Southern Spain Redux: From 2 countries to 3.5!

So, we've been home for like, two full weeks! I am going through a smidge of Euro-withdrawal and thus have been holding off on the final two blog posts so I don't sound TOO over-the-top in all of my travel gushing. But here is the (penultimate) travel post:

Post-Barcelona, Mom and I hopped on another plane and headed back down to Southern Spain.  My cousin Donna, her husband Sebastian, and their two kiddos live in Rota, Spain.  The spark for the trip (ultimately the highlight of our travels) was the chance spend to a few days visiting with them and to explore the surrounding cities/(countries).

Upon arrival, we had a low-key day which was a blend of rest, touring a Spanish bodega (we were in the sherry ‘triangle’ of the world after all), and visiting with the Stachowicz family.

Then! We decided to take the plunge and spend a day trip in Tangier.  I was on the fence about this, as I was worried just a day wouldn't do Morocco justice. While I still wish we'd had another week and could have made it to Fez and Marrakesh -- Tangier was a definite highlight.  We rode camels, went to the Cave of Hercules, strolled through the Kashbah, and explored the vibrant, crowded markets.

We spent another day exploring Cadiz.  Cadiz was another city that really surprised me with how much there was to see.  A small beach town, the city’s greatest claim is that it is the oldest city in Europe.  The city definitely boasts a ton of archeological and historic sites.  We spent a good chunk of our time in the Cathedral.  One of the most interesting aspects of the visit was that we were two of only a handful of tourists walking around.  The Cathedral might have been empty due to the visible disrepair and neglect, but Mom and I still enjoyed getting to take in the beauty of the architecture.  The crypt was particularly interesting -- it was the biggest we saw and felt very much... like a crypt. I couldn’t help but feel shivers run up my spine as we ambled up out of the stairwell after spending a few minutes exploring the space.  After that, Mom and I enjoyed a coastal stroll and ended our day playing a hand of cards and enjoying a vino tinto
in Park Genoves.

Finally, we spent a day (with Donna and Chris!) in Gibraltar.  We went up to the rock and saw the monkeys, which Mom really enjoyed.  I thought it was awesome to wander through the military tunnels and read about the various military engagements and strategic ways in which the tunnels were dug and used.  We wrapped up the day at the very lovely botanical gardens – which had one of the coolest playgrounds I’ve stumbled upon in years.

Friday we trekked out to the beach near Donna's house and then boarded our train back to Madrid, thus ending the jaunt through Andalusia.

And now for a brief ramble, yet again – on how the who trumps the where.  I’ll wind down this post by reaffirming how wonderful it was to visit with Donna and Seb, and their kiddos Jill and Chris.  With the lack of an older sibling, I've always looked up to my older cousins. Donna (and her husband, Seb) are kind of the archetype for awesome older cousins.  They’re brilliant and successful, dedicated parents, and really fun, well-traveled and interesting people to hang out with.  Most of all, they’re people who live out what it means to serve – as they’ve both been deployed overseas (Donna in Iraq, Seb in Afghanistan) and Sebastian is still active-duty in the Navy.

We whittled away the evening hours drinking good beer, eating good food (Seb introduced me to this fried bacon goodness-majig), hearing about one another’s travels, swapping family stories and talking about current issues in health and politics (without yelling, angst or blood-pressure inducement, even!).  We also closed off one night with an few rounds of Cards Against Humanity!

The time in Rota was a wonderful respite from hotels, museums and over-stimulation in general.  It was a time for patio-sitting and lingering over meals, crawling on hands and knees to chase after Chris or stealing away for a bedtime story with Jill.  It was a joy to get to experience a bit of Donna and Seb’s daily life when we so rarely get to see them, and to catch up on family stories that we’ve missed between the miles.

And on and on I could go.  I’ll end there – and will wrap up these posts with a final entry/general wrap-up including details from Madrid soon!