
<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-fathers-day-gift/4457264268_4c2cc8e39b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Father's Day Gift (crop)">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-fathers-day-gift/4457264268_b74b00820d_t.jpg" alt="Father's Day Gift (crop)"/>
</a>

 by erikrasmussen, on Flickr")Last Friday, March 19th, was [Father's Day in Spain](/2009/03/19/san-jose-fathers-day/). My wife asked me for a recent photograph of Nora for a gift for me. I had no idea what it was going to be, but I printed a crop of her head from [my current favorite photo](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/4382200712/). That night, when she got back from daycare, she brought with her a very pleasant surprise.  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-fathers-day-gift/4454891865_8c6ed11457_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Father's Day Gift">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-fathers-day-gift/4454891865_6218752fd9.jpg" alt="Father's Day Gift"/>
</a>

 Here you go, Daddy!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-fathers-day-gift/4455678326_2d8bbee79e_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Father's Day Gift">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-fathers-day-gift/4455678326_40f9f74b9a.jpg" alt="Father's Day Gift"/>
</a>

 Thank you, Nora!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-fathers-day-gift/4454905221_51bca9934c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Father's Day Gift">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-fathers-day-gift/4454905221_1c841c45a7.jpg" alt="Father's Day Gift"/>
</a>

 She helped me unwrap the crinkly tissue paper.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-fathers-day-gift/4455692388_c59744380c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Father's Day Gift">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-fathers-day-gift/4455692388_67a267a4ec.jpg" alt="Father's Day Gift"/>
</a>

 Daddy's surprise. It was two gifts.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-fathers-day-gift/4455699332_5476d07304_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Father's Day Gift">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-fathers-day-gift/4455699332_0d26e94e91.jpg" alt="Father's Day Gift"/>
</a>

 The first was a card, which read:

> De tu mano voy a aprender lo que mañana voy a ser.
> 
> Feliz dí­a, papá!

Which translates to:

> From your hand I'm going to learn what tomorrow I will be.
> 
> Happy day, Dad!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-fathers-day-gift/4455706322_170dccb558_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Father's Day Gift">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-fathers-day-gift/4455706322_d974c5c131.jpg" alt="Father's Day Gift"/>
</a>

 And she "signed" the inside of the card.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-fathers-day-gift/4454944991_b64a963870_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Father's Day Gift">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-fathers-day-gift/4454944991_d982e3dd94.jpg" alt="Father's Day Gift"/>
</a>

 The other gift was a laminated ornament thing with a suction cup on it, presumably for hanging in the car, or on a window or something.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-fathers-day-gift/4454951379_0d232622f4_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Father's Day Gift">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-fathers-day-gift/4454951379_8c39c38d08.jpg" alt="Father's Day Gift"/>
</a>

 Daddy! You're doing it wrong!

Thank you, Nora, and thank you to your thoughtful daycare helpers for making this gift for me.


Father's Day Gift


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-noras-first-swim/4458054792_4ffffd41ed_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Cute at the pool">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-noras-first-swim/4458054792_e272580058_t.jpg" alt="Cute at the pool"/>
</a>

On the day before her first birthday, Nora went for the first time to a swimming pool. Armed with special "swimmy" diapers, a brand new bathing suit (an early birthday gift from her friend, Amy) and a love of water, she "dove right in", so to speak. I didn't go, so I can only relay what I heard from those in attendance. She was a little concerned at first about floating on her back, but eventually she got used to it. And then she was allowed to paddle around, supported by her mother's hand. When they arrived back home, Nora was in a deep slumber in her car seat. Swimming will do that to you.  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-noras-first-swim/4458032832_ab9517cda7_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="At the pool">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-noras-first-swim/4458032832_c857caf2ef.jpg" alt="At the pool"/>
</a>

 Weird clear stuff!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-noras-first-swim/4458038696_b77ac806e7_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="The backfloat freakout">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-noras-first-swim/4458038696_75f144807f.jpg" alt="The backfloat freakout"/>
</a>

 Initial freak-out.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-noras-first-swim/4457266865_9c491095bb_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Relaxed backfloat">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-noras-first-swim/4457266865_6085e94433.jpg" alt="Relaxed backfloat"/>
</a>

 More comfortable now.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-noras-first-swim/4458049264_d5075595dc_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Smiling Mermaids">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-noras-first-swim/4458049264_67310716fb.jpg" alt="Smiling Mermaids"/>
</a>

 Smiling with Mommy.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-noras-first-swim/4458062690_d4e46d5769_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Doing the crawl">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-noras-first-swim/4458062690_ea9d37f253.jpg" alt="Doing the crawl"/>
</a>

 Swimming like a fish.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-noras-first-swim/4458068910_a9203ce22f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Doing the crawl">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-23-noras-first-swim/4458068910_8a363e53b8.jpg" alt="Doing the crawl"/>
</a>

 Motoring around the pool.

With the exception of a fortnight of terror a few months ago, Nora has always liked bath time, so it seems natural that she would feel at home in the swimming pool. We hope to continue to take her to the pool when we go back to Spain.


Nora's First Swim


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-22-james-holman-robertson/4647771308_715c64d847_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="James Holman Robertson">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-22-james-holman-robertson/4647771308_56851365db_t.jpg" alt="James Holman Robertson"/>
</a>

On Friday, March 19, 2010, my beloved grandfather passed away, the day before his only great-granddaughter, Nora, was scheduled to fly, with her mother and me, to visit him. What saddens me most is the unfortunate circumstance that had given us hope for an encounter between my grandfather and Nora. His mind was sharp until the very end, but his hearing made communication difficult. His deterioration was slow, as he never really had any illnesses, and he was a good sport until the end. He was the favorite of all his nurses at the nursing home because he would nod in agreement to anything suggested, partly because of his poor hearing and partly because he was just such an agreeable person. I understand this completely because much of my initial charm to my Spanish family was based on my smiling and nodding and going along with whatever they suggested, when a lot of the time I had no idea what was being suggested.  Looking back, I can't believe how close I came to not [traveling to the US in last month](/2010/02/10/myrtle-beach-classic-2010/). I visited with him for a half hour on one of his better days. He recognized me and understood some of what I said. His [obituary in the Sunday paper](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/4456505975/sizes/l/) reads:

> James Holman Robertson, 95, died peacefully Friday, March 19, 2010, at the Grace Ridge Retirement Community.
> 
> Born in New York, on March 6, 1915, James attended public schools in Brooklyn and Queens, winning two medals in the 50-yard dash and one for a fire prevention essay. While in school, he worked afternoons and Saturdays for a fruit and produce merchant.
> 
> After graduating from high school in 1931, he worked in the filing department of a Wall Street law firm. In the evenings he attended New York University. He graduated in 1937 with a degree in accounting and with additional coursework in the humanities sufficient to qualify for acceptance into the English literature graduate program at the University of Michigan, where he earned his master of arts degree in 1938 and, after the war, his PhD in 1950.
> 
> In 1941, James married the only love of his life, Jean Belknap of Port Clinton, Ohio. Three months later he was drafted into the Army as a private, presumably for one year's service. Pearl Harbor changed everything. James was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in 1942, and went on to serve in England, France and Germany, ultimately as a major in General Omar Bradley's manpower personnel office.
> 
> After helping America win World War II, James and Jean settled down in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he spent the rest of his professional life serving the University of Michigan, working as a teaching fellow in English, assistant dean, professor of English and director of the Residential College. He retired in 1983.
> 
> James loved teaching, reading, writing, travel, the University of Michigan and his family. He wrote and published numerous articles about undergraduate education, two volumes of personal memoirs and dozens of travelogues entitled _Travels With Jean_.
> 
> Jim and Jean were active members of the St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Ann Arbor.
> 
> James is survived by two sons, Jamie Robertson and his wife, Lynne, of Madison, Wisconsin, and Jack Robertson and his wife Diane, of Charlottesville, Virginia; a daughter, Betsy Rasmussen and her husband Paul, of Morganton, North Carolina; grandchildren, Kate Robertson Van Susante, Andrew Robertson, Olivia Robertson, and Erik Rasmussen; great-granddaughter, Nora Rasmussen Matamoros; and cousins, nephews and nieces scattered across the U.S.
> 
> He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Betty Clarke; and his lovely wife, Jean.
> 
> In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to either [St. Andrews Episcopal Church](http://standrewsaa.org/index.php?page=online-pledging-and-donations) or the [Residential College at the University of Michigan](http://www.rc.lsa.umich.edu/html/3_1donate.htm).
> 
> A memorial service will be held in Ann Arbor later in the spring.

I don't expect to touch as many lives as positively as he did, being an academic leader, but if I could enjoy my job, travel, raise as wonderful a family, love my wife as much and as long as he did, and die peacefully at 95 like my grandfather has, I couldn't possibly ask any more of life.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-22-james-holman-robertson/4344469310_20f0be3df7_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Me and my grandfather">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-22-james-holman-robertson/4344469310_9b7a9ca64d.jpg" alt="Me and my grandfather"/>
</a>

 Me and my grandfather on February 3, 2010.


James Holman Robertson


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4442644123_bd659d9d69_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Treto Train Station">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4442644123_b1957521c8_t.jpg" alt="Treto Train Station"/>
</a>

A couple days ago the weather was nice, so I decided to walk across the iron bridge into the neighboring town of Treto. Partly because I don't think I've ever crossed the bridge on foot and partly because I was curious about the nearest train station. The bridge is a [well-known landmark](/2009/02/23/once-colindres-lottery-ticket/), designed by some French guy named Eiffel. It was a very pleasant walk.  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4443389658_b8a451543c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Colindres Harbor">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4443389658_b35181a9d4.jpg" alt="Colindres Harbor"/>
</a>

 First we passed Colindres' new marina, which just opened last year.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4443394516_0edeea5670_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ria Asón at low tide">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4443394516_6914599a1e.jpg" alt="Ria Asón at low tide"/>
</a>

 This is the Rio Asón on its way to the sea. It's the water the bridge is over.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4443399278_574ccdb1e9_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ria Asón at low tide">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4443399278_eeb29906f3.jpg" alt="Ria Asón at low tide"/>
</a>

 Looking back south towards the larger, more modern bridge that the main motorway goes over. All that marshy stuff over on the left is covered at high tide.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4443404870_62ccc2f793_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Iron Bridge in Colindres">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4443404870_6abcf2da95.jpg" alt="Iron Bridge in Colindres"/>
</a>

 Crossing the bridge.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4443407152_f1fa41308b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Treto Train Station">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4443407152_72e6563fc3.jpg" alt="Treto Train Station"/>
</a>

 A miniature model of the Treto train station. Possibly worth [viewing large](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/4443407152/sizes/l/).

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4442634313_50459fdd4a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="El Camino de la Costa">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4442634313_312f33b9ed.jpg" alt="El Camino de la Costa"/>
</a>

 A tiled information board suggests that going through here is a possible way to do the [_Camino de Santiago_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_of_St._James), the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. I've never heard of a railway pilgrimage before.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4442644123_bd659d9d69_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Treto Train Station">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4442644123_b1957521c8.jpg" alt="Treto Train Station"/>
</a>

 That pretty much sums it up.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4443425144_38cfaa59e8_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Railroad ties">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4443425144_4365d411dc.jpg" alt="Railroad ties"/>
</a>

 Railroad tie stock pile.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4442657449_1c85b079f2_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Train Tracks">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4442657449_9cdeb0bc82.jpg" alt="Train Tracks"/>
</a>

 Looking towards Bilbao.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4442652703_49a49f976f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sleeping in the sunshine">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4442652703_a652b7748f.jpg" alt="Sleeping in the sunshine"/>
</a>

 The journey across the bridge was too much for my traveling companion.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4443435606_cfc34f6dd5_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Boat on the Ria Asón">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-19-treto-train-station/4443435606_11e5ac6f00.jpg" alt="Boat on the Ria Asón"/>
</a>

 A boat on the way back home over the bridge.

I hope you enjoyed our little walk. We sure did.


Treto Train Station


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-18-flower-girl-or-rosquilla-monster/4440474499_fabe527600_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Playful smile">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-18-flower-girl-or-rosquilla-monster/4440474499_45cc23ff1c_t.jpg" alt="Playful smile"/>
</a>

Last weekend I was all alone. Marga and Nora went to visit Marga's parents in her hometown. While they were there, they went to some sort of festival where _migas_ were served. [_Migas_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migas) is a dish of fried bread crumbs, normally with some fried garlic, peppers or bacon mixed in. It's _delicious_! Apparently Nora enjoyed some _migas_ as well. She also tried some [_rosquillas_](/2009/01/27/rosquillas-spanish-doughnuts/), which are like Spanish doughnuts. What follows are some pictures my sister-in-law sent me of Nora's activities over the weekend.  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-18-flower-girl-or-rosquilla-monster/4443093740_9b0fc9c6f6_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="With Cousin Rubén">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-18-flower-girl-or-rosquilla-monster/4443093740_690b9d762a.jpg" alt="With Cousin Rubén"/>
</a>

 With her cousin Rubén. He has shown special interest in her from the start. Watching them together, you get the sense that he'll be a great dad some day.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-18-flower-girl-or-rosquilla-monster/4440474499_fabe527600_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Playful smile">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-18-flower-girl-or-rosquilla-monster/4440474499_45cc23ff1c.jpg" alt="Playful smile"/>
</a>

 Looking coy.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-18-flower-girl-or-rosquilla-monster/4441266578_8f45f77ae7_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Rosquilla Monster">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-18-flower-girl-or-rosquilla-monster/4441266578_00d8d80571.jpg" alt="Rosquilla Monster"/>
</a>

 Trying the _rosquilla_.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-18-flower-girl-or-rosquilla-monster/4441260310_17eae8551d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Rosquilla Monster">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-18-flower-girl-or-rosquilla-monster/4441260310_b8ae74094e.jpg" alt="Rosquilla Monster"/>
</a>

 _Rosquillas_ are Nora Approved.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-18-flower-girl-or-rosquilla-monster/4441328404_3fe6aa2e21_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Striped Nora">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-18-flower-girl-or-rosquilla-monster/4441328404_7546f75ec6.jpg" alt="Striped Nora"/>
</a>

 The _rosquillas_ are all gone!


Flower Girl or Rosquilla Monster?


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-17-inverse-parental-naming-theory/4016099509_2508b31836_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Nora Tongue">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-17-inverse-parental-naming-theory/4016099509_1a45fee699_t.jpg" alt="Nora Tongue"/>
</a>

For the longest time, my daughter could only make vowel sounds and diphthongs. Eventually, with the help of her fingers at first, she was able to control her tongue enough to make consonant sounds. Ma, pa, da, and ta were the first. It was her natural progression of learning. Her mother and I didn't help much beyond repeating what she had already said. Soon, it seemed like she was calling us Mama and Papa.  My wife speaks three languages: English, Spanish, and Basque. The common words that children use to refer to their mother and father in those languages are: .momdad { margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; } .momdad td, .momdad th { padding: 5px; text-align:center; } 

Mother

Father

English

mommy

daddy

Spanish

mamá

papá

Basque

ama

aita

My daughter quickly mastered the phonemes that make up all these words and often ordered them correctly. Of course we mainly noticed, and gave positive feedback, when she ordered them in a way with meaning.

Then one day my wife had an idea.

> **What if, rather than a child saying these words first because they refer to her parents...what if we have given those sounds the meanings we have specifically _because_ they are the first sounds a baby makes?**

Personally, I'm a sucker for paradigm-shifting outside-the-box ideas like this that flip cause and effect. I immediately fell in love with this idea.

Every family has some family member that has a nickname based on some child's inability to pronounce the person's real name. As a child, my wife struggled to pronounce the names of her Uncle Antonio and Aunt Manoli, and ever since they have been known, in her nuclear family, as Uncle Toto and Aunt Momi. This idea is the same sort of thing. We've adopted those meanings because that's what children say.

What I don't know is how well this theory holds up in other languages. The Romance languages use mostly ma and pa sounds, I think. What about Arabic or Chinese or Punjabi or Japanese?


Inverse Parental Naming Theory


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-16-talking-on-the-phone-while-driving/4435724322_cd47d41687_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Phone call from the Orbiter">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-16-talking-on-the-phone-while-driving/4435724322_4623c23c35_m.jpg" alt="Phone call from the Orbiter"/>
</a>

Probably the very first mimicking Nora ever did of a behavior she saw in us that we weren't intentionally trying to get her to mimic was her intuitive understanding that it was important, for some reason she didn't understand, to hold the television remote control in your hand. It was just something that was beneficial to have in your possession. She's done that for months now. Only recently, however, she has become fascinated with telephones. From her point of view, it must seem that, every so often, a grownup will hold a telephone to their ear and talk, sometimes pausing to listen, and generally devoting all their attention to the telephone. I'm certain that she doesn't understand that it's a device for communicating with another person that's not in the room. She's nowhere near that level of cognition.  But she does know how to mimic what she sees us do, which is to hold the phone up to her ear, or sometimes just in front of her face, and say "ya ya ya ya ya!" into it. It's very "Charlie Brown's teacher". And sometimes she scrunches up her face like she's listening seriously, before continuing to talk.

Another expression she's picked up lately is one of opening her eyes and mouth as wide as possible. It cracks me up every single time. She does it twice in the video below.

In the walker, she can manage a few steps forward if you dangle a sufficiently enticing carrot in front of her, but sometimes she loses control and zooms backwards like a Toyota Camry in reverse, plowing into whatever unlucky obstacle happens to be found behind her.


Talking on the phone while driving


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-15-spring-rears-its-fragrant-head/4434953447_66470d66b4_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Bring on the Spring, baby!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-15-spring-rears-its-fragrant-head/4434953447_6d02345aea_t.jpg" alt="Bring on the Spring, baby!"/>
</a>

This morning the clouds parted, the sun came out, and it was actually rather pleasant out. Not as nice as the t-shirt weather we had before the snowfall last week, but very agreeable despite the chill wind. I had taken my camera with me – something I rarely do anymore – so I was particularly attuned to the appearance of flowers around town. Spring brings so much hope for good times ahead. Below are a few photos I took along with a dash of random content thrown in for good measure.  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-15-spring-rears-its-fragrant-head/4435715978_f018264380_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Wispy Hair">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-15-spring-rears-its-fragrant-head/4435715978_163d3d32dc_b.jpg" alt="Wispy Hair"/>
</a>

 I took this a couple weeks ago when I noticed how nice Nora's hair looked silhouetted against the bright overcast sky. My eye could pick up a blond glow that the camera could not.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-15-spring-rears-its-fragrant-head/4434953447_66470d66b4_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Bring on the Spring, baby!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-15-spring-rears-its-fragrant-head/4434953447_6d02345aea.jpg" alt="Bring on the Spring, baby!"/>
</a>

 This turned out better than I expected considering how small the flower was and how I took less than a second to prepare and snap the shot.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-15-spring-rears-its-fragrant-head/4435733928_3fe4231866_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Bench">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-15-spring-rears-its-fragrant-head/4435733928_31a0c298cb.jpg" alt="Bench"/>
</a>

 This bench is pretty awesome. In my opinion, we don't spend nearly enough time these days lying around half-naked drinking wine poured by a servant. I'm gonna start a club.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-15-spring-rears-its-fragrant-head/4435737044_b84db2bb42_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Butane Sweater">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-15-spring-rears-its-fragrant-head/4435737044_43e74e4c11.jpg" alt="Butane Sweater"/>
</a>

 My mother-in-law calls this my "butane sweater" because it's the same exact color as the ubiquitous butane tanks that are still delivered to houses in Spain without a gas line.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-15-spring-rears-its-fragrant-head/4435730374_da0ba2f9b8_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Blossom">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-15-spring-rears-its-fragrant-head/4435730374_5d20e46c87.jpg" alt="Blossom"/>
</a>

 The trees are blossoming! Bring on the Spring!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-15-spring-rears-its-fragrant-head/4434951855_73e10beb37_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Zebra Girl">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-15-spring-rears-its-fragrant-head/4434951855_357c0a69a1.jpg" alt="Zebra Girl"/>
</a>

 Zebra Girl. If you do a [Google Images search for Eeyore](http://images.google.com/images?q=eeyore), you'll find that he's often depicted in this position.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-15-spring-rears-its-fragrant-head/4434963829_0ea991b287_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Flower Boat">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-15-spring-rears-its-fragrant-head/4434963829_7874aefcbb.jpg" alt="Flower Boat"/>
</a>

 I like to think of these flowers as navigating to some faraway destination.


Spring Rears Its Fragrant Head


Well, Nora, here we are, less than ten days until your first birthday, and I must say that you're a little on the slow side. Other kids that were born with you in March (or even April and May!) are pulling themselves up to a standing position, and some have a smattering of vocabulary. And you, my dear, _can't even crawl_!

This is nothing new. Over the past year, you've shown nothing if not a chronic, systematic laziness that makes sloths look hyperactive by comparison. Pretty much ever since I cut your umbilical cord on that cool March morning, you've been annoyed that the world has had nothing but expectations of you to do stuff. [You refused to breast feed](/2009/03/28/sucking-at-sucking/), instead preferring to have the milk [dropped into your gaping mouth](/2009/04/02/hitting-the-bottle/) requiring you only to swallow. The only thing you learned faster than your contemporaries was to [turn yourself over onto your back](/2009/11/09/how-to-roll-over-a-tutorial-for-babies/), thus requiring less effort in the long run. Your future looks bright as a welfare mooch. This evening, I caught you gazing at Mommy and Daddy's university diplomas hanging on the wall. When I told you that getting one of those requires a lot of effort, you puckered your face in that new way you do when you're angry.

We'd be more disappointed with you if you weren't the single most beautiful human being on the planet. If you were uglier, you'd have a bigger problem on your hands, but the culture you were born into allows for pretty blond women to do pretty well for themselves without much effort.

And it's not that you're inactive. Quite the contrary! Some babies I've seen sit around all day without lifting a finger. They're the ones that look like they ate the Michelin man. You are completely the opposite. You kick and thrash all day. One thing that you do that amazes me is how when you're on your back, you lift your legs up high in the air and bring them down with such force that your entire lower back is lifted off the floor. You have abs of steel and heels as hard as diamonds. Your mother has known for well over a year now that you were a kickboxer trapped inside a baby's body. It's no wonder [she thought you were a calf](/2009/02/13/conversations-with-a-pregnant-woman-episode-4-dont-have-a-cow/). With all this thrashing about, you burn every single calorie that you ingest, thus causing your only real medical problem: _You have weighed 7.4 kg (16 lbs) for over six months!!_ Since [before you could sit up](/2009/11/08/an-f-in-sitting/), you haven't gained an ounce! I would be more worried about this problem if you didn't look so darned healthy to me.

To be honest, I'm not really all that worried about you. Some flowers bloom later than others. Everybody learns to walk eventually. As long as you can teeter around bipedally and understand a few phrases by the time it's time to start kindergarten, you should be fine.

I include, as evidence of your physical prowess and mental intellect, the following two videos. The first shows your chosen mode of locomotion around the living room floor and your ability to mimic a tongue clicking sound. The second shows the extent of your verbal skills.

At the beginning of the second video, you're not pooping, even though it may appear that way to many viewers. Your deuce dropping grunts are completely different. This is just a growl of frustration you've figured out how to do.


Sloth


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-12-proporta-product-reviews/4403701799_4c787d64f3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Ted Baker Leather Case (Apple iPhone 3G Series)">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-12-proporta-product-reviews/4403701799_d35dfe0bc9_t.jpg" alt="Ted Baker Leather Case (Apple iPhone 3G Series)"/>
</a>

 by erikrasmussen, on Flickr")Several weeks ago, I was contacted by a representative of [Proporta.com](http://www.proporta.com/affiliate/ERIKSBLOG), a manufacturer of cases and accessories for mobile phones, asking if I would be willing to review three of their products on my blog. I'm always up for new internet experiences, so I agreed. I scanned [their website](http://www.proporta.com/affiliate/ERIKSBLOG) to find the most expensive products that might benefit me. I found nothing over £30. I ended up choosing an [Antimicrobial Silicone Case with SteriTouch for the iPhone 3G](http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4845&t_mode=des&affiliate=ERIKSBLOG), a [Ted Baker Leather iPhone 3G Case](http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4169&t_mode=des&affiliate=ERIKSBLOG), and a [Handy Travel Bundle](http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4848&t_mode=des&affiliate=ERIKSBLOG). I chose the travel bundle because the week before I had lost my airline audio jack and I also needed a new wallet.  I was still somewhat dubious that I was a famous enough blogger to receive free products in the mail, but sure enough, a package arrived in a couple days with my products in it, all except for the [Leather Memory Wallet](http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4437&t_mode=des&affiliate=ERIKSBLOG) that was supposed to be part of the [Handy Travel Bundle](http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4848&t_mode=des&affiliate=ERIKSBLOG), which they promised to rectify. I immediately began trying out the new iPhone cases.

Before I begin the reviews, I'd like to mention something. Personally, I don't know anyone who uses a naked iPhone (I call that "going commando"). The fact that everyone uses a case of some kind is pretty good evidence that the sleek nice-for-the-eyes backing of the iPhone is actually not very practical. It's just too slippery. It will slide out of your pocket or hands very easily, which is not something you want your high-end mobile phone to do. There are soft cases, leather cases, and hard plastic cases. Shortly after purchasing my iPhone, I, without much thought on the matter, purchased a [Griffin Clarifi](http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/clarifi) case, which has a built in close-up lens. I have been very happy with this product, even though the lens is sometimes hard to clean.

So that's where I'm coming from when I began to test out [Proporta](http://www.proporta.com/affiliate/ERIKSBLOG)'s products.

## [Antimicrobial Silicone Case with SteriTouch for the iPhone 3G](http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4845&t_mode=des&affiliate=ERIKSBLOG)

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-12-proporta-product-reviews/4403687075_fabda5ebc2_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Proporta Antimicrobial Silicone Case with SteriTouch (Apple iPhone 3G)">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-12-proporta-product-reviews/4403687075_c7183318eb.jpg" alt="Proporta Antimicrobial Silicone Case with SteriTouch (Apple iPhone 3G)"/>
</a>

 by erikrasmussen, on Flickr") The silicone case with its paper insert next to my naked iPhone.

For no good reason, I decided to replace the anti-scratch film on my iPhone's screen that had come with my Clarifi with the identical one included in the [Antimicrobial Silicone Case](http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4845&t_mode=des&affiliate=ERIKSBLOG). The case does what it promises.

- It makes the iPhone less slippery
- It prevents scratches from casual drops or bumps.

After a couple days of use, however, I began to get annoyed by two main problems.

1. The silicone backing becomes a magnet for pocket lint, which is hard to brush off of the case.
2. The case doesn't fit quite snugly enough around the phone. Particularly down at the bottom where there is only a fine strip between the hole for the USB connector and the main button. When you press the button, the silicone case moves a little bit and generally gives the sensation that it's going to fall off.

I suspect that these complains are true of _all_ silicone soft cases, and that it is not a particular problem with this case from Proporta.

## [Ted Baker Leather iPhone 3G Case](http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4169&t_mode=des&affiliate=ERIKSBLOG)

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-12-proporta-product-reviews/4403701799_4c787d64f3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ted Baker Leather Case (Apple iPhone 3G Series)">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-12-proporta-product-reviews/4403701799_d35dfe0bc9.jpg" alt="Ted Baker Leather Case (Apple iPhone 3G Series)"/>
</a>

 by erikrasmussen, on Flickr")

Personally I have no idea who Ted Baker is, but when my wife saw it, she said, "Oooh! A Ted Baker case!", so I guess handbag-aware women might be impressed. The quality of the case is very impressive. The leather screams elegance. And there's something very appealing about the wrist motion to flip up the cover to use the iPhone.

My only complaint about the [Ted Baker case](http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4169&t_mode=des&affiliate=ERIKSBLOG) is that it makes touching controls on the edges of the screen rather difficult, which is pretty important for doing anything with the onscreen keyboard. Several times during the week I used it, I found myself removing the iPhone from the case (which is very easy, by the way) to type an email before placing it back inside for protection and reading of email.

After a week of normal use, the snaps that seemed so pleasingly crisp when I first began using the case began to get stubborn to unsnap. And eventually one of them broke off. Remember that this is after only one week. Proporta assures me that all their products come with a lifetime warranty and that, due to the handmade nature of this particular product, defects sometimes occur.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-12-proporta-product-reviews/4403698335_6551bfdff0_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ted Baker Leather Case (Apple iPhone 3G Series) broken snap">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-12-proporta-product-reviews/4403698335_1188771196.jpg" alt="Ted Baker Leather Case (Apple iPhone 3G Series) broken snap"/>
</a>

 broken snap by erikrasmussen, on Flickr") The broken snap on my [Ted Baker iPhone 3G case](http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4169&t_mode=des&affiliate=ERIKSBLOG).

If leather cases were my thing, I would definitely buy and use this product. But I just don't like the extra unsnapping and flipping motion every time I want to use my phone. However if you like leather cases and you want to look like an elegant executive when you use your iPhone, I highly recommend the [Ted Baker iPhone 3G case](http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4169&t_mode=des&affiliate=ERIKSBLOG) from Proporta.

## [Handy Travel Bundle](http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4848&t_mode=des&affiliate=ERIKSBLOG)

The third item I chose to review was the Handy Travel Bundle, which consists of an [Airline Headphone Adapter](http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=3435&t_mode=des&affiliate=ERIKSBLOG), which lets you listen to movies on an airplane without paying the 5€ ridiculous fee the airline offers you, a leather [Passport Holder](http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4396&t_mode=des&affiliate=ERIKSBLOG), and a [Leather Memory Wallet](http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4437&t_mode=des&affiliate=ERIKSBLOG). I have not yet been on an airplane, so I have not been able to test the audio adapter, but it looks just like my old one. The passport holder is quite nice and will come in very handy in displaying the picture page of my passport in the future. The memory wallet...well... You see, the memory wallet never actually arrived...

## Shipping Confusion

First they sent me the entire Handy Travel Bundle except for the Memory Wallet. I wrote back that the whole shipment had arrived except for the one item, and my contact apologized and said she'd send the Memory Wallet immediately.

A week later, I had a package in the mail from Proporta, but rather than the Memory Wallet, they had sent me another Passport Holder. I reported this to my contact and she asked if I'd send it back to them. I told her that I wasn't willing to pay postage out of my own wallet (not a memory wallet) for Proporta's mistake, but that if she'd like to send a courier, I'd give it to them. She said I could keep the Passport Holder and that they'd send the Memory Wallet.

Shortly after this interaction, out of professional curiosity, I began examining the product ids listed for the products I'd ordered on their website and the ones listed on the invoice. The Passport Holder had the same product id as the Memory Wallet! That would make it pretty easy to mistake one for the other in their shipping database. I informed my contact of my discoveries and she passed my information on to the web developer. Managing databases full of products and the website that displays them and takes and organizes orders is what I do, so I understand that sometimes mistakes like this can happen (although I'd never _ever_ have two products with the same id – that's an extremely amateur mistake).

Another week goes by and I get another package in the mail, and what do I find inside? A [Leather Wallet - Limited Edition (St. Patrick's Day)](http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=4476&t_mode=des&affiliate=ERIKSBLOG). Well blimey!

I emailed Proporta and told them that with their third strike, they're out. I don't really want a Leather Memory Wallet. I just chose the Travel Bundle because I needed the audio adapter and as a bundle, it seemed like more free stuff. Within a half hour I received a call from my contact apologizing again. She said that the Memory Wallet was out of stock and she had, without contacting me, chosen a similar product based on the upcoming holiday. At the very least some sort of "We didn't have X, so we sent you Y. We hope you don't mind." note should have been included on the invoice.

The St. Patrick's Day wallet is actually very nice, and of high quality. If I hadn't just bought a new wallet this week, I might use it for a while. At least now I have a backup.

## Conclusion

Proporta's products are very nice. The level of quality and detail is very high. While some mistakes may be made and flaws found, they are very professional about it and, most important of all, actually stand by the motto "The customer is always right." Not all companies do so, and Proporta deserves some respect.

However, none of their products really interest me, so I don't think I'll be using any of them in the long term except perhaps the passport holder. Really, Proporta, it's not you, it's me.

Time to put my Griffin Clarifi back on my iPhone....


Proporta Product Reviews


[![ducky](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-add-homonym/1383507678_e45849d717_t.jpg)](http://www.flickr.com/photos/honeyjazz/1383507678/)Today during bathtime, I was trying to teach my daughter to say "_hola_". I've decided that "hello" is more complicated because of the H sound, and a Spanish salutation is going to be more useful around town, so we're starting with Spanish. Her big problem is that the O vowel sound still eludes her, so I make a special effort to exaggerate the O, showing the shape of my mouth when I say it. OOOOO-la!

I was repeating, "_Hola_. _Hola_. _Hola_. _Hola_. _Hola_. _Hola_..."

Rather than repeat after me, she made a big movement, pushing her body out of the water and letting it fall back, sending waves up over the edge of the tub.

"Not that kind of _ola_," I said.

For, you see, the word for a wave in water is "_ola_", which sounds just like the greeting with the silent H, "_hola_".


Add Homonym


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417974694_f8312b7508_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Harbor from castle walls">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417974694_078033e7e7_t.jpg" alt="Harbor from castle walls"/>
</a>

To take a break from the [517th Annual Arrival Festival](/2010/03/09/fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/), we walked up to the Monte Real Castle that looks out over the Baiona harbor and also towards the Atlantic Ocean. It houses the _Parador de Baiona_, which is a ritzy four-star hotel and restaurant. A double room with a view is only 266€ per night! [Their marketing video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odkJyOhc0ZU) is very well done. What had been an overcast day opened up and shed sunlight on most of our visit to the little peninsula fortress. Once we got up to admire the view, we found a stone bench to sit, and then lie, down on for a short siesta in the sunshine. All that [walking, wine and octopus](/2010/03/09/fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/) really knocked me out. So I can honestly say that I slept at the _Parador de Baiona_. Cat nap over, we continued all along the castle walls. Medieval castles are a lot of fun.  

<iframe width="505" height="450" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&amp;source=s_q&amp;hl=en&amp;geocode=&amp;sll=37.0625,-95.677068&amp;sspn=57.379893,73.300781&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;hq=&amp;t=k&amp;ll=42.12506,-8.850131&amp;spn=0.014323,0.021629&amp;z=15&amp;output=embed"></iframe>

The historical information I can find on the internet about the Monte Real Castle claims that Julius Caesar's legions first noticed its strategic position in 60 AD. Surely news of his death in 44 BC could travel from Rome to western Iberia in less than 104 years, so I'm thinking maybe they weren't really his legions anymore. Whatever castle was there was destroyed by [an Arab dude](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Mansur_Ibn_Abi_Aamir) in the tenth century and quickly rebuilt by [Alfonso V of León](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_V_of_Le%C3%B3n).

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417981046_845fc2d2ba_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Montereal Castle Panorama">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417981046_606bbc9224.jpg" alt="Montereal Castle Panorama"/>
</a>

 The views were _unbelievable_! Must be [seen large](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/4417981046/sizes/l/).

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417974694_f8312b7508_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Harbor from castle walls">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417974694_078033e7e7.jpg" alt="Harbor from castle walls"/>
</a>

 The view down to the harbor.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417222341_46c9da6231_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Montereal Cannons">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417222341_3761fa9115_b.jpg" alt="Montereal Cannons"/>
</a>

 Cannons.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417234891_3a4735e26a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="King of the Castle">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417234891_14224773c5.jpg" alt="King of the Castle"/>
</a>

 King of the castle.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4418017434_7a0102e51b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Queen of the Castle">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4418017434_8035922164.jpg" alt="Queen of the Castle"/>
</a>

 Queen of the castle.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417238961_3dedb251b2_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Part-time sweater model">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417238961_42d742053e.jpg" alt="Part-time sweater model"/>
</a>

 The king moonlights as a part-time sweater model.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4418012022_930ea91392_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="King and Queen">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4418012022_da938e2258.jpg" alt="King and Queen"/>
</a>

 King and queen at arms length.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417267443_42887e377f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Queen of the Castle">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417267443_d95fdb2eac.jpg" alt="Queen of the Castle"/>
</a>

 Surveying the perimeter.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417273079_608db6f5d1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Turret Gull">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417273079_5f432f7471_b.jpg" alt="Turret Gull"/>
</a>

 Turret gull had the best view.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417289601_8171723807_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Montereal Western View Panorama">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417289601_8520a6581d.jpg" alt="Montereal Western View Panorama"/>
</a>

 Looking west towards the ocean. [View large](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/4417289601/sizes/l/). The cross was really symmetrical, but got distorted in the panorama stitching.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417354345_f17325238d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Baiona from Montereal Castle">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4417354345_cd01bd54b4.jpg" alt="Baiona from Montereal Castle"/>
</a>

 Looking back down at the town of Baiona. [View large](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/4417354345/sizes/l/).

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4418109252_cf5e17d646_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Castle Wall">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-11-monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/4418109252_12f3b9d437.jpg" alt="Castle Wall"/>
</a>

 One last glance towards the New World before heading back to town to continue [celebrating The Pinta's return](/2010/03/09/fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/).


Monte Real Castle in Baiona, Galicia


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417834188_20f4552830_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Bayona 1493">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417834188_44f65e70a9_t.jpg" alt="Bayona 1493"/>
</a>

On Saturday, March 6, 2010, I attended the 517th annual _Fest da Arribada_ ("Arrival Festival" in the Galician language) in Baiona, Galicia. In the port of that small town, 517 years ago, on March 1, 1493, a boat called _La Pinta_ returned to Spain bringing news of a New World to the west, filled with bizarre mostly naked humans, corn, potatoes, peppers, tobacco, tequila and cowboys. It was the first of Christopher Columbus' ships to return, and, should your childhood textbooks be believed (they absolutely should not!), the first proof that the Earth was not round. Normally Spaniards need little to no provocation to have a celebration, so there's been no stopping this party for half a millennium!  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4416924231_2365f87b85_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Baiona Beach Panorama">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4416924231_55fb3fccbf.jpg" alt="Baiona Beach Panorama"/>
</a>

 This was our first view of picturesque Baiona when we parked the car. [View large](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/4416924231/sizes/l/). I liked the way the waves bounced off the town and back to the beach.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4416933703_105f4cfae1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Los Hollister">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4416933703_213e0420e0.jpg" alt="Los Hollister"/>
</a>

 In the first market we came to, they were selling books by the kilogram, 3.33 €/kg. Marga found this book of [The Happy Hollisters](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Happy_Hollisters), the children's series that lead to her fascination with Denmark, which lead to her choosing Denmark as a country to take her [Erasmus grant](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus_Programme), which lead to her meeting me. Thank you, Andrew E. Svenson!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4416944427_ae9662d594_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Festival Goers">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4416944427_3eb0bc99ed.jpg" alt="Festival Goers"/>
</a>

 We got their fairly early in the morning (that's 12:00 noon in Spain) and we were able to wander around unimpeded, but soon the narrow medieval streets begin to swell with crowds. Tens of thousands of visitors swarmed to the town with a population of 11,000.

WARNING! After this point, the images contained herein may induce extreme hunger.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417704320_97c188ff05_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pig on a spit">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417704320_36b9b547bc.jpg" alt="Pig on a spit"/>
</a>

 The smell emanating from this crispy spinning swine was _amazing_. This is the "before" picture...if you catch my drift.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417714570_c62e4f71a7_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Strawberry tarts">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417714570_bddf55b5f8.jpg" alt="Strawberry tarts"/>
</a>

 The newspaper said there were 130 different stalls selling either food or homemade crafts.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4416959867_bfdf9bb106_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Homemade toys">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4416959867_d9ee7952c1.jpg" alt="Homemade toys"/>
</a>

 Sometimes the same toys that entertained children a millennium ago are still fun.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4416973125_463b1a01e3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Baiona Town Hall">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4416973125_191b7e4605.jpg" alt="Baiona Town Hall"/>
</a>

 We arrived at the town hall square just in time for a bagpipe concert.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417733090_5a683438bf_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Bagpipers">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417733090_d90e01c576.jpg" alt="Bagpipers"/>
</a>

 I love seeing young people adopting these traditional instruments and crafts.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417771376_eb34c0a765_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Glass Blower">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417771376_ddebe34c68.jpg" alt="Glass Blower"/>
</a>

 This glass blower was truly amazing. I think it must have been my first glass blowing demonstration, because I was...er...blown away.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417767518_e8416d963a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Glass Candies (made entirely of glass)">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417767518_d036059f1c.jpg" alt="Glass Candies (made entirely of glass)"/>
</a>

 by erikrasmussen, on Flickr") These were all made entirely of glass.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417785108_38b7ed67ac_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Glass Blower">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417785108_db07d79a28.jpg" alt="Glass Blower"/>
</a>

 I wouldn't put my finger in there.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417796816_d9b1ea6c89_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Potter">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417796816_4077de54be.jpg" alt="Potter"/>
</a>

 This potter was very impressive too. His wheel was entirely manual, no foot pedals or gears or anything.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417064877_9176834a52_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Souvenir Wine Jug">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417064877_df1297d188.jpg" alt="Souvenir Wine Jug"/>
</a>

 A souvenir wine jug. From MCDXCIII to MMX!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417075665_78560b261d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Daggers">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417075665_e6c861f545.jpg" alt="Daggers"/>
</a>

 I always get a little rush of testosterone when I see the sword and dagger booth.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417081361_694a1b47d6_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Octopus">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417081361_2f725a03a6.jpg" alt="Octopus"/>
</a>

 Octopus for lunch! But not yet...

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417092853_89f0c8a273_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Crepes">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417092853_920608d243.jpg" alt="Crepes"/>
</a>

 A crepe maker. _Crepier_?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417869122_501ddebfc9_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Chorizo">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417869122_e1fcfff345.jpg" alt="Chorizo"/>
</a>

 Lots and lots of chorizo.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417138173_4118c9c9db_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Chorizo on the grill">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417138173_d0ef1be1ee.jpg" alt="Chorizo on the grill"/>
</a>

 On the grill.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417125965_0f43a4ee73_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Shish Kebabs">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417125965_1495f15527.jpg" alt="Shish Kebabs"/>
</a>

 If only I could embed smell onto a web page...

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417154185_39fb1eaeff_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sausages and Ribs">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417154185_0e969ecd71.jpg" alt="Sausages and Ribs"/>
</a>

 Sausages and ribs. I warned you, didn't I?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417159821_c4ba063ffc_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Octopus Lunch">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417159821_78e5749dd3.jpg" alt="Octopus Lunch"/>
</a>

 This was our octopus lunch, with bowls of wine.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417148885_d8820bc5d1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Stilt Clowns">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417148885_ab35a496c8.jpg" alt="Stilt Clowns"/>
</a>

 Some amazingly talented stilt walkers traveled the crowd with a band of drummers.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417171997_24e82822c1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Coke cans in brown paper">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417171997_3ec8025b1b.jpg" alt="Coke cans in brown paper"/>
</a>

 This was the funniest thing to me. Because everything was medieval, and all the plates and cups were earthenware, some people had the idea to wrap Coke cans and bottles of water in brown paper to make them blend in better. Talk about brown bagging!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417179697_d7c037936b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Medieval Mickey">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417179697_4038b8d26a.jpg" alt="Medieval Mickey"/>
</a>

 And no medieval festival would be complete without a balloon animal folding Mickey Mouse.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417931360_e2685c9195_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Frogs made of sand">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417931360_1610b3b098.jpg" alt="Frogs made of sand"/>
</a>

 Some sand creatures, made entirely out of sand. They were very lightweight. According to the woman selling them, they are entirely the invention of her husband who worked in a quarry. It's not regular beach sand, you see, it's fine pure sand chipped from rocks at the quarry that, when mixed with the right quantity of H2O forms a malleable substance that can be pressed into molds and baked hard. Fascinating.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417965260_68b83e19e4_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Hawk">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417965260_04f9c33a8a.jpg" alt="Hawk"/>
</a>

 There's no such thing as a medieval festival in Spain without the local falconer and his hawks and owls.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417896302_c3a3c3bf1c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Creepy Puppets">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417896302_53ab9c3ef7.jpg" alt="Creepy Puppets"/>
</a>

 The puppet displays always creep me out. How do you get a kid to put down his Nintendo DS and play with one of these things?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4418135220_62d21bd39a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Medieval Ladies">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4418135220_eeb80b2bd9.jpg" alt="Medieval Ladies"/>
</a>

 There were many, many people dressed in medieval garb. Personally, I like that style of clothing a lot.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417361449_e6a3e787ea_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="The Pinta in Baiona">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417361449_08586e8ecf.jpg" alt="The Pinta in Baiona"/>
</a>

 There was a replica of The Pinta in the harbor.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4418170036_d7e7e95882_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Aboard the Pinta">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4418170036_fdab6fc243.jpg" alt="Aboard the Pinta"/>
</a>

 We paid a euro to go aboard. For your benefit. Seriously, click on an ad or something.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4418140960_8c608bcdb0_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Native Americans brought back in The Pinta">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4418140960_c86827354d.jpg" alt="Native Americans brought back in The Pinta"/>
</a>

 The Pinta had these Native American people in the hold along with the foreign products they called maize.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417455225_01c983b354_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Musicians">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417455225_a653c753ed.jpg" alt="Musicians"/>
</a>

 These musicians were playing in one corner of town.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417460367_bf988feb9c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Hurdy gurdy">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417460367_0a9c9b112f.jpg" alt="Hurdy gurdy"/>
</a>

 I had never seen anything like this instrument. [Simon](http://simonlitton.wordpress.com/), in the comments, has informed me that it is a [hurdy gurdy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurdy_gurdy), also known as a wheel fiddle.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4418231684_ff84a92e0b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Festival Goers">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4418231684_c51b37277f.jpg" alt="Festival Goers"/>
</a>

 By the end of the day, the streets were packed!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4418185138_960fa4cde6_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pig Head on Spit">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4418185138_0a88df31e0.jpg" alt="Pig Head on Spit"/>
</a>

 Remember that entire pig from before? This is what was left of it a few hours later.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417471579_b04f5896a0_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Torture Sarcophagus">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4417471579_c12c654fa2.jpg" alt="Torture Sarcophagus"/>
</a>

 We visited a torture exhibit that gives more than enough meaning to Marcellus Wallace's catchphrase. This was a spiked sarcophagus in which people were placed to slowly bleed to death, screaming over the course of four or five days. This was one of the kinder tools on display. Most of the crimes being punished had to do with not being a Catholic heterosexual male. I'm still trying to forget what I saw there. It was kind of a downer at the end of our day, kind of like it is at the end of this post.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4418179412_ede19043e8_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Baiona Harbor Panorama">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/4418179412_f6971b2078.jpg" alt="Baiona Harbor Panorama"/>
</a>

 If you [view large](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/4418179412/sizes/l/), here you'll see people lined up along the edge of the water to watch a jousting competition (they rooted for the white knight and booed the black knight) on the beach at the end of the harbor. And just beyond the beach you'll see the Monte Real Castle, which [we went up to visit](/2010/03/11/monte-real-castle-in-baiona-galicia/).


Fiesta de la Arribada - Baiona


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4420033304_e335c76a60_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Octopus Plate">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4420033304_c5cfaf1e63_t.jpg" alt="Octopus Plate"/>
</a>

This past weekend, we went to Vigo, Galicia, on the Atlantic coast of Spain near the Portugal border. On Thursday morning, we got up early, left The Wee One with my in-laws, and drove seven hours west to the province of Galicia. That afternoon, I worked like normal, feeling extra worldly burning a charred spot on a hotel desk with my laptop, while Marga studied for a test about Project Management or some such thing. On Friday morning, she went to take her test and I worked all morning, except for when I when I went out for a brief _cafe con leche_ and a _palmera_ pastry for breakfast. Friday afternoon, I worked some more and then went out to meet Marga and walk around the city.  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4419998452_8b75395d8a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Hotel Atlantico">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4419998452_3cca0dc42c.jpg" alt="Hotel Atlantico"/>
</a>

 Our hotel was right in the central bar and restaurant district of the city. The window at the top left was our fifth floor room.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4419219889_e2db794851_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Hotel Neon">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4419219889_21120a9b86.jpg" alt="Hotel Neon"/>
</a>

 Looking down at the neon "Hotel \*\*" sign from our room.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4419223623_65d0a67fb5_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Church across the street">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4419223623_9fe038b12f.jpg" alt="Church across the street"/>
</a>

 This nice church was across the street from our hotel.

That evening, we went out for a few beers. Marga chose the first place, and, along with our beers, they gave us a big bowl of potato chips and a plate of little breads with meat and cheese toppings. All free, mind you.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4419254201_d3696ba9bb_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Snacks with beer">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4419254201_5ec1dc123c.jpg" alt="Snacks with beer"/>
</a>

 All we ordered and paid for were the two beers.

At the next bar we visited, they gave us a bowl of lentil soup. And then, after we finished the soup and the waiter took our bowls away, another waitress came and gave us some more, thinking that we hadn't had any yet. When we looked surprised, she realized her error and let us keep the extra bowls anyway. Legume score!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4420023586_c34e4da3ff_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Lentils with beer">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4420023586_b818e958ae.jpg" alt="Lentils with beer"/>
</a>

 Beer and lentils!

Afterwards, we found an Italian pizzeria and took a seat. I needed a restroom, so I asked the waiter, "Los baños?" To which he responded, "I don't know, I've never used one." To my confused expression, he said, in English, "Up the stairs and to the left," and then repeated it in Spanish in case he'd misguessed my identity. Throughout the meal, we watched him joke jovially with all his customers. His sense of humor was superb. Poking fun, but careful not to offend. When later he asked if I'd found the restroom okay, I told him, "No, so I just peed in a corner." That sort of response was all he needed to open the humor valve with us. When he asked us a yes/no question, we responded, "_Oui oui_," and he immediately switched to fluent French. We said "_Danke!_", and he switched to fluent German. Turns out the guy is a polyglot with at least eight or nine fluent languages who claims to only know them from traveling. And somehow he's a waiter (owner?) of a pizzeria in Vigo. Crazy!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4420005720_b517c0a8a0_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Marga consoles faceplant sculpture">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4420005720_f817824d84.jpg" alt="Marga consoles faceplant sculpture"/>
</a>

 Marga thought this "faceplant" sculpture could use some cheering up.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4419246205_c2c1cac517_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Antipodas - teaching kids about antipods">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4419246205_56200a0dfd.jpg" alt="Antipodas - teaching kids about antipods"/>
</a>

 We stopped in this children's book store to look for books for Nora, but many of them were in _gallego_, the Galician language. This one caught my eye. I didn't learn the word [antipodes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipodes) until I was 25!

During our walk on Friday evening, we stopped by the tourism office, but it was closed. We did see, however, a poster advertising the 517th annual _Festa da Arribada_ in the nearby town of Baiona. After consulting a friend from Vigo on Saturday morning, we decided to go see the 517th [_Festa da Arribada_](/2010/03/09/fiesta-de-la-arribada-baiona/).

Exhausted from walking all day on Saturday, we found a nearby restaurant where we could have a _mariscada_, a platter of local shellfish. In general, I find shellfish annoying because it feels like you're burning more calories to get at the dang meat than the meat is providing you. And one of the (dead and cooked) crab's natural defenses actually drew blood from my thumb. I ate him anyway.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4420026750_521aa6f5a4_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Seafood Platter">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4420026750_ab2a1b5b40.jpg" alt="Seafood Platter"/>
</a>

 Our seafood platter.

On our way back east on Sunday we picked a random town at lunch time and decided to stop to eat. I did some iPhone magic to investigate restaurants, the town's population, and info on history of the nearby castle while we were still 30 km away. We ended up in Podunkville, Galicia, in a town called [_Verí­n_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ver%C3%ADn). They say you can see Portugal from the hilltop castle. The restaurant that Google lead me to was non-existent, but we asked a local pastry shop girl, and she directed us to an amazing little restaurant hidden in a dark corner of town. We took the opportunity to have one last _pulpo a la gallega_, the traditional Galician octopus dish, and some fantastic lamb chops.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4420033304_e335c76a60_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Octopus Plate">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-09-vigo/4420033304_c5cfaf1e63.jpg" alt="Octopus Plate"/>
</a>

 _Pulpo a la gallega_ is boiled octopus sprinkled with olive oil and paprika.

Tummies full, we headed the rest of the way back home, where our little Nora was waiting for us with her grandparents.


Vigo


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-02-patetica-fonetica-debut/4401811487_1178db15d4_o_d.png" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Native Speaker of U.S. English">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2010-03-02-patetica-fonetica-debut/4401811487_c76f5d033c_t.jpg" alt="Native Speaker of U.S. English"/>
</a>

Last month, I was asked to participate, as a native English speaker, in a [videocast](http://www.eoilaredo.org/videocast.php) from the local language school, [_Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Laredo_](http://www.eoilaredo.org/), about English pronunciation. The man who filmed me and is the brain of the whole videocast, Rodolfo, is really annoyed at his students' (and, in general, all Spaniards') lack of care when pronouncing English words. Rather uniquely, Rodolfo has specifically chosen American English as his pronunciation goal; he has worked really hard, and his pronunciation is superb. This is the third installment in his videocast. Here are the [first](http://www.vimeo.com/8667043) and [second](http://www.vimeo.com/8667043).  Unfortunately, as the husband of someone with a fairly strong Spanish accent in English and someone who has struggled to learn a foreign language, I was more sympathetic to Spaniards speaking English poorly than Rodolfo would have wanted. Many of his questions in the ten minute interview were along the lines of, "How disgusted are you by Spaniards that don't take the time or make the effort to speak English without an accent?" To which I gave answers that didn't really align with his agenda.

All of his videocasts are _excellent_! Several have illuminated me on common mispronunciations that are ridiculous. The one I most remember is how Spaniards have trouble properly pronouncing "I scream", but have no trouble pronouncing "ice cream". I highly recommend them all to anyone who speaks English to Spaniards, and especially to Spaniards trying to speak English.

I appear, with [my _astro_ story](/2008/09/05/double-consonants-and-secret-agents/), exactly at 5:00. Of course, because I rarely see myself on video, I think I look totally goofy. If you listen carefully, you can hear Nora screaming in the background.

Rumor has it that part of my interview will be appearing in the next videocast. It's going to be hard, but you'll just have to be patient.


15 posts from March, 2010