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Andalucia, the Land of the Moops

We’ve been working our way around Andalucia for the last couple of weeks and it’s very easy to fall in love with the place.

The old Islamic part of the Mezquita of Cordoba.
The old Islamic part of the Mezquita of Cordoba.

Food and accommodation are cheap and plentiful: we’ve stayed in a bunch of places for 35-40 euros per night for an apartment, and found tapas bars which give you free tapas with your drinks, you don’t have to look very far to find a decent food place; what more could you want? Well there’s cool old Moorish buildings, castles and medieval towns as well as a tonne of interesting history and art.

The mihrab of the Mezquita. I feel a little bad for all the Muslims who prayed here as it actually doesn't point towards Mecca.
The mihrab of the Mezquita. I feel a little bad for all the Muslims who prayed here as it doesn’t actually point towards Mecca.
The unfinished tower of Malaga Cathedral. They literally ran out of money and this is where they stopped building.
The unfinished tower of Malaga Cathedral. They literally ran out of money and this is where they stopped building.
Here's the giant renaissance cathedral they plonked right in the middle of the Mezquita.
Here’s the giant renaissance cathedral they plonked right in the middle of the Mezquita. Even the king who ordered it built hated what they’d done to the Mezquita when he finally got to see it.

Out of all the places we’ve been to, Granada and Seville are the two we could see ourselves staying longer term.

The 120m high bridge of Ronda.
The 120m high bridge of Ronda.

The weather is continuing to be helpful, instead of clouds this time we got a bunch of days of haze.

Just like in the picture!
Just like in the picture!

The Moors really liked water in their gardens (it was an important part of purifying themselves), so there are fountains, pools and water channels everywhere.

A few of the water features of the Alcazar in Cordoba.
A few of the water features of the Alcazar in Cordoba.

So as a water treatment engineer I can’t help but to pay attention to the technology used. Which means Pedr is getting annoyed with me giving him engineering commentary everywhere we go. I’ve been pointing out how they work and naming the various components like ‘solenoid valves’ and ‘ball float switches’. Haven’t even started on the imperial shifters yet. But he says this is still better than watching TV or movies with me since I pick on all the science stuff that doesn’t work, like those CSI all-in-one handheld scanners.

They have a flamenco museum where you can play a game to keep the beat guitar-hero style.
They have a flamenco museum where you can play a game to keep the beat guitar-hero style.

I think we’ve officially reached ‘old’ now. Since wine is cheaper than water we always have it with every meal and I’ve noticed that my face gets flushed every time I’m drinking. I’d love to put it down to it being cold outside and nice and warm inside. Maybe I have to wait until summer to be sure. Until then I probably should continue sampling the local products. Currently it’s orange wine from Seville. (only 7 euros for a 750mL bottle!)

I'm not sure what the deal is with Spanish people and shoes. There are shoe shops everywhere. All the shops in this shot sell shoes, and this isn't a particularly unusual street.
I’m not sure what the deal is with Spanish people and shoes. There are shoe shops everywhere. All the shops in this shot sell shoes, and this isn’t a particularly unusual street.

They’ve got women around here handing out sprigs of rosemary in busy places. I’d been waving them off without really knowing what they were doing, so the other day I decided that I’d stop and see what they were all about. The woman put the rosemary in my hand then started doing a palm reading on it. Pretty standard stuff; ‘long life’, ‘happy marriage’ and ‘2 kids’. Then it was time for the payment for the ‘enlightening’ reading. I told her that I didn’t have any money so she pointed at Pedr and said I should get money from him. Well that just ended up with me laughing and telling her that he definitely didn’t have any money. She kept demanding paper money off me (5 euros, piss off) so I gave her 20 cents and walked off. I didn’t even get to keep my sprig of rosemary. I feel like we wasted an opportunity here to mess with the woman by getting Pedr to play the angry husband upset with me going to fortune tellers. We’ll have to try that next time.

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