Friday with Spain

Agave is a cacti with origins in Southern United States and Mexico. But you can see it in Africa and Spain. The Spanish and Portuguese explorers brought it to Europe in the 19th century. Agave likes it hot so it found a perfect new home in Spain. It is called the "century plant" because that is how long it takes for it to flower! People make sugar and syrup out of it. .The panorama of Spain is filled with them all over the coast. I couldn't resist painting them. They looked especially out of this world in the moonlight by the Mediterranean see. I saw one in bloom once when I was small. My mom took me to The Potocki Palace in Lancut. I felt special that I had been given to see it bloom!

This painting has been sold to a buyer in Toronto, Ontario

Spain took the longest time to conquer during our cycling tour of the Mediterranean trip. It was very difficult because of the hills and mountains and the climate. Not a drop of rain throughout the entire stay! Each morning we would wake up and say "Damn! Sunny again!" Even when we decided to stay by the sea, the roads where steep. Like Cabo de Gata. I would spend all day sometimes cursing at flies that ruthlessly wouldn't go away. At times we would be challenged by unpaved and dangerous roads. In some regions we couldn't locate public bathrooms or they would be closed. But the experience was balanced with the good and the bad. The views where out of this world! We crossed paths with incredibly good and friendly people like Samuel that we met in front of Malaga's Picasso Museum. Samuel was a fellow cyclist from Germany. He would have most likely join us but he was going the opposite direction. He was about to see what we had witnessed. We exchanged info about interesting things to see, working showers, potential tent places and most importantly availability of toilets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80cQa1Ap1vo

You can imagine when after a very bad climb, you get to the top and see a blue see and the Sun bathing in it! Those moments were worth a million dollars each! They offered motivation and added courage to go on even if it was hard and hot! Everyday, at the end of that there was a white sand beach and a swim in the sea. Sometimes at night we would be awaken by the sound of cars, music, laughter of people having fun on the beach. Some of them would even come into our tent in the middle of the night and offer drinks!

And yes, you did see a penis looking cactus in the video. It looked even more interesting in real life:) We just had to stop and take a picture of it!!