Three reasons for missing blog posts

I haven't been blogging very much for the past few weeks.  But I promise that for each week I haven't been blogging, I have a viable excuse.  Three, actually.

Week 1: Family and Freaks

At the end of October my cousin and former traveling buddy, Jason, came and visited me for a week. Back in September Jason arrived to Europe with a one-way ticket and started traveling around the continent.  (You can read more about his travels on his blog.)  After a month of hostels and hotels, Jason decided he needed an actual bedroom and familiar face, so he made his way down to Murcia.  Although I was working most of the time he was in, we found time to walk around the city, try traditional Spanish cuisine, and make a day trip to Alicante.

Lunch overlooking the port in Alicante 

Jason's first Spanish  paella

Alicante castle

As well as a good guest and fun cousin, Jason also turned out to be a reliable decoy.  Because Craig's birthday was the following week, I decided to throw him a surprise birthday Halloween party.  As well as helping with the planning and preparation, Jason also distracted Craig for the day so I could get ready for the party.  Thanks to Jason, we had a successful party.  After a long day of taking Jason to the mall and helping him get a haircut in Spanish, Craig walked into a house-full of friends and a geeky (or freaky, in Spanish) birthday costume awaiting him.

Geeks, or as the Spanish say, freakys

Marta's great cake

Mad scientist and Jason...the Friday the 13th antagonist, not the cousin

Week 2: Rocks and Leaves


A few days after Jason left, Craig and I rented a car and drove to a Spanish National Park in the Sierra de Cazorla.

Situated in the region of Andalucia, the Sierra de Cazorla is about a four-hour drive from Murcia.  We spent the weekend driving through park, exploring different hiking trails and towns with rustic restaurants and hostels.  Although it's still in southern Spain, Cazorla has a completely different climate and environment than Murcia.  The cool air cleansed my lungs from the Murcian city air, and the vegetation appeased my nostalgia for West Virginia autumns.  

Week 3: Bicycles--enough said

After a a weekend in Cazorla, the outdoors bug followed us to Murcia and caused us to buy bicycles.  We spent this past weekend taking our bikes around the city to discover routes to work and favorite spots around town.  We're so much more mobile in the city now, and we've entered the new realm of the "hip" bike culture.  Now we just hope that our front tires don't get stolen.

On the tram on the way home with his new bike.
(Don't let his pose fool you.  He's as ecstatic as a ten-year-old kid on Christmas.)
  

See?

My advice to a guiri:  Step away for the computer for a bit and explore the outdoors around you.