the mirror of the sea

Or Al-meriya or Almeria in Andalusia was my destination for 6 days due to an international symposium organized by our organisation with the Government of Spain. It was my first time to travel to Spain after being in Europe for more than a decade. It was also an opportunity to practice my halting Spanish, which I learned from the courses offered by the UN to its employees. I must admit that it helped me a lot coz I was able to converse with people albeit like an idiot and mostly to people patient enough to listen to me, but I was also able to understand most of what they were saying.

The city was under the Arabs until the Spaniards conquered the place in 1489. Some of the Arab architecture and culture is still apparent specially since one of the most important buildings is the Arab fortress, Alcazaba, built by Abd-er Rahman III in the 10th century. They also mentioned about the cathedral but I didn’t have enough time to visit it coz I was busy shopping when I had the time.

One of the funny things was when we arrived and were driving to the hotel, I noticed the shops were closed and was wondering if they don’t work on a Monday. I asked my boss and he said “Siesta”. Oh gosh, I didn’t realize that they really do it. So the shops were closed from 2 to 5pm and open until 8pm. People ate late so I guess they don’t get enough sleep in the evening so they take a break in the afternoon. Hhm, another rhythm and culture of work.

We were of course eating tapas particularly in "Las Botas" and one of the novelty place “Casa Puga” served excellent dried meat. There were also a lot of shops for kids and the people are all mixed. Not one age-level dominating the population. Mango and Zara were great shops and there was this other one called Stradivarius, which was so cheap and so hip. There were shops for evening gowns everywhere, which reminded me of Brazil. The nightlife was also wonderful coz we were out on a Thursday and it felt like a Saturday Night out. Almeria looks like a very laid-back town with a very good quality of life. My colleague and friend who is also a Spaniard told me that before, it was a poor region because their environment was desertified. Then the population started building plastic greenhouses for their crops and from then on, it was able to support its own needs and even import their products to other places, making them a prosperous region now.

For our symposium, we were mostly in the Universidad de Almeria, a sprawling University on the outskirts of the city, facing the Mediterranean Sea. Everything was new and the internet connections were excellent : ) Apparently it was built only a few years before so the buildings are all practically new. Oh by the way, the Queen of Spain, Sofia, opened the symposium so I had a snapshot of her but I was too shy to shake her hand when she was only a stone-throw away. Geez, now am regretting it. But it was still cool to see her.

I only just realized that Spain was so rich culturally and then I think again and say to myself, of course they are, they were conquistadors. Remember your Filipino history?!? I must say that some of the things we know from the back of our heads but when we are confronted by it, is the only time we remember. At the end of the mission, I really enjoyed staying in that place and working with my unit. I hope that the next one will again be memorable.