He andado muchos caminos

"He andado muchos caminos,
Y en todas partes he visto
gentes que danzan o juegan
y no conocen la prisa
ni aun en los días de fiesta.
Y en un día como tantos,
descansan bajo la tierra."

por Antonio Machado

          ...translation:


I have walked many paths,
And in each place I have seen
people that dance or play
and are never in a hurry,
even on days of celebration.
And one day, like the others,
they'll rest beneath the earth.


As I walk the streets of Granada, I am continuously reminded of this poem. Every day, after the siesta, the cobblestone streets and plazas of Granada begin to fill with life as families emerge from their apartments for an evening paseo. However, the crowds of people are anything but hectic--during the paseo, there is no hurry because there is no final destination; time spent walking is time spent with loved ones. Outside my apartment kids run around the courtyard, playing with toys, soccer balls, you name it, while parents and friends enjoy tapas and a drink.

There is a tranquil harmony of life here.

Even on festival days, like I saw last weekend: Saturday was the offering of flowers to la Virgen de las Angustias. Thousands of people stood in line for hours with bouquets of flowers in hand, wanting to make their offering to the Virgin. Once again, there was no sense of urgency; waiting in line was even more time to to socialize with family and friends, and to pay respect to the church. Some women wore flamenco dresses, the children wore matching outfits, a helicopter sprinkled flowers from the sky, and the church choir sang. And the end result was magnificent: a grand wall of flowers, three stories high.