Farewell, Green Spain!

We arrived home safely last night after a very long delay in Toronto due to reasons that were never fully explained nor do they matter. It baffles the mind to think that one can casually stroll through the historic spaces of Madrid eating empanadas and ice cream deep into the warm spring night, and 24 hours later sit in your suburban American digs after an exhaustive morning packed with laundry, phone calls, and yard work, furry dog at your feet, thunderstorm on the afternoon horizon.



Five general conclusions have been drawn from the 3-week trip to Spain:

(1) Our photos do not nearly encapsulate just how green northern Spain is, so don’t judge the lay of the land by what’s been presented here. The Picos de Europa are the jewel of Europe and we’ve shamelessly shown snapshots of dime store costume jewelry.



(2) The trip was ultimately more expedition than vacation, a chance to test our mettle on training grounds used by some of the world’s greatest cyclists. We survived, and admittedly, were stronger for carrying all our own gear, but we have a long way to go before we thrive.



(3)As we’ve learned from past experiences in foreign lands ranging from wind-scraped Nebraska to sun-drenched Australia - the best journeys are those tackled without a plan.



(4)Abandonment of affectation is also critical; there’s no room for pretense if you want to make new friends. (Squeezing your legs into sausage casing-style bicycle shorts, slathering on the SPF 50 and donning a floppy hat will also guarantee that when you cycle into the next village, you’ll be seen as freakish but harmless).


(5) All countries shall heretofore be judged on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being best) for the degree to which they prioritize chocolate and canines in their everyday lives. After careful field research and analysis, Spain receives a 10.

Ciao!