy. It was delicious. Even though by now I believe that for me more than the taste of the ice cream itself it has become the challenge of finding a mascarpone ice cream. I have all of my friends going crazy looking for one in every city I go and of course they all want to try it.

By the city center - Entrance to La Feria (the fair)

I did a lot of walking in the city center in Sevilla but I also took it easy some days and just stayed home with my friend and her mother watching movies. It was great to just chill and relax and share some family time at home. I had lots of fun and I laughed a lot. The people from Sevilla are very funny and my friend and some of her friends I met are not the exception. On Wednesday morning I left early in the morning to the airport to catch my flight to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. There were no direct flights in any of the low cost airlines so I had to fly to Barcelona and then on to Lanzarote where I arrived around 3 o’clock in the afternoon after making a very short connection and being the last one to board the plane.

Bari - Italy

Trani

The ferry to Bari was very interesting. I never got asked where I wanted to be on the ship and was just given a ticket to the deck. It ends up that the deck is just a big room with chairs and tables where people just hang out, talk and, and..and, do really nothing else but to wait to get to Bari the next morning. I sat with Amy and Rowin, we opened the bottle of wine and soon started talking to Chris, another guy from Canada, who joined us for the remainder of the trip to Bari. Chris is doing a one year tour around the world and he is not only visiting countries in Europe (including the newly nation of Kosovo and other not so politically stable places) but he has been also to the Middle East and will be traveling later on to Australia.

My bed for one night - Arrival into Bari

We arrived in Bari at 8 o’clock in the morning. I was dead tired as I only slept a couple of hours on an improvised bed (8 chairs put together to create a “bed”). I had woken up around 6:30 AM after the number of people walking up and down the deck (my bedroom) increased and the noise became too much for me to tune out. I got some coffee at the ferry’s cafeteria and met up again with the rest of the group to see and take pictures of our arrival into Italy. From the port I took a taxi together with Amy and Rowin. They got off at the Basilica and I went on to the train station where my friend Francesca was waiting for me. I met Francesca at the German course in Munich and she had invited me over to spend some days at her home in Trani (a city about 40 minutes by train from Bari). We got to her house and her mother was waiting for us with a big and delicious home cooked Italian meal: antipasti (ham, cheese, bread), patate e riso al forno, salad, chicken, strawberries, chocolate and biscuits. After lunch I was able to take like a 3 hour nap and recharge my batteries. Francesca’s mother is everything that you would imagine an Italian mother to be: protective, funny, talkative, and an excellent cook. During my stay she gave me so much food I almost did not have to eat for the remainder of the trip. She did not allow me to help in any “house chores” like picking up my plates from the table and doing my bed in the morning. She even helped me blow dry my hair one morning because it was too cold outside and she would not allow me to go outside with my hair wet and maybe catch a cold. In the mornings she would wake us up and breakfast would be already served. In other words I was totally spoiled by her….and as you can imagine I loved it. After waking up from the nap we went for a walk of Trani with one of Francesca’s friend who is studying tourisms. She gave me a very detailed tour of the city. Trani is also known as the city of the 100 churches. I’m not sure if it does have that many but I sure did see a lot of them. On the most part they were all very small churches except for the Cathedral. That night we drove about 20 minutes to a nearby town where 2 other friends of mine from the German course were meeting us for dinner. We went to a pizza place where they served a very good and big pizza. It was great to share with my Italian friend again. I love Italian people. They are sooooo friendly and nice. They all make you feel super comfortable and will do anything to make your stay in their hometown as pleasant as possible. My friend’s boyfriend for example even brought a book about Italy with him to the pizza place and he sat next to me so that he could show me all the pictures of Puglia (the region of Italy where Bari is located) and tell me all about the history and the costumes of the area. That is just an example of Italian hospitality.

With Francesca in Trani

The next morning, after having a hefty breakfast, we walked a little bit around Trani again and then took the train to Bari around lunchtime. My friends go to the university there and we met after their class for lunch and for a tour of Bari. I was really looking forward to going to the St. Nicholas Basilica in Bari as it is supposed to be the place where St. Nick’s remains are buried and also because there is a sculpture that Rowin talked to me about a lot as he had to study it in detail for his thesis. Unfortunately the basilica was closed (I’m going to have return to Bari in the future) and instead we headed to the Castello Sevo (Seveven Castle); a fortress dating back to 1131 which is now used to hold temporary exhibitions. In the late afternoon we headed back home to Bari for yet another home cooked Italian meal. That night my friend had a salsa class and I went with her, only as an observer. I love to watch these salsa classes in Europe. And I have to say I was very impressed. They danced very well. They could follow the rhythm. It did not seems as if they were only following a sequence of memorized moves. It seemed as if they really felt the music; something totally opposite from my same experience (going to a salsa class) in Germany. Everyone in the class was super nice to me, even though I just sat on a chair and watched them dance. They all came to talk to me to find out why I was there, how much I was staying, how much I liked Trani, etc etc. As far as communicating with them it wasn’t that bad. Since Italian and Spanish are so similar I talked to them in Spanish and they talked to me in Italian. I also used the 25 words I know in Italian from time to time, other times I Italianized a Spanish word but most of the times I used my friend as the translator. It was a mixture of languages that left my head spinning and very confused.

Night out - Castello Svevo with the whole gang

The next morning I embarked very early on another one of those extremely long days I often have to get from point A to point B. I woke up at 6 o'clock in the morning and Francesca's mother made me some coffee and gave me some cereal and biscuits for breakfast. In addition she made 2 paninis for me to take on my long journey together with some juice and some fruits. As a matter of fact when she learned about how long the next day was going to be for me she got al nervous and wanted to go back to the bakery to buy more bread so she could make me more paninis. Very sweet of her. At 6:40 AM I took the 40 minute train to Bari. At 7:30 AM I took a 5 hour long train from Bari to Rome. Rome is city where I was catching a plane to Sevilla, but not only 8:40 at night. I had a long layover in Rome but I rather have that than take the risk of the next train from Bari being delayed to Rome and then missing my flight. Since I had so many hours to kill in Rome I left my luggage at the storage place in the train station and went on a 4 hour walking search of a Mascarpone ice cream throughout the city. I looked for it by the St. Maria Maggiore Church, the Piazza del Popolo, Piazza Navona, The Spanish Steps, Piazza Venezia, Via del Corso and many other little streets next to these famous places. But no luck; I did not find it and I could not remember where I had it the last time I was in Rome. Around 5:30 in the afternoon I ran back to the train station and got a little bit lost, which caused me to walk past the Coliseum…not a bad view to glance at when you are lost. I found my way and got back to the train station around 6 o’clock. I picked up my bags and took the 40 minute Express train to the airport to catch then my nonstop flight to Sevilla, where I arrived dead tired at 11 o’clock at night.

Rome: Piazza Novona - Spanish Steps ...

and no Mascarpone ice cream

Dubrovnik - Croatia

Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik, also referred to as the Pearl of the Adriatic, lies on the most southern part of Croatia, along the Adriatic coastline. There is basically no railway system extending south of Split along the coast (this part of Croatia is very narrow and mountainous) and therefore your only option to reach Dubrovnik is by bus. The bus ride takes about 5 hours but the views and the comfort of the bus make this long trip seem like a breeze. Interestingly enough, on this journey (which is always along the coastline) you have to exit Croatia, cross about a 5-7 mile long Bosnian territory -for which you have to go through a passport control-and go through another passport control to re-enter Croatia. It ends up that after the war it was agreed that all the nations involved in the conflict would have access to the sea. This is the reason why Bosnia obtained this piece of coastal land, which from what I´ve been told is more Croatian than Bosnian (the culture, the people and its look). I cannot tell you how beautiful the views of the coastline are: the different shades of blue from the Adriatic sea, the small villages next to the water, the chains of mountains which submerge into the sea, the cliffs, and the very small rocky islands that appear from time to time on the sea. And it was then that it hit me. It was then that I realized how much I´m going to miss this nomad life. It was then that the melancholy of not being on a road anymore in the next couple of weeks got to me. Being in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country, sitting with the locals inside a bus that is driving the narrow and curvy roads across gorgoues landscapes, heading constantly to new destinations, the uncertainty of what is coming your way in every new city you visit is to me a rush of adrenaline. Not having a definite plan that you have to stick to and being able to change it as you go along, buying your transportation tickets as you go and finding a place to sleep as you get to each city is a total feeling of freedom. Sharing with the local people and learning about their history, their culture and their everyday life is for me an enriching experience; one that I will soon be putting on hold. And being on that long journey with that stunning setting made me realize that soon I won´t have that freedom to pack and go as I feel. Why can't I just continue living like this? Would it all loose its charm and just become another routine, another tiring routine, if I continue living like this?

I had made reservations for private accommodations in Dubrovnik at Villa Klaic Guesthouse. I chose the place based on price, location and the reviews posted by previous guests on the hostelworld website. One of the perks about this guesthouse is that if you sent them an e-mail with your bus information they would pick you up at the station free of charge. So when I arrived in Dubrovnik, Milo was already waiting for me to take me to his home. Milo is a fifty-something year old man who speaks perfect English. He is married to a lovely Croatian women,they have two teenage kids and they live in a very nice home on top of the mountain. He told me his mother bought the house about 30 years ago and she started renting out some rooms in the house to tourists about 26 years ago. During the 1991-1995 war they had to close the business and after her mother died (right after the war) he opened the business again. Milo showed me my room and invited me over to the house's TV room to meet his wife, pick up a map of the city and have something to drink. I accepted some hot tea and his wife brought it to the room together with some cookies and cake. They were watching a movie (Spider man) and I watched a little bit of it with them while I answered their questions about Colombia, Miami and my sabattical and while they answered my questions about life in Croatia before, during and after the war. I was hesitant to grab a second piece of cake ( I did not want to abuse ) and Milo told me to feel free to eat as much as I wanted followed by "Adriana, please....you are now part of the family". I knew then I was really going to like this place.

Villa Klaic is all the way at the top - View from Villa Klaic

I walked downhill for about 10 minutes to the Old Town in the afternoon. Dubrovnik´s Old Town is a walled city which is totally pedestrian. And as you can tell from the pictures it is gorgeous. The views of the Adriatic sea are spectacular as are the buildings, churches, walkways, monuments and museums inside the walled city. I walked all over town and decided to walk the city walls on the next day hoping to have a clearer day and thus have better views of the city. I´m glad I did because only about 2 hours after I got to the Old Town a thunderstorm hit the city and I had to stand underneath a restaurant´s entrance. As soon as the rain began to cease I ran back to the house and had to stay there as it continued to rain all night long.

Old Port - Thunderstorm in Dubrovnik

The following morning I walked upstairs to the kitchen for breakfast at 9 o´clock. I joined the rest of the guests at the dining table who were already enjoying a very good home cooked breakfast by Milo´s wife. There was a young couple from Australia, a young Korean boy who is studying politics in London, a girl from New Zealand who is a PhD Student at Harvard and a guy from Canada who is a graduate student at Cambridge University and who will be working on his PhD at Harvard next year. As you can tell, a pretty smart crowd. Most of us sitting at the table had not walked the city walls yet so we agreed to meet at 10:30 in the morning to walk them together. And it could not have been better. Rowin, who by the way is doing his graduate degree in History, has done a lot of research on Mediterranean sculptures of the 13th century as part of his thesis. And even though Dubrovnik is in the Adriatic, he knows a lot about this area in general since the city was enclosed with these walls in the 13th century while under Venice's sovereignty. He gave us all the story about the place, showed us the different construction styles and told us about the significance of the buildings and the towers. It was just like having our own private guide. After the tour of the city walls we all went our separate ways and met up later for a quick lunch, a visit to a couple of stores, churches and patios, a coffee in the afternoon and dinner at a seafood restaurant next to the old harbor.

City Walls

Old Town

Dubrovnik was bombed between 1991 and 1992 during the independence war with many buildings suffering damage. At the entrance of the Old Town there are signs posted which have a map showing the buildings that were bombed. All the black dots and triangles for example show roof damages and direct impacts to the pavement. As of 2005 most of the damaged caused during that one year had been repaired. You can tell by looking at the color of the roof tiles on the houses which ones are the buildings that were bombed (with the brighter ones being the ones put in place after the end of the war).

Sign showing damaged buildings -- Old Town

That night I was taking the overnight ferry from Dubrovnik to Bari (Italy); and so were Amy and Rowin. After having dinner we all went back to the house to pick up our bags and say good-bye to the family. Milo gave us a ride to the port around 9:30 o´clock at night since boarding started at 9 o´clock. I bought my ticket right there as it was too complicated to do it on-line. Since I it was the low season I figured there would be plenty of space and I would get on the ship with no problems. And just as I thought I got a ticket ....for the deck. Amy and Rowin had a cabin but we made plans to get together at the deck (a.k.a my room for that night) for some time just to chat and drink a bottle of wine they had with them.

Dubrovnik was not only a beatiful place but it was also quiet an experience because of the things I did and the people I met. With Milo and his wife I felt like visiting old friends and when you are traveling by yourself you appreciate being that welcomed and feeling so good and comfortable at a place. Dubrovnik has definitely lots of good things to offer; with the friendliness of its people being high up on my list. It is suppossed to be a very touristy place but since I went in the low season it was not as bad.....and I guess that is also the reason why I did not end up like the women who goes to Dubrovnik in Liza Minellis' song.

So many beautiful pictures from Dubrovnik I had

a hard time choosing a couple for the blog