Hacer-ing puente.

Here in Spain, they don't burn bridges.  They build them.

The Spanish are known for their fiestas.  Heavily influenced by Catholicism, the country celebrates 14 religious public holidays.  But the beauty behind these fiestas is that their flexibility.  A one day fiesta can be stretched into two days, three days, or even a whole week.  This process is called hacer puente, "making a bridge."

Puentes (pronounced PWEN-tays) normally occur when a public holiday falls in the middle of the week.  Depending on the company or establishment, some administration give their employees other days off.  For example, if there is a fiesta on Tuesday, some people won't have to work Monday either.  Or if the fiesta on a Thursday, people won't have to work Friday.  Both examples happened this week.

Puente galore.

The 6th and 8th are holidays

So this week, some people decided to hacer puente and take the whole week off.  Most of these people were university students.  Craig and I had to show up for work Wednesday only to find that 4 of our 150 students showed.

But now Wednesday is over, and it's my turn to be Spanish and hacer puente.  Because puente flying prices are expensive throughout the country, Craig and I decided to rent a car Thursday through Sunday and drive through different cities around the region (and a bit outside of the region).  This weekend we're going to:

 Valencia (region of Valencia)

Known for its "City of Arts and Sciences"

Calasparra (region of Murcia)

Known for its cathedral/monastery built into a mountain...and it's Spanish rice

 Jumilla (region of Murcia)

An area known for its wine

Last year I would use puentes to travel about Europe.  But this year, I like the idea of appreciating the true Spanish-ness of a puente and using it to get to know Spain a little better.


My advice to a guiri:  Enjoy Spain for what it's worth and hacer puente to a travel to an Iberian site.