PopWars

I’m quite certain not even the locals of Arcos de la Frontera can believe how beautiful their place is. The old section is a narrow white village that runs up a mountain and offers spectacular views from both sides. We spent the better part of a day trying to walk around their mountain but were forced to take a bus when the road got too dangerous. We spotted an intriguing sign for a place called Boabdil and followed it down a path on the side of the mountain.

A sign out front claimed the place was about three thousand years old. There was no one around and the tiles on the walls looked like they had been done by a madman. We entered cautiously and a man came out from the back room. “Pasa, Pasa,” he said, encouraging us to enter a cave that went straight into the hillside from his bar. We looked inside and came out quickly. He seemed friendly but we both felt paranoid like we were being set up.

We ordered a beer and I noticed he poured them from cans. I looked at his Cruzcampo tap and detected it had not been used in years. We sat out front at the only table in the place and both felt like we were being drugged. But the music got better and then sounded great. Peggi asked who it was and jotted down the flamenco artist’s name. A local stopped by and ordered a beer. He was all smiles. The drugs were good.

After quite a few trips to España we finally came around to ordering coffee without using the word “café,” the way the locals do. You walk into a cafe where the doors are usually open to the street, you say Buenos Días or at least Hola upon entering to the barkeep and the nearby patrons. To skip this stage is very rude. This was pointed out to us in a good natured way many years ago and it seems so right.

Today, we said, “Hola. Dos con leches por favor” and it did the trick. You typically stand at the bar and the coffee is made to order as you watch. While the coffee is being pressed, the server will set a saucer with a small spoon and sugar packet on it onto the the bar in front of you. He or she will pour the coffee into the cup, or glass in the funkier places, and then they will steam the milk and add it to coffee. We like this routine so much we do it at at least two times each day in Spain.

It was raining when we stopped in Sevilla. The locals were acting like this was a big deal because it had been raining for a few days. It was ten degrees where we came from so we couldn’t take them seriously. The streets are lined with orange trees down here and the rain dropped the ripe fruit everywhere. The municipal workers had their hands full cleaning them up.

At the cafe where we had coffee we watched the woman behind the counter throw oranges into the Zumex machine like she was playing basketball. We couldn’t resist and ordered dos zumos de naranja.

With only a couple of hours of sleep we walked in a daze around the old section of Madrid stopping for cafe con leche a few times before checking into a hotel. Instead of crashing, we went for it and headed back out. We found the quintessential Spanish cafe slash bar slash restaurant. I love how the Europeans seamlessly meld these three essential environments. We were in the literary section of Madrid near Plaza Santa Ana with its statutes of Calderón de la Barca and Federico García Lorca, near Cervantes’ home on Calle Lope de Vega.

People were eating in a back room with long tables and tiled walls but we sat in the bar and ordered Pimientos de Padrón, cerveza, vino tinto, aceitunas marinated in onions, manchego y pan. We believe we have found civilization.

I’ve carried my Nikon 7000 in my left front pocket for four years now. I can barely get the lens cover open now. Lint takes a toll. I bought a smaller Sony pocket camera, an RX100, and by default it is set up to shoot photos in the traditional 3×2 aspect ratio. My first digital camera, a Kodak DC210 used that format, same as the old 35mm film cameras, and I thought I missed that but I am having a hard time adjusting. I’m thinking the 2×3 format might be the way they designed the sensor and therefore it might be the optimum ratio. Does one fit mobile platforms better? I don’t really care about that. I’m just on the fence as to which ratio works best for me. I’ve been using the 4×3 for so long I kind of frame shots that way before I shoot. I’m gonna have to think about this for a while.

The blow up above is 4×3 and the this link is 3×2.