Back on the Road Again!

Me, back at work!

I must apologise for having been off-line for so many weeks. As a result of a blogger revamp my blogs were available to me in read-only mode, so I could not access them to add any new information. Now, at long last I have access again and I can also tell you that a part of the problem was that I have been away on a road trip holiday throughout northern Spain. For over two weeks I didn't open my computer, in spite of the fact that I carried my laptop with me. My wife made good use of it, but I really do believe that man is wired to need downtime when you completely change your routine.

Could you do that? Would it be possible to deliberately avoid all the toys that have become a part of our everyday lives?  It is difficult the first few days, but then I decided to also turn off my mobiles, and with that I could feel a sense of freedom coming over me. I do not live a life that is full of stress as I am a retired person. However, we do accumulate a degree of stress within our routines, and just the change is as good as a rest.

We did a road trip loop of southern Spain before, and this time we did the north western region, starting with the north of Madrid. In this area we visited The Royal Monastery of Escorial which is a Monastery established by Royal Decree. The monks were supposed to pray for the monarchy, and it is the final resting place of Spain's Kings and Queens, and lesser royals. There is a place reserved for the present Royal family as well.

Nearby, there is located "La Valle de los Caidas" or The Valley of the Fallen. This is a magnificent monument to the former dictator of Spain, General Franco. All the publicity suggests that it represents the fallen on both sides of Spain's Civil War, however, there are only two names that are displayed there, those of General Franco and the founder of the Falangist party. That said, it is worth a visit because it is Spain's history and the monument itself cannot really be described. You have to see it for itself. I will say that parts of it is in decline from neglect as it is a very controversial site.

I don't intend to give you a blow-by-blow description of where we went, but Spain is such a varied and diverse place. Each town or city has its own character so that a visit does add to one's knowledge and experience. For instance my wife did say that we were going to drive all the way to the city of Ávila to see a wall. I thought how interesting could a wall be? There were plenty right around us. The city of Ávila is completely walled in and we were able to walk around the city along the ramparts of the wall to view the city from above.

I can now say that I have done The Great Wall of Ávila so I can scratch The Great Wall of China from my bucket list. I wasn't looking forward to that anyway.

Finally, I must recommend a visit to El Monasterio de la Piedras that is located in southern Zaragoza. This is located in a zone that resembles a mini Grand Canyon. All around the area is dry and arid, but once you enter the canyon you are in a place that is graced by waterfalls and lakes and immense greenery. It is a wonderful park that should not exist in that location, but it does and the visitor is overwhelmed by the beauty.

It is also a place of extreme difficulty for men because everywhere you go there is the sound of falling water. The moment we step into the shower we want to pee, and we do, so walking around this place calls for frequent pit stops.

It is great to be back at my computer expressing my thoughts and feelings. However, I wouldn't blame you if you simply tought that I had died.

Copyright (c)  2012   Eugene Carmichael