Stranded in Spain, Pt. 1: Canadian Impressions

Two friends from my Canadian city, ex-coworkers actually, dropped by Spain a couple of weeks ago. We were all headed to Morocco, so they took the opportunity to meet me in Villacarrillo and see first-hand what my life was like.

THIS is how you greet Cdn friends

During the bus ride from the train station, they marveled at the olive trees, aka one of the Wonders of the World (in my opinion). They also talked about how cheap Madrid was for a meal. Little did they know they had arrived in THE province in Spain for free, good tapas.

 

I decided a "ruta de tapa" would be the best way for them to get acquainted with what Jaén has to offer. We met up with a couple friends of mine. I was worried about the lack of communication, as my friends know some English but are reluctant to speak it, and my Canadian friends don't speak Spanish. I had nothing to worry about; everyone's cheerful attitudes and body language helped out. My friends could not believe how cheap drinks and tapas were!

We also visited the local watering hole, where a Jaén band was playing Celtic rock. We burned up the dance floor until 3 a.m.  The owner seemed impressed that THREE Canadians had invaded his bar!

My heroes, Pandora

The next day was the same, plus a tour around the old church. The emptiness of our streets during the afternoon siesta weirded out one of my friends, who was later writing in his travel journal and asked, "Hey, are there one or two p's in 'zombie apocalypse'?" But they seemed to have a lot of fun, commenting often on the friendliness of the people and the amazing food. A fantastic start to a vacation that was about to go very, very badly.

 (to be continued....)