Titulo de la entrada.

Walking towards La Puenta de Romano

Location: Cordoba, Spain
Ride: here
Pictures: here

I think my Spanish is getting better and then I take it outside and people talk so quickly that I revert to retarded Spanglish and then it disintegrates into miming and then, as soon as I give up and am walking away, I remember how to ask what I meant to ask in almost-perfect Spanish.

My front door (blue on right)

And no one hear speaks English. Not even the young kids. Or the owner of my apartment. At least I am making a concerted effort. She just talks at me in fast forward Spanish and when I dont understand, she says each word that I dont understand really slowly. I say "Lo siento, pero no entiendo." And she says it again. I say "por favor, sea paciente, y habla mas despacio."

It wasn't until yesterday we realized that we both spoke French pretty well. So now all is good and I have trash bags and I'm not putting salt in my coffee anymore. So that's an upside.

Cordoba is unbelievably gorgeous. Im thankful to have a good internal compass because it's easy to get lost, and I'll admit I've made a couple crop circles. Went for a little walk in the morning because I got up at 7AM since I believe I am still jet lagged. Went out for about 3 hours and got some great pictures(here). It was very quiet on this Sunday morning.

Then, I suited up for my ultimate purpose here, which is montando mi bicicleta. I haven't ridden in Europe since I was 15, so this was a big event. It was cold, and windy, and hilly, but it took my breath away. Most of it was into the mountains on a service road, you know the type: what you would consider a one lane road with no divider and white lines on both sides.

Got up to around 2,000ft and caught some beautiful views down onto the city. Did I mention it was cold and windy? Did I also mention that somehow, in 7 days with no miles, that I got out of shape?

Off to Seville today. Short drive. The sun is warming up and hopefully that cold front has passed.

I guess just being here for a couple of days already I realize why most Americans don't travel on their own, meaning why they take tours instead of just winging it. Its because it is not easy. It just isn't.

As in if you are a vegetarian, you will die very quickly in Spain. And if you don't make an effort to learn the language, all you will be doing is pointing at stuff and getting exactly what you don't want. And you will be pissing people off.

The key is to blend in. See what other people are wearing, and wear that. See what other people are ordering, and order that.

Imagine waking up one day and no one understands a word you say. You learn fast. Well, you had better.