First World Bus Travel

19.56, I made it! 2 Metro changes…dash through the palpable late August heat in Madrid, an anxious wait on a light rail platform only to find the next train is an express that doesn’t stop where I do. Add to that the criminal removal of beer from the vending machines on the platforms, 3 broken…

WOMAD Caceres 2009

May here in Caceres is curious…2 rather big events happen that couldn’t be more dissimilar. The first is the adoration of the local virgin which is carried down from its mountain refuge in late April and then is visited everyday by a certain sector of the population to see the what colour dress it is…

San Jorge in Caceres

Springtime in Extremadura and the festival season is in full swing. Right on the heels of Semana Santa celebrations and the parading of the local virgin comes the celebration of the city’s patron saint, San Jorge, better known to English speakers as Saint George. A curious mix of fire, tradition and what some might call…

For the Birds

If you ask someone from Catalonia what they think of my adopted region of Spain, Extremadura, you might unfortunately get a derogatory remark likening the area to Africa. Worse yet, they wouldn’t be doing so in reference to the wide open spaces and conserved natural areas that are to be found out here…but that is…