Julio. Córdoba. Dos palabras que dentro del ámbito de las decisiones racionales nunca deberían ir unidas, pero que por gajes del destino y muy buenas razones (una boda de amigos muy queridos) el año pasado sí lo estuvieron.
Fue una visita un poco exprés porque la boda no era en la capital, pero nos dio tiempo a hacer un poco de turismo y comer con algún amigo perdido por allí. Una visita a Córdoba no se puede considerar tal si no incluye una visita a la Mezquita de Córdoba, que aunque ya no ejerce como tal, conserva todo el arte musulmán previo a la reconquista intacto (menos en aquella zona donde se ha instalado una iglesia cristiana, claro está).
La visita a la mezquita debe ser seguida por un paseo por la judería con o sin destino. Cuando voy por esos barrios de casas blancas y calles estrechas, me recuerda al barrio de Santa Cruz en Sevilla, con muchas tardes de domingo perdidas por allí, y acabar observando el puente romano que cruza el Guadalquivir.
En este caso, la ruta acabó con una comida basada en salmorejo-fusión (alguno de los salmorejos no tenía ni tomate!) en el Mercado de la Victoria, un mercado reconvertido en lugar de tapas, al estilo del Mercado de San Miguel o de San Antón en Madrid.
A la vuelta de Córdoba y de la boda, antes de llegar a Madrid, nada mejor que parar en las Tablas de Daimiel. Un lugar cientos de veces visto anunciado en la A-3 y en la A-4 y nunca visitado. Probablemente no fuimos en la mejor época (julio) ni por cantidad de agua, ni por cantidad y variedad de aves. Los humedales, formados por el agua del Guadiana, ofrecen cobijo a una gran variedad de fauna a lo largo del año. La visita está cómodamente organizada con diversas rutas que discurren entre los humedales y permiten la observación de las diversas aves que lo habitan.
Fin de semana tranquilo, a bordo del Faluca II. Justo entre dos puentes en Madrid, y con poco tráfico hacia Levante. El mar, apto para todo tipo de sensibilidades y estómagos. Fuimos con mar de popa casi toda la travesía, y el viento tampoco nos dejó exprimir al máximo el velamen. El objetivo de este fin de semana (ir un poco más allá en probar nuestras capacidades marineras estando “al mando”) se cumplió sobradamente: fondeos (y desfondeos) exitosos a la primera, noche fondeados en cala, embarcación auxiliar con motor, atraco en boya, e incluso baño en alta mar (si no sopla viento de navegar, es que hace tiempo de bañarse).
Siguiendo los consejos de un gran conocedor de la zona, salimos de Denia, y paramos a comer en Granadella (1), una cala espectacular y que yo sólo conocía por Instagram (y sin haberlo preparado, me ha salido un pareado), para seguir la travesía hacia el Sur y fondear en El Portet (2) en Moraira. Al día siguiente, vuelta hacia el norte, baño a un par de millas de tierra (el mar era una piscina de agua salada), y rumbo a Jávea a practicar atraque en boyas (3) y comer. Por la tarde, tras cruzar el cabo de San Antonio, por fin subió el viento (en el puerto esto no parecía tan buena idea), e hicimos un par de virajes por aquello de ponerle un poco de salsa, a puerto y de vuelta a casa,
While thinking in the next sailing trip, I am going through the pictures of the previous ones refreshing some great memories, and realizing I had not published any post about it.
After Ibiza and Menorca, we completed the Balearic Island group by sailing around Mallorca for a week. Due to its size, we had to stay only in the Southern part of the island.
The route we followed was:
Day 1: Palma de Mallorca – Es Trenc (1)
Day 2: Es Trenc (1) – Es Caragol (A) – Cala D’Or (2)
Day 3: Cala D’Or (2) – Cala Barques (B) – Ses Roquetes (3)
Day 4: Ses Roquetes (3) – Sant Elm (4)
Day 5: Sant Elm (4) – Cala Basset (C) – Andratx (5)
Day 6: Andratx (5) – Cala Portal Vells (D) – Palma de Mallorca
Sometimes, work makes you stay some days in places where you would not normally go at all. This was the case of my visit to the Perak region in the north-west part of Malaysia.
Malaysia climate in Summer is quite tough: very hot, and very high humidity. In my first visit to Malaysia (months before), I had the impression that Kuala Lumpur was a city in the middle of a rainforest, and that impression became even more true when travelling to a town, where palm trees and dense vegetation are literally across the street.
Palm trees plantations are a very profitable business, and there are plantations along the roads, with a big sign indicating the company exploting each of them, being Sime Darby the main one. Palm trees yield fruit twice a year, which is used for oils, soaps, and other derivate products, sold with a very high margin.
Malaysia has a particular mix of ethnic groups and religions cohabiting, with a surprising very low degree of overall social conflict. Half of the population are Malay, a quarter of them are Chinese, and the Indians are also broadly present. In terms of religion, muslims, buddhists, christians and hindus have a significant percentage of the population.
During this business trip, I had one day off and the only interesting option I was offered was to go to “Pangkor Island”, a paradise island with frequent ferries from a port near my hotel. I “decided” to go, and once there asked a taxi driver to take me around, resting afterwards in one of those “movie” islands, and almost empty. I regret of having asked to drive around the island, because I saw a dumping site next to the sea and, although it was in the opposite side of the island, I did not enjoy swimming in the hot, as much I might have done so.
Salamanca is one of those cities that are a perfect match for a relaxed weekend trip from Madrid. It has a population of roughly 150,000 and 40,000 of them are university students. Its university is the most ancient in Spain (since the 13th Century) and a number of prominent linked to the Literature have lived for some time in this city, like Miguel de Cervantes (Don Quixote), Fernando de Rojas (La Celestina), or Miguel de Unamuno (Niebla). The town centre is easily reachable by walking distance, and hosts one of the biggest concentrations of tapas bars that I have ever seen (vegetarians might have a hard time, though).
If you need to set a place to meet in Salamanca, this will always be “under the clock in Plaza Mayor”. This square, built in the 18th Century, that used to host markets, fairs, and even bullfights, is now widely used as meeting point by locals, tourists, and especially students, who concentrate it in the evenings in small groups sitting on its floor.
Another significant sight in Salamanca is the Universidad Pontificia. A huge building that was under construction for almost 150 years, after the Queen Isabel II decided to create an institution to train the ones that would then go to the New World to spread the Faith. Initially it was intended to be run by the Jesuists, but it could not work as a Catholic University till 1940, as the Society of Jesus was suppressed by Carlos III. Its guided visit is highly recommended, and the climb to its tower gives breathtaking views of the city.
There are many other buildings that also add interest to the visit to the city: the Casa de las Conchas (now a Library, it used to be a Palace of aristocrats), the Monterrey Palace (now belonging to the Casa de Alba), the Roman Bridge, the University Main Entrance (look for a frog -on a skull- and it will give you good luck and results in your studies), the two Cathedrals, the Patio de Escuelas or the Casa de Lis (an Art Deco museum in an Art Nouveau building with amazing views to the Tormes river).
Apart from a beautiful city itself, Salamanca gives you the opportunity to live through its history the history of the country, as it has always been an active culture centre of Spain. Even in the last years, Salamanca was chosen to host the “Archivo de la Memoria Histórica”, part of which was transferred to Catalonia, within the current internal political battle. The street where this archive lies was named Expolio (pillaging) for many years, and now changed to Gibraltar (location not free from dispute, either).
