Speaking Spanish in Spain...

After five days of rock climbing, perilous river crossings and general abuse to our bodies in Patagonia, a few days of luxurious pampering at the Hotel Villa Magna in Madrid has been just the ticket. After another LONG flight, we happily welcomed the champagne and fruit waiting for us upon our arrival at the hotel. The succulent Chinese cuisine at Tse Yang Restaurant off the hotel lobby seemed to finally rid us of the nightmarish mutton we regularly consumed during our trek. This wonderful 5-star hotel, probably one of the finest properties in Madrid, made it quite tempting to simply spend our days relaxing and unwinding. Who needs the hustle and bustle of the city anyway? Well, we did come all this way…

The odd thing about our time here is that we seem to have lost our ability to communicate with people, even at the most basic level. We arrived under the impression that it would be far easier in a cosmopolitan city like Madrid than the Amazon or Panama, however if that were true why did we always seem to end up with a Spanish omelet, potato salad and two cheese sandwiches regardless of our order at any tapas bar? I know they offered additional choices by virtue of the fact that most of the menus had at least 4 different items listed, but somehow our requests in Spanish regularly resulted in the same gastronomic combination of dishes.

Our luck within the safe confines of the hotel hadn't been much better. Yesterday morning I was awoken by a call from the front desk with a question which, in my dreary state, seemed to be "would you like us to bring up a fax?" Sure, why not I thought, if someone's sent us a fax, bring it on up. Shortly thereafter, a nice man arrived with a fax machine. As he began to hook it up, I tried to explain (in Spanish) that we really didn't need a fax machine. He kindly responded in Spanish, "I only speak Spanish." I'm certainly aware that the same language can be spoken differently in different countries (or even different parts of the same country), but was our version really so difficult to understand? It worked just fine throughout all of Latin America.

Finally, Tiffany and I had managed to make it all the way through the "W" trek in Patagonia without any significant injury to speak of, yet the same can't be said of our exploration of Madrid. Last night in our haste to reach a "dulceria" (delicious pastry shops where we have spent a considerable amount of time), Tiffany accidentally banged her foot on a street barricade which was jutting out from the side of the road. As I began to laugh at her misfortune, I stubbed my foot on the same barricade, the only difference being that Tiff had hiking boots on while I was wearing Tiva sandals. The lovely bruise on the top of my foot will likely result in a limp for at least a week. I know, it serves me right for laughing.

Notwithstanding our follies, Madrid has been a wonderful honeymoon stop, especially after roughing it in Patagonia and Ecuador. It has been comforting to once again have access to the modern amenities of a world class city. After spending so much time in the wilderness, we have really enjoyed the cultural side of Madrid - visiting topnotch museums like the Prado, sipping coffee at sidewalk cafes and exploring interesting neighborhoods. We have found the people to be friendly and laid-back. Of course, just as we've gotten used to the true comfort of the Villa Magna, it's time to check out and move on. Where to next? All I'll say is we're not heading north or west...

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