Murcia. Week 2 (And a bit of 3)

So the purpose of this blog was to create webisodes about the ecology of Murcia and show the beauty of nature... This has not happened yet.

This will all change very soon! Meet my new partner in crime: Animales!

He's a hefty mountain bike that was not made for touring but that will never stop me! Got my panniers packed and I'm ready to hit the coast! My friend Lupe has a place in a coastal town called Torrevieja! She will take me on a grand adventure this weekend and tell me about some of the interesting national parks around the area. (She's an amazing PhD student that I will be working with during my time in Spain! Check out her blog here!) Next week we will be visiting our field work sites near Madrid!

Now for some stuff I've actually done!

 I live in the heart of downtown Murcia. This is the fountain right outside of my building in the center of El Plaza de Circular. The city builds out from here in a circle which is really difficult to navigate, but I'm happy to report that after 3 weeks I can usually make it to work on time and have now stopped getting completely lost ... sort of.

This city is amazing! I just had my first big night out with some friends and I finally found out what all the noise outside my window is during all hours of the night! In Murcia, you don't leave your house until about midnight. And if you are really out to party you don't show up until about 2 or 3 in the morning! That's when things get really crazy! Many people here are keen to learn English and Murcia is not a town with a lot of tourists (unlike much of Spain), so when they find out you're a native English speaker they are more than willing to buy you a few beers and have a conversation with you. Needless to say
I made a lot of friends that night/morning.

 Murcia's gem is the Cathedral de Santa Maria. It is an epic and beautiful building that begs to be stared at for hours. I have yet to take the tour inside but hope to get some spectacular footage. It is located very near my home and I spend a lot of time drinking cafe solos (that's a shot of espresso!) with my friends and exchanging English and Spanish lessons. Construction began in 1388 and continued until the 18th century. It's a wondrous mix of  Baroque and gothic architecture and I can't wait to go inside!!!!

Even though I've been a little trapped in the city, I have been lucky enough to be staying with an amazing family! I borrowed one of their bikes and took it on a long ride last weekend along the Rio Segura! It's a beautiful river but has been heavily utilized as it's some of the only accessible water in the area and used to be one of Europe's most polluted rivers (as you can see in the photo it's pretty low this time of year). It flows east towards the Murcian coast along fields of orange and lemon orchards and through some beautiful mountains. The tectonic plate under the

"My smile is not mine, it is yours"

Mediterranean Sea pushes North into Spain creating  two Mountain ranges: The Cordillera Sur to the South of the Rio Segura and a wide array of mountains to the North. Many people bike along the Rio Segura and I was lucky to meet some cool people who offered me a refreshing beer on a beautiful hot day! I am now Tired. More Coming soon!