Cádiz and Yoga on the Beach

I’m back in my summer 2022 home base - Madrid. I’ll continue to return here a few more times this summer - after venturing off to other places - and my final flight home will be from this city. It works well as a home base because Maria and David will be here much of the summer, Santi will be as well - maybe for even longer than that - and I have a place, in Kenia and Yesi’s apartment, where I can crash and store my larger suitcase with items I won’t always need on my shorter trips.

My family arrived in Madrid on Saturday, after a 4 ½ hour bus ride from Granada. A bus ride in which I was looking forward to several hours of writing, relaxing and beginning to think about next steps in my travels. That plan got derailed for a time thanks to the uber chatty woman sitting to my left. As her conversation began veering sharply into very personal territory including how her ex-husband sold their house and kept all the profits, I politely as possible told her I needed to take care of some other things and that it was a pleasure to me her. I popped in my ear buds, breathed a sigh of relief that I had finagled my way out of that one and commenced with my earlier plans.

So, a few memories to highlight from the past week…

Cadiz

During our second week on the beach, I began to feel a little restless - enjoying the slow pace of the playa but also feeling like I could use a break to do something different for a couple of days. Cadiz is a large enough city that sits just 20 miles or so to the north from La Barrosa, and it seemed like an easy place to get to and a place that would definitely be a contrast to lounging in the sand most of the day. So, Santi and I booked a hotel for two nights, and hitched a ride from David.

Two things stand out from my time in Cadiz. One is the fact that Santi and I have become very close travel companions during this trip. This is by far the most time I’ve ever spent with him one-on-one, and it’s been just a really awesome bonus of this adventure from my perspective. We’ve had many great conversations, we can drink beers together now, we often mesh well in terms of what we like to do and the pace of travel we enjoy, and, when necessary, we’ve been a - sorry to say this family, but you know it’s true - necessary break from the larger group dynamic. My time so far hanging out with Santi has been great. I genuinely look forward to more of it in the months to come.

The other experience I recall most fondly from Cadiz - but one I wasn’t able to cajole this supposed compatible travel partner I just wrote about to join me for - was a summer dance festival going on in the city called “Cadiz en Danza.” I initially stumbled upon an outdoor performance from this festival while strolling around our first night in the city, and I then made a point of seeking out subsequent performances later that night and during the next day. It was really just what I was looking for in terms of why I had wanted to come into the city and take a breather from the beach. Some music. Some dance. A real slice-of-life of modern-day Andalucian culture.

Now, full disclosure, I’m not much of a dance guy. I mean, I like dancing, for sure, but I’ve had very little experience observing or attempting to appreciate modern dance. So, these performances were a little out-there for me. Two nearly naked male dancers writhing and twisting around one another in a very erotic, provocative - and beautiful - way. One bald-headed, long-bearded man in a tight white tank top spending most of his 15-minutes forcefully chanting out the same “hooah, hooah, hooah” over and over again while doing very little of what I would call dancing. The same male dancers from earlier who, in a different dance, came on the stage with numerous hard plastic balls suction-cupped to their bodies - balls that continued to crash to the stage as they gyrated through their performance. And, finally, two young women whose dance symbolized the unfair, gender expectations placed upon women. In the middle of the dance one of the dancers - also very scantily clad - did what one could only refer to as very violent renditions of moves typically seen only on erotic dance stages. It was hard to watch, but I couldn’t look away. The whole thing was brilliant. Weird, but brilliant. I kind of loved all of it and felt rewarded for my decision to spend a couple days in Cádiz.

Yoga on the Beach

Prior to my trip, I had begun getting into yoga for the first time in my life. On the recommendation of several people, I began following “Yoga by Adriene” on Youtube.  She's great! I really started getting into it, so, back home I made a plan to try and continue my yoga throughout the summer. It took a little time to get into the routine once I was here, but after a few days on the beach, I began waking up every morning, taking my MacBook and bluetooth speaker - along with a couple of towels and a cardboard beer package I fashioned into a sun-shade - with me to the beach. It became an important and favorite part of each day. In the mornings the beach was super wide and sparsely populated with just a few others beginning their days with runs and a.m. walks. Doing yoga has been an immensely peaceful and invigorating way to begin my day. I kept this routine going throughout my time at La Barrosa, during my two mornings in Cadiz, and on one of the mornings on our terrace in Granada overlooking the beautiful city. I’m planning to go out with Kenia today to buy a yoga mat so I can continue my mornings with Adrienne while I’m in Greece. Namaste.

And, speaking of Greece, that’s the next stop on my travel itinerary. I’ll be flying to Athens tomorrow, where I’ll spend one night then board an 8-hour ferry to the island of Amorgos where I’ll be meeting Munich International School friends, David and Mameaw. I’ll spend six nights on Amorgos then meet another MIS friend, Frankie, for a few days in Athens before returning back to Madrid. I’m super excited. I’ve never been to Greece, and David and Mameaw go to Amorgos every summer so they will be my personal guides to a place they love so much they return to it each year. According to them, it’s a beautiful place and more off the beaten path from other more touristy, busy islands. I cannot wait! So, until Greece!