The Journey of the Picanto: In the Beginning

“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” – Bilbo Baggins

As I woke up Wednesday, I knew that there was something different about the air. For one, I was about to begin my trek, and for another, I was late. Upon realizing my mistake I headed to the south side of Granada with all of my travel gear and food. I had stocked up on cookies, m and m's, water, oranges, bread, and olives. It would be a good trip because I had the essentials. The mode of transportation: Auto.

As I arrived at the rental shop, my compatriot Shawn had already gotten the car and he asked me if we wanted insurance. Knowing that it was just a way for the company to make money, I decided it was necessary, so that we would have some assurances. We packed the car and then contemplated what would be the best way to get out of Granada. For starters it was a Manual, and both of us had only owned Automatics. Luckily Shawn had learned some basic maneuvering and we were on our way. As we exited the city for some desolate roads that I have biked on, we only had a few opportunities to second guess our decision for a manual as we stalled on some busy streets. Looking back on this, it sounds out of proportion to say we were not good at driving the stick, Shawn was quite good at it, and I, I had never tried it before. This problem came about as a result of an untimely error in the life of my father’s Volvo Wagon. You see, it died right before I turned 16, and I was never given a chance to learn the skill. But learn I must, and out on these farming trails Shawn and I tested the roads, the gears, clutch, and very high rpm’s. When I took over I realized that I would not be learning as quick as was necessary. I was able to run the car after a few (maybe 6) stalls, and at this time it was very horrible. We decided after 10 minutes that it was enough practice and we headed first to the bank and then out of town.

As a navigator in many past lives, I guided us north and west through Cordoba, the old Capitol of Moorish Spain, and eventually to the town of Merida in Extremadura. Merida is famous as an old center of Roman antiquities in Spain, and there remain today many artifacts from the past.

For me, it was exciting, yet not, as I had seen Rome and all of its wonders just a year before. This was good, but it was not what I was looking for in Spain. Shawn felt the same, and the city seemed very unhip compared with Granada. So after a short break of three hours, we were on our way for our destination for the night, Salamanca. Salamanca, is a city about an hour west of Madrid, and it has one of the oldest universities in the world. The Kia Picanto led us north, and we passed through more arid dry regions in the state of Extremadura, which has an endless landscape of mountains, plains, and shrub trees. As we reached the border of Castile y Leon, the state that houses Salamanca, we drove through much higher mountains, and it was here that we saw two towns that seemed beautiful, one near a lake and the other up on a slight plateau. At this point we decided we would come back to this town on the plateau named Bejar sometime later. Sometime.

We reached Salamanca after nightfall, and the city was brightly illuminated. From a distance the large Cathedrals and old district showed off its illustrious beauty. After having some difficulty with the car at a hill stoplight (6 stalls later) we found a parking space some ways away from the city center, and then began walking back into the city. It was beautiful, and eventually we ended up in the main square, Plaza Mayor. This Plaza is beautiful, very similar to the Plaza Mayor of Madrid, but I enjoy this one much more as it has a much more laid back and fun feel. It was in this square that I heard my name from a distance. Strange as it was that we had driven 7 hours through Spain, yet we met two other people from our program. We had known that they may be in this town, but the odds of seeing them seemed very low, so I guess we won the powerball on this day. After we spent some time in Plaza Mayor, we had a fun night walking around the city. Eventually we decided to part ways, us to our car to rest (we thought it sounded like a fun idea) and them to their hostel. At this point they told us that we could sleep in their hostel room floor, and we took up the offer, because it sounded much better than the car. As we left the hostel in the morning, myself with a sore back, and Shawn with little sleep because of the floor as well, we were stopped by the hostel manager, who was quite mad at us. After some time of him threatening us, we eventually came to a point where paying him 20 euros a person, and everyone from our group leaving the hostel immediately was the best for all parties. S0 we left, and now that it was 930 in the morning had the whole day to walk and enjoy Salamanca. The city was just as beautiful as it had been the night before and we toured the city for hours.

During a few minute break I even went to the history and geography building of the school, and took a look at the walls to compare it with America. Eventually around 7pm we left and decided to head north and west for La Coruna and Galicia. We stopped at a grocery store before making the drive, and then we were on our way. During this drive we spotted the big dipper off in the southern sky, and we all felt like we were back at home. Eventually we arrived in La Coruna at around 1230, and found a parking spot for the car and then slept in that spot. The Journey Continues with part 2...