Puerto Rico - Balneario Monserrate, Luquillo

IMG_6954 Balneario 2, Puerto Rico, originally uploaded by Chimera Magazine Publisher.

El Balneario Monserrate en Luquillo, Puerto Rico. Esta playa es placida y calmada, ya que tiene una barrera de rocas para proteger contra las olas del mar.

Balneario Monserrate, in Luquillo, Puerto Rico. This is a placid and calm beach due to a rock barrier that protects it against the waves.

Puerto Rico, Cascada La Mina, El Yunque

IMG_6852 El Yunque, Puerto Rico, originally uploaded by Chimera Magazine Publisher.

The water was cold but after the long hike, heat, and humidity, I wanted to stay there all day.

El agua estaba helada, pero despues de la larga caminata, calor, y humedad, queria quedarme dentro todo el dia.

Puerto Rico - Cascada La Mina (El Yunque)

IMG_6876 El Yunque 2, originally uploaded by Chimera Magazine Publisher.

Desde que supe de la cascada La Mina, he querido verla. Al fin tuve la oportunidad.

Ever since I knew about La Mina Falls, I've wanted to see it. At last I had the chance.

Puerto Rico - San Juan de noche

IMG_6697 San Juan de noche, originally uploaded by Chimera Magazine Publisher.

Panorama del penthouse del hotel Marriott, en San Juan. A la derecha esta el mar de noche.

View from the Marriott Hotel penthouse, in San Juan. On the right is the night sea.

Puerto Rico - San Juan Beach

IMG_6677 San Juan Beach, originally uploaded by Chimera Magazine Publisher.

En San Juan, Puerto Rico, afuera del Hotel Marriott. A veces el trabajo es muy bueno, especialmente cuando me mandan al Caribe.

In San Juan, Puerto Rico, outside the Marriott Hotel. Sometimes, work is very good, especially when they send me to the Caribbean.

Sevilla - short version

Sevilla - Seville in English - has a long romantic tradition. Here's where her lover buys Carmen her famous fan. While Sevilla is attractive, it is pricy and too much of a tourist trap. Few if any of the locals attend the Flamenco shows offered to travelers. One pretty place we saw was Plaza España (Spain Plaza) though we could not determine if it had any function. See the photo above.

Sevilla tiene una tradicion romantica. Aqui es donde su amante le compro a Carmen su famoso abanico. Mientras que Sevilla es muy atractiva, es cara y demasiado turistica. Pocos de los habitantes ven el show de flamence que se le ofrese a los viajantes. Un lugar bonito que vimos es la Plaza España, pero no pudimos ver cual funcion tenia. La foto esta arriba.

Cordoba - short version

Cordoba was the largest city in the world in the 10th century. This picture is at the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos (Alcázar of the Christian Monarchs).

Cordoba era la ciudad mas grande del mundo en el siglo X. Esta foto es del Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos.


Read the Wikipedia entry for Cordoba

Granada - short version

Granada is home to La Alhambra, the best single site to visit in Spain. This fortress/palace was built by the invading Moors over a millennium ago. The site was built and expanded over hundreds of years. When Spain was reconquered from the Moors, La Alhambra was kept as a national treasure rather than being destroyed. Phil tells me that Napoleon Bonaparte was unable to take this fortress, one of his few failures.

La Alhambra queda en Granada, el mejor lugar turistico para visitar en España. Esta fortaleza/palacio fue construido por los Moros invasores hace mas de un millar de años. La fortaleza original se expandio a travez de cienes de años. Despues de la reconquista, La Alhambra se convirtio en un tesoro nacional en vez de ser destruida. Phil me dice que Napoleón Bonaparte no pudo tomar esta fortaleza, una de sus pocas derrotas.

Valencia short version

Valencia's cathedral is the repository of the Holy Grail (pictured). It's one of many, so you'll have to find out for yourself.
Valencia fue reconquistada por El Cid durante la guerra contra los moros.

La catedral de Valencia tiene el Santo Grial (Sangreal Sagrado). Es uno de muchos, entonces tendra que enterarse usted mismo. Valencia was reconquered by El Cid during the war against the Moors.

Barcelona short version

The Barcelona Cathedral, designed by Gaudi and unfinished at his death, remains unfinished. You can see cranes working on finishing it. They are representative of the cranes all over the city. I liked Barcelona about the same as Madrid. The climate is quite good, with the Mediterranean Sea and the bohemian attitude of its citizenry. Phil liked Madrid a bit better than Barcelona. This is the adopted home of Picasso - his museum lies here.

La Catedral de Barcelona, diseñada por Gaudí, no se habia terminado cuando él murió. Se pueden ver gruas de construccion tratando de terminarla. Estas se pueden ver igualmente en el resto de la ciudad. Barcelona me gusta mas o menos igual que Madrid. El clima es buenisimo - con el Mar Mediterraneo y la forma bohemia de los residentes. A Phil le gusto Madrid un poco mas que Barcelona. Esta es la ciudad adoptiva de Picasso - su museo queda aqui.

Pamplona short version Iruna

Pamplona - where the bulls run. Ernest Hemingway made it famous for English speakers. Here we are in one of the plazas where the run takes place every year at the Festival of San Fermin.
The local alternate (Basque) name for Pamplona is Iruña.

Pamplona - famosa por su encierro. Ernest Hemingway le dio la fama para los que hablan ingles. Aqui estamos en una de las plazas que se pasan en el encierro cada año en la Fiesta de San Fermin. Pamplona se llama Iruña en vasco.

Bilbao - short version

Bilbao is Spain's major port on the Atlantic. It is also in the center of Basque country. Only here, I think, would you find a street named after The Liberator. Bilbao is called Bilbo in Basque (Euskara).

Bilbo es el puerto mayor de España en el Atlantico. Tambien esta en el centro del pais Vasco. Pienso que solo aqui se encontraria una calle honorando El Libertador. Bilbao se llama Bilbo en vasco (euskara)

Burgos - short version

Burgos - El Cid is buried here, in the Cathedral.

Aqui esta enterrado El Cid, en la catedral de Burgos.

Leon - Short version

On the way to Burgos (El Cid!) we stopped at Leon, home of the oldest still existing royal heraldry in Europe. The symbol of the lion is everywhere (see the picture above). As usual we hit the cathedral. The stop was short as we were eager to get to Burgos.

En camino a Burgos (El Cid!) paramos a ver Leon, la casa del simbolo heraldico real mas antiguo de Europa. El simbolo del leon se ve en todo lugar (mire a la foto arriba). Como siempre, visitamos la catedral. Estuvimos poco tiempo porque queriamos llegar rapidamente a Burgos.

Salamanca - short version

Salamanca was one of the best places we visited as far as night life goes. During the day we visited the Universidad de Salamanca, a top world-ranked university. At night, in the rain, we walked around and found El Otro Lado Bar, fashioned after the Star Wars stories. Pictured above is Phil at the sister bar, Rivendell, themed around Lord of the Rings. Rivendell was not as good as EOLB, but it did have more decor.

Nos gusto mucho Salamanca por la noche. En el dia, visitamos la Universidad de Salamanca, que es descatada mundialmente. Esa noche llovio pero encontramos El Otro Lado Bar, basado en las historias de la Guerra de las Galaxias. En la foto esta Phil en el bar hermano del EOLB, Rivendell. Este esta basado en las historias del Señor de los Anillos. Nos gusto mas EOLB, pero Rivendell tenia mas decoro.

Segovia - short version

We loved Madrid but it was time to head out and see the rest of Spain in our lightning tour. On the way to Salamanca, we stopped in Segovia, in the province of Castilla y Leon. The picture above is the Roman Aqueduct, dating back about 2 millennia. We also saw the medieval alcazar fortress/palace, and the gothic cathedral. We decided to take a short cut back to the car. As always, the shortcut added about a mile to our trek, uphill, in the humid air.

Nos encanto Madrid pero llego la hora de ver el resto de España en nuestro viaje relampago. En camino a Salamanca, paramos a ver Segovia, en la provincia de Castill y Leon. La foto superior es del acueducto romano, que fue construido hace mas o menos dos mil años. Tambien vimos el alcazar medieval, un palacio fortaleza. Al regreso, tomamos un atajo para ir al coche. Como siempre, el atajo añadio una milla a nuestro paseo, en la humedad, y siempre caminando para arriba.

Madrid - short version

We were in Madrid Saturday to Monday. We saw the historical sites and met other toursits. This picture is the first on in Madrid, at the Metro station.

Madrid - version corta. Estuvimos en Madrid de sabado a lunes. Vimos los lugares turisticos y conocimos a otros turistas. Esta foto es la primera en Madrid, al frente de la estacion del Metro.

Arrival / Llegada

This is my first sighting of Europe. I believe it is Portugal, after closing the Atlantic from Newark airport. Phil and I had planned this trip years ago but difficulties, mostly economic, got in the way. Finally, we were on the plane and less than an hour from landing on Spain. Phil has visited before, in the late 80's. For me, it's the first time out of the Americas.

Esta es la primera vez que veo a Europa con mis propios ojos. Creo que veo a Portugal, despues de haber cruzado el Atlantico desde el aeropuerto de Newark. Phil y yo habiamos planead este viaje hace mucho, pero dificultades, mas que todo economicas, no lo permitieron. Al fin, estamos en el avion y a menos de una hora de aterrizar en España. Phil vino al fin de los años 80. Para mi, es la primera vez que salgo del continente americano.

Spain trip - medium version

Spain trip - medium version

Phil and I went to Spain over 2 weeks in October of 2006. We visited 10 cities. In order, Madrid, Segovia, Salamanca, Leon, Burgos, Bilbao, Pamplona, Barcelona, Valencia, Granada, Cordoba, Sevilla, and back to Madrid.

The plan, completed successfully, was to hit all the historical sections of those cities. Of particular interest were sites related to El Cid Campeador, the great Spanish hero. We both wanted to get in touch with our Iberian roots.

Each city will have its own entry, with some having more than one entry.

Viaje a España - version mediana

Phil y yo viajamos a España por dos semanas en octubre de 2006. Visitamos 10 ciudades. En orden: Madrid, Segovia, Salamanca, Leon, Burgos, Bilbao, Pamplona, Barcelona, Valencia, Granada, Cordoba, Sevilla, y otra vez Madrid.

El plan, completado en forma stisfactoria, era visitar todas las secciones historicas de esas ciudades. Nos interaba mucho ver lugares donde El Cid Campeador estuvo. Los dos queriamos acercarnos mas a nuestras raices Ibericas.

Cada ciudad tendra su propio blog, y algunas tendran mas de una entrada.

The short version (originally in Livejournal)

Phil and I went to Spain over 2 weeks in October of 2006. We visited 10 cities. We had a great time. There's lots of pictures and some video. If you want to see more, see more posts here.

Viaje a España - version corta

Phil y yo viajamos a España por dos semanas en octubre de 2006. Visitamos 10 ciudades. Gozamos mucho. Hay muchas fotos y unos videos. Si quieren ver mas, sigan leyendo este blog.