La Ruta de Lorca.... Donde los grillos cantan y el viento susurra entre los álamos...

The Spring of 2012 Carlos's Tia (Aunt) Encarnita invited me to join her and her family, Tio (Uncle) Makis and their son Dimitri, for a surprise. We drove for about 30 minutes away from Granada. We arrived to a house in a pueblo where we found a carriage drawn by two horses! The family who lives there run a rural tour business where they take people on carriage rides through the town and countryside where the famous poet Federico Garcia Lorca grew up and wrote many poems.

Canción

   Ya viene la noche.

Golpean rayos de luna
sobre el yunque de la tarde.

   Ya viene la noche.

Un árbol viejo se abriga
con palabras de cantares.

   Ya viene la noche.

Si tú vinieras a verme
por los senderos del aire,

   Ya viene la noche.

me encontrarías llorando
bajo los álamos grandes.
   ¡Ay morena!
Bajo los álamos grandes.


The weather that day was perfect. There was a slight breeze and the sun was hot. The poplar groves glittered in the sun when the wind would rustle through the leaves, showing their silvery undersides.
We crossed over a river. Perhaps it was the Rio Genil??

 Me and Dimitri.

Tio Makis and Tia Encarnita

We passed by fields of tiny corn plants just beginning to grow, asparagus, fruit trees, and some kind of tall wavy grass. We passed through olive groves which is a staple in the Spanish landscape. An olive tree, especially an old one, is one of the mot beautiful trees. It's trunk normally grows gnarly and wide. Instead of growing tall it grows in more twists and deeper groves in the bark. The leaves are narrow and silvery green.

 At one point we got off the carriage and walked down a path to a little creek. Next to the creek was a cleared space with a bench. It is said that Lorca wrote some poems while sitting in this peaceful spot.

Variación

El remanso del aire
bajo la rama del eco.

El remanso del agua
bajo fronda de luceros.

El remanso de tu boca
bajo espersura de besos.













We passed several old farm buildings including an old shed used to cure tobacco. Towards the end we passed by the house where Lorca was born and by a couple fountains - probably the same fountains that he wrote about in some of his poems!

 We stopped to check out an ancient Moorish tower. Perhaps it was used to store grain.

¡¡¡Los Mierders!!!

Los Mierders son....

Carlos, Sergio, Vega, Me, Maria, Elena (guest Mierder), and Begoña
Not pictured: Jorge and Andrea

Maria. Maria is a long time Mierder. She is one of Carlos' closest friends. She's almost always up for having a few cañas (small beers) at her favorite establishment, El Lamiak, which is a bar near our house. She's the steady, easy-going member of the group. She's also pretty sharp and seems to be a good debater!

Begoña. Begoña laughs easily at the tonterias of her friends, of which there are many! She is often in on any plans that involve movies or going out. ¨Si a todo!¨

Vega. Oh, Vega Vega Vega! Vega is a joker and often the group organizer. Sometimes her grandiose schemes don't always work out, but it's fun to plan them anyway! She can be very motherly, taking care of everyone in the group. She's a good listener and can connect with just about anyone. If there is ever a visitor to the group that no one is talking with, you can be sure Vega will be able to strike up conversation with them.

Elena. Elena is often away as she works as an archeologist in Egypt. We'll call her a Guest Mierder. She brings a feisty sense of humor to the group and is very funny. Last time we hung out she brought out the hot pink lipstick to turn the party up a few notches! I wish she lived in Madrid so we could hang out more. She reminds me of some of my friends back home.

Me. I suppose I am also a Mierder. Although I don't always understand what everyone is saying, especially in a loud bar, my listening skills have improved a lot over the past two years. Here you can see my huge mouth.

Sergio. Sergio is also a long time Mierder. His nickname is Pulpo (Octopus) because (I assume) he always seems to be swinging his long arms all around the place. Whether he's talking, dancing, or walking you often have the feeling that he is reaching his tentacles out. He's very in touch with his emotions and is more sentimental than the other male Mierders. He can also be very spontaneous which can be good or bad... He is very good at manipulating his fellow Mierders into doing things to help him out. He drives Vega crazy... in the good way and not so good way sometimes!

Another thing I must add about Sergio is that I wouldn't have ever met any of the Mierders (including Carlos!!) if it weren't for Sergio. When Lily and I came to Madrid and were desperately looking for a place to stay via Couch Surfing, Sergio offered for us to stay with him. Carlos and Andrea came over and we went out to a salsa bar where Lily and I attempted to salsa dance in our big, clunky boots. We stank since we had been working on a horse farm. Despite our stinky clothes (Sergio made us put our boots in the hallway) and inability to dance, we had a lot of fun with Sergio and Carlos and came back to visit them before we left Spain. And the rest is history!

Carlos. My Sweet. He is often the initiator of silly games and comes up with ideas for fun adventures.  He's very much in touch with his inner child which makes for a good time when you mix that with other Mierders, a few drinks, and a long night!

Jorge. Unfortunately Jorge wasn't at the party with lemons, but here's pretty good photo of him which I think represents a large part of his personality: the poet, musician, deep (most of the time!). He's the kind of guy who gets up really early Saturday morning to be at the National Library right when they open. Although Jorge can be a deep, intellectual he is also like most other men who love football and like to go to La Latina on Sunday to check out the ladies!! You know it's true, Jorge!!

Andrea. This picture says a lot. Andrea is a born leader and when we are all together he does his best to herd us like sheep. He's Italian and is a great cook. And with those blue eyes and fit body, he is a hit with the ladies. I don't see him as often as other Mierders as he seems to run in many different circles, but if there is ever a night involving dancing or cooking or a excursion to the mountains he is sure to be there.

Here is a pic from one of the first times I hung out with the Mierders which was about 2 years ago. The two on the left side are visiting friends!

On this cold winter day Carlos, Sergio, Vega, and I visited a nearby pueblo en Los Pueblos Negros.

Here Carlos and Jorge are in La Latina. Sometimes all the Mierders meet there on Sunday and other times it's just the guys. They like to go to ¨watch the football game¨, but I know what it's really about- checking out all the ladies. La Latina on Sunday should be filmed as part of a National Geographic series on animals and their pre-mating rituals. Seriously. Groups of men and groups of women all go there decked out in their sexiest clothes and after several gin and tonics they are ready to flirt.

This is a classic scene. Often times the Mierders get together at Sergio's house for a music session and wine and food. Carlos and Jorge come with their guitars to play rock and blues and Sergio plays sentimental songs on his piano. And sometimes the girls, also known as the Muñecas Rotas, play as well. Sergio's music is sometimes referred to ¨pastel¨ which means cake because it's so sweet and light.

DAY AT THE RACE TRACKS

We've all gone to the watch the horse races a couple times. The first time we went about two years ago we all betted on a horse named Dyslexia (right? it was something like that) and she won!! So we used our earnings to pay for a big, delicious meal at our favorite Indian restaurant in Lavapies, Shapla. It was so exciting to win!!

This past Spring we went again. Here we are before the races start.

And here you can see the tension, nervousness, and anticipation as the Mierders watch the horses reach the end of the race!!

The particular race was pretty intense. Sergio bet on number 8 in several races because as he was leaving his house that morning his roommate told him that he thought number 8 would be a lucky number. And as it turned out horses that were number 8 won several races!! Here Sergio is holding his ticket with his bets in front of the screen replaying the win of horse number 8. In this race the jockey actually fell off his horse just as he had crossed the finish line. The rule is that the jockeys must stay on their horse until crossing the finish line. 

Here you can see that while he wasn't in the saddle, he was still ¨on¨ the horse as he crossed the line.

Sergio won some big money in that race!! Well, like 40 euros or something.

It looks like there are two horses, but it's only one with a mirror image.

Here are the Muñecas Rotas and me in the one and only favorite bar,  The Lamiak! Good times!!

Here are Vega and Elena after putting on their hot pink lips!

Hahaha! This picture makes me laugh. Here we have the one and only Jose Angél. He is a guest Mierder. He is often trying to seduce women and here is his classic look. Doesn't he look like he is trying to seduce? He is really sweet and is a really great cook!! As he says, the most important ingredient is AMOR!! What a guy!

Here is Vega, stepping out for a smoke. I love this picture. Evening in Lavapies.


As I was packing my bags to come back to the States, I had to leave behind some clothes and things. Here are the Mierders, each with some article of clothing I left behind. They took this picture after I had left. They all look great!! Especially with that white-eyed possessed look. By looking at the background I can tell they are in Calle Argumosa. I already miss it all SO MUCH!!

Dearest Mierders,
I love you all and miss you so very much. I have so many fun (and funny) memories of us together. I hope to be back to visit (or live) soon!! And please don't forget that as long as I am here, you all will have a place to stay when you visit the USA!!
Muchos Besos!!!
Yours always,
Sarah

Food! Marvelous Food!

When I am cooking I often forget to take pictures of some of my best creations. Fruits and vegetables here are a lot cheaper than back home and because there are so many immigrant food stores in my neighborhood I can easily get my hands on special spices or other not-so-common ingredients. For example, here you can buy a good sized bag of curry and other Indian spices for less than a euro! Back home one of those little dinky glass bottles of spices costs from 2 to 3 dollars!
Not only is there plenty of inexpensive variety, but because I'm here in a city where everything you need is within walking distance, if I lack a certain vegetable or whatever I just walk around the corner and buy what I need at either the tiny fruit and veggie store run by really sweet Indian men with big brown eyes or across the street to the Chino where a Chinese family sells the essentials. I'm really really going to miss this - the accessibility of everything. Back home I would have to get in a car. Such a drag!

The other day for lunch I taught Carlos how to make gazpacho. I know, it's funny. Me teaching the Spanish guy how to make one of his National dishes. I guess we are both learning. No gazpacho is ever the same. Some batches are perfect, others too oniony.

GAZPACHO

The simple ingredients: bread (optional), a green pepper (bell or Italian is fine), a red bell pepper, a cucumber, several tomatoes, garlic, onion, salt, olive oil, vinegar, and water.

Cut up the green and red peppers. I used the whole green pepper because it wasn't too big and then used about a quarter of a large red bell pepper. I used about 5 or 6 large plum tomatoes, a quarter of an onion, one medium clove of garlic, and a whole small cucumber. According to Carlos's Grandmother and Mother, you should leave on some of the cucumber skin. It adds texture and flavor. Also, sometimes people will throw in a little carrot.

Put all this in the blender and add about a cup or two of water. Blend until it's finely chopped.

Lots of people here add a little bit of soaked bread to their gazpacho. They usually use the standard white bread. I usually skip this step. 

Here we add the vinegar and oil before blending the veggies. Now I prefer to blend first and then add some vinegar and oil and salt. Start by adding conservative amounts so you don't over do it. You might need to add more water if it's too thick. It should be very liquidy. 

Carlos is taste testing and maybe adding a few beard hairs.

Once your gazpacho is just right, put it in the fridge, preferably next to a jar of fat, juicy olives! Cold gazpacho is soooo refreshing when it's suffocatingly hot and your insides are parched and shriveling up like a raisin.

VEGETABLE COUSCOUS

First I sauté some vegetables. Usually green and/or red peppers, onions, carrots, and mushrooms. You could add eggplant, celery, whatever! I think mushrooms are important because they absorb the flavor so well. I usually add a little bit of butter to the olive oil when I'm cooking the vegetables. For spices I add lots of cumin, and a little bit of black pepper and cayenne. And a couple pinches of salt. 

Once the vegetables are cooked, but not too soft, I add a cup and a half of water. I turn the heat down to medium and give it a little stir to loosen up the flavor bits on the bottom of the pan. Once the water starts to bubble I add a cup of couscous and turn off the heat. Cover with a lid and let the couscous absorb the water and become fluffy.

Sometimes I add a little bit of feta cheese to the couscous. It goes well with the cumin! Also, it's very Spanish to sprinkle some fresh onion and pepper on top when serving the gazpacho.

Whaaa Laaaaa!