Beautiful Andalusia

Last autumn, I visited Spain to take part in a week long workshop for teachers organized by a EU academic program. Even though our official task was to develop certain skills (which we surely did), a decent amount of time was spent indulging in Andalusia’s culture, history and cuisine. We visited Malaga, Seville, Huelva and Tarifa (with a quick detour to Gibraltar).

Initially, I was gonna do separate posts about the trip, but laziness took over and now I’m gonna do a best hits one. (We all know there will be an overload of photos.) Also, I feel like writing about something 8 months after the fact might be the reason I’m kinda fuzzy on the details to provide multiple posts.

We landed in Malaga where we spent almost two days after which we headed towards Point Tarifa and Gibraltar. Our base for the week was Huelva, but we managed to squeeze in an afternoon trip to Seville. (Thank you, rent-a-car!) Also, it was Advent time so everything was immersed in Christmas theme.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d ever visit Malaga. I would miss out on so much history like Roman theatre, remains of Al-Andalus (Muslim ruled period) and Christian influence following Reconquista. And orange trees! Everywhere you go, you live and breathe orange trees.

Seville was a city we had the least amount of time to explore, but we managed to do a city center walk through. We visited the cathedral, Plaza de Espana and had a lovely coffee break.

Tarifa is the southern most point of European land. It’s a spot where Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean meet. Vast open space and sandy beaches are a good indicator you’ve left the rocky safety of Mare Nostrum. The ocean really does have a different vibe than the Sea.

I didn’t take much photos of Huelva which is odd since we spent the majority of our time there. I guess the historian in me was focused on the town’s historic value so I was more into exploring and documenting that side of it.

Huelva is famous for being the town Christopher Columbus (or Cristóbal Colón, as they call him) sailed on his first journey from. Little did he know he’d discover a brand new continent and mark the end of the medieval times. Therefore, Huelva is proud of its history and honors Columbus on every corner. (Maybe not every corner, but you know what I mean.) The place that left me in awe was Muelle de las Carabelas (Wharf of the Caravels). It’s a museum where you can see life sized replicas of the three expedition ships as well as Bahamian island village and medieval market. The place was the cherry on top and a fitting ending to an amazing week in Spain. God bless.