The season at Gozo finished, it was time to meet up again with one of my best mates. Giz has now lived in Spain for a number of years, spending the summer working in Tossa De Mar and the winter down in Caceres where his girlfriend goes to university. I have made it a habit to visit Giz at least once per year, to date it had always been in Tossa De Mar, so this year it was time to travel to his winter residence !
I flew into Madrid where Giz met me and we then travelled the 4 hours or so south to Caceres. The countryside was different to elsewhere I had visited in Spain, with rolling fields full of acorn trees (for the pigs), olive groves, rivers and lakes. Flying overhead we often saw circling vultures, whilst on poles there were lots of Eagles nests - was I really in Spain ?
The other difference to previous trips was the weather, it was cold ! The apartment Giz lived in was not geared up for cold weather, the only heating being a heater that was situated under a table, we sat round it covered in a blanket to keep warm in the evenings !
More than 10 towers dominate the historic quarter of Caceres, delimited by arab walls. Cobbled streets marked by medieval, fortified homes and renaissance palaces make up the most beautiful sceneries in the city, which has been declared a world heritage site. Caceres is not a tourist destination, this is evident as noone speaks English - at least I got to practise my Spanish ! The place is also the chosen home of hundreds of stalks, with nests everywhere.
We spent some good nights out, drinking in a wide variety of bars, eating tapas and going to a Spanish comedy night ! My birthday came and went, with a good meal of cheeses, meats and bottles of red white, then onto the 'peanut' bar (private joke that Giz will understand). The days were spent fishing in the local lakes, where I caught my first ever freshwater fish - I obviously put them back ! We also went on a roadtrip to Portugal, where Giz insisted we had a traditional Portugese stew / broth type thing - it contained alot of unidentifiable meats, chunks of vegetables, as well as pigs ears and pigs trotters - Mmmmmmmmmm tasty !
Whilst here I was also preparing for the upcoming trip to Asia, booking flights to Thailand, insurances etc etc
The whole time helped me unwind, all too soon the 2 weeks had gone by, I caught a bus back to Madrid, tube to the airport and then back to the UK.
Catch you again next year Giz, thanks for the hospitality.
