I´ll explain later

Hey everyone! Life is so beautiful, but the internet in Spain is too much money! So I can´t just write anything about my week, but I put various pictures on the flickr. So click the slide show and it´ll take you there! Bale!

angels and saints

Day four and it feels like forever. The path thus far has been exciting, yet we've seen almost nothing terrible or crazy, a complete blessing. Blessings coming not only in the form of friend's internet to check couchsurfing possibilities, cheap marcados to buy 4 kilos of apples for almost nothing, or a extra towel to use before cracking out the old camping napkin (I have one of those light weight ultra wick towels that makes you think your using a towel). It is more so the people that come along with those blessings. We've really lucked out across the board.

The first was Saoul in Copenhagen, a Columbian we met on the metro who gave great advise about what to see in the city within an hour. He used to work in Aruba and would get lots of clients from the States. The best thing he said was "I'll tell you to go this way, because I'll be heading in the opposite direction to go to work, okay?" beautiful. They all come like that.

The train clerk's jokes at the Madrid airports jokes about what hostels she thought looked good from the outside. Our host at a random hostel in Madrid dropping his price by 30E because "Well that all you have right?" We woke the next morning to construction literally right outside our window (Jeff could have grabbed the contractor's leg) but soon found we stayed less then half a block away right from the illustrious Prado museum.

For the last three days we've been kept in the loving arms of the angels of Jaen. Carly is Jeff's friend from university who for some glorious reason hosted us smelly american boys and showed us around the city. I feel much more acculturated after talking with Carly, her roommates and her other american and scottish friends working in the city. every last one of them has given us something to take for the rest of the trip, not with our hands but in our heads and hearts. they all helped us off our heads, onto our feet by indulging us with Kebabs, cafe con leche, a few grand rounds of Parcheesi, and allowing us to destroy their kitchen to make Hawaiian burgers (we cleaned up afterward, and the American girls went to the living room, while the Spainish roommates fluttered around us saying "Are you sure we can't help you clean?"). Well our next step is a mystery. Just this morning as I was writing this a couch surfer from Granada responded with only this "Its way too late to be organising anything around Semana Santa.Good luck." Thanks don. I guess they all can't be saints. Once we've had our last shower, ate a banana or three and packed our bags it's off to the bus station (the only, ONLY thing open on Sundays in Spain) with our map. We'll have to see who we meet.

Portland bound and it has begun

All is surreal. Goodbyes said and the warmth of friends and family in my heart. But now the snowball has been pushed over the hump and now rolls further down the hill growing slowly. The car ride to Portland was probably the fastest I've ever experienced. I can barely remember it happening.

Staying at Hannah's house in North Portland, in this classic Northwest evening of rain and red sunset, was an exercise in patience. It was a good idea to come to Portland, but we've learned that early preparation leaves idle bodies to desire movement. I wrote 12 people on couchsurfing project, hoping for the best after we realized our contact in Madrid only wanted to meet up for a drink instead of let us sleep on her floor. We'll see.

Later we ran by the local supermarket for beer, batteries, caramel cubes, and pizza.

Everything was consumed quickly, and before long Jeff had a friend from Tacoma come visit us. A genuine Sage from the hills, Joel blessed us with not only beautiful encouragement and stories from the road but an authentic Cuban cigar from a mansion he's been sleeping under. We sipped amazingly delicious beer on Hannah and Kathy's front stoop, smoke away the Cuban present and discussed everything from the sociopolitical conflicts that Americans live with to motorcycle dreams. Joel left us with smiles, warmed hearts and the envy that can only be positive from a salty sea dog that sunk toes in foreign soil. We'll breath what come tomorrow and see what kind of sleep we can get tonight. There's no stoppin this train folks.

Itinerary

March 11th - Portland, OR > March 12th - Madrid, Spain
March 12th through April 30th - Spain, Morocco, Portugal
April 30th through May 7th - Spain > France > Belgium > Frankfurt, Germany > South Africa
May 8th through June 25th - South Africa
June 26 through July 2nd - South Africa > Germany > France > Spain
July 2nd > Madrid, Spain - July 3rd > Portland, OR