Andalusia

Just the name is poetic, don’t you think? I have just returned to Verona from a week in this region of Spain and I loved it! I didn’t really know much about Andalusia before I went, but then I do like to go to places being a little ignorant of what I’ll find. I feel like it helps me to have uninfluenced experiences and form my own real-life impressions.

Andalusia was incredibly beautiful, with its mixed architecture and melting pot of cultures. Arabs, Jews and Christians have all had their influence on the region’s history and present-day reality. I guess I always relate to places like that because I feel like a bit of a melting pot myself. I felt like their history really contributed to the open, welcoming mentality of the people. They are helpful, friendly and wonderfully warm. 

 

Seville

Prior to landing in Seville, the only real thought I had in my “Andalusia file”  (besides flamenco and tapas) was this quote from Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist:

“I left my father, my mother, and the town castle behind. They have gotten used to my being away, and so have I…  The levanter was still getting stronger, and he felt its force on his face. That wind had brought the Moors, yes, but it also brought the smell of the desert... It had brought with it the sweat and the dreams of men who had once left to search for the unknown... The boy felt jealous of the freedom of the wind, and saw that he could have the same freedom. There was nothing to hold him back except himself. The sheep, the merchant’s daughter, and the fields of Andalusia were only steps along the way to his personal legend”

La Mezquita, Cordoba

Like most people who read that book, I related profoundly to the main character, Santiago. Perhaps for me it is because my inner nomad has always been an integral part of who I am, and has informed some pretty major decisions in my life. I read The Alchemist last year during a period in which I  was experiencing the dichotomy of thought that I imagine afflicts most wanderers my age: Do I go home and live a “normal” life, or keep exploring the unknown with the 'freedom of the wind'?

The Alhambra, Granada

Being in Andalusia really painted the mental backdrop to that story for me. It reminded me of my own “steps”. Steps in a story… I’m not sure what the next chapter is about yet, but as I looked out the bus window, passing those mysterious hills, I couldn’t help thinking that the fields of Andalusia were part of Santiago’s story the way the river-stone streets of Verona are part of mine.

I left with a little reminder note in my heart of who I am and what I value – viva Andalusia!