2007 Parkbenching Tour, Part 3: Parkbenching back home in Morocco

This is my second big Parkbenching Tour--or third, if count parkbenching around Northeast USA... and I'm headed to very familiar territory: Spain and Morocco.  This is where I first tested my wings back in 1996 when I headed off to a life of global travel and adventure.

And now I'm back.  Back to reclaim my old tramping grounds. Back to reconnect with old friends and make some new ones.  Back to explore some new territory.  And back to scout out the possibility of setting up base in this part of the world again.

I landed at the airport in Madrid and hopped on the subway, wondering what all has changed since I first came here in 1996.  What immediately struck me was how many Latin Americans there were on the subway--they almost seemed to outnumber Spaniards!  Later on, when I asked folks about this, people confirmed that there's been a huge influx of South Americans in recent years--and for the most part they seem to be adjusting well.

.. Also, there are a lot of Eastern Europeans... It's going to be interesting to see how this all works out in the long run.  Spain has often struck me as...how would I say this... a little ethnocentric?

Actually the big change that has taken place since 96 is within myself.  I painfully remember waiting for 11 hours at the bus station with no interest to go out and see the city--I just sat there... I simply didn't have that urge to get out and discover that I do now.  So in a way, this is my first REAL visit to Madrid.

I decided to make an exception to my rule of not using a map--my time here is very limited and I want to make sure I see the "cool stuff"--and there's definitely a lot to see--from the Parque el Retiro up to the Puerta de Alcalà over to Gran Via and down the narrow streets through the Barrio del Letras--but it wasn't until I was in a Shwarma shop, me (an American) translating for a Turkish waiter who spoke Spanish and a Swiss tourist who spoke French that it really sunk in.

.. Europe rocks!

That evening, after a very inspiring tour of the city I pulled out my old six string in a scruffy little park near the bus station with a couple of down on their luck Bulgarians as an audience... they kindly offered to share their carton of cheap wine with me...

And then, just like that, day one of my journey was over--I hopped on my overnight bus to Algeciras and found another pleasant suprise--they don't segregate people on buses any more (it used to be one bus for Europeans and one bus for Moroccans).  I always found that a bit disturbing...