Sunseed Desert Technology - The beginning of something special.

Ok so let's start at 2am at Benidorm shall we. And as usual there's me waiting, just waiting, no information and all for my bus. I was actually quite impressed with the facilities at the station. I was able to sit comfortably and buy a coffee and not feel unsafe which is important as a single traveller. Outside I ventured nearer the time of supposed bus arrival and what should I spot but a fellow native English speaker. I could tell because he had a water bottle carrier in touristic South American style. I asked where he was going to and to my surprise he replied the same town I was destined for. I asked why and lo and behold – he was only going to Sunseeds too.

On bus, sleeping bag out, miffed that it was fuller than I expected at that time of night I was all settled in to a good old rest. But to my horror I noticed not one, not two but what seemed to be a whole colonization of cockroaches crawling all over the place. The first stop we came to I marched to the driver to complain. I had tried in vain to ignore them and get some sleep but they insisted on crawling into my personal space and I wasn't having that. Driver of course being from the south and Spanish wasn't that bothered. He told me he'd give me a piece of paper to complain or something but of course he never did.

The traveler I'd met at Benidorm was an Irish guy and we arrived in Sorbas, Almeria half an hour before we were scheduled to. This was annoying because we already had a good few hours before being picked up by some members of the Sunseeds team. Luckily for us the restaurant that was the proposed meeting point of collection was open at 6.30am so the two of us went in for a wake up coffee. We chatted then as we made our way around the shut up town. We had tried to pawn off our rucksacks at the bar but owner wouldn't let us so we were malling these big things round at first light. We found a nice vantage point of the town overlooking the steep cliff edges of the valley. It was very dramatic. Unfortunately it was all rather lost on me as I was more focused on trying to wake up and get over feeling of disgusting-ness from bus.

Back to cafe we went to wait for pick up. We were approached by a guy and his baby who asked whether I was in fact Kika but seemed unaware of the arrival of my companion. However there was plenty of room in the van that arrived white of course with a hand painted Sunseeds logo on the side. Love it. After chucking our sacks in the back and a few last town errands to help with, we were off and rolling to the site of Sunseeds.

Sunseeds, as the guy with the baby explained, originally started out as a project in the late 80's to re-plant desert land with trees named 'Green Deserts'. He noted that it was dubious thinking that all deserts were once forests and of course, he's a tree expert himself, the planting failed. The project then evolved into technology export hoping to change/help third world countries with a permaculture way of living. This also did not work all though there is still a sister project in Tanzania. Today Sunseeds focusses on Technology exchange based on Permaculture ethics where three simple concepts provail. These are 'Earth Care - Provision for all life systems to continue and multiply; People Care – Provision for people to access those resources necessary for their existence and; Fair Share – By governing our own needs, we can set resources aside to further the above principles.

Hmmmm. I contemplated what I would be arriving at, how I'd cope with compost loos, limited showers and a strict vegan diet. The scenery helped. Amazing ravines and views across a scorched pre-historic landscape. We turned off the main road out of Sorbas not long after we left, in near midday sun. Just in time for lunch. Exhausted and bewildered at what I would be facing for a month I looked forward to communal eating and getting to know my surroundings and companions.

Barcelona - Part 2

So on Wednesday morning I was planning a nice early start. Unfortunately I overslept so that wasn't what I got. Obviously recovering from the horrendous night's sleep before. A quick breakfast later, I was up and about walking in the fresh morning air of Barcelona on my way to Casa Milà, Gaudi's last apartment block he designed. At the till to get in, which I was surprised to find not many people in line for at 11am, I flashed my Bus Tour coupon and my ISIC card and the lady pointed to which one I could use. Inside audio guides were included in the price and thank god too. What I've noticed about Spanish sites of interest is they're not overly keen on giving you info as you walk around. There is never usually anything labeled or something to read up on in the particular place you're in. So if offered an audio guide and it's not included, I'd recommend you'd go for it to get the best out of your visit.

At the Casa Milà I found more out about Gaudi himself and other things he designed such as furniture. This information mostly given in the loft of the building. Then you are guided down to a typical recreated apartment of the period in which it was completed. And this is the overall sense of the museum I got – not something completely on Gaudi but more about life and arts of the period. This is heaven for me as I love anything Art Nuevo and turn of the century. In the gift shop (a must of course in Capitalist Tourism) I found a print book of Alonso Mucha's work which I've been looking for. That was purchased along with a book of Chanel turn of the Century designs.

That museum took up until lunchtime and I had planned on taking a bike to the next one to save time as I knew I wanted to do a lot that day. I had noticed, from the bus tour, that along with a fantastic looking tram system, Barcelona offered another unique form of public transport. As you explore the city you come across several handily situated Bicycle Stations. Here you swipe some sort of a card at a post which then unlocks a bike from a bar at the side of the street where many bikes are docked. However I was told at the hostel that I would not be able to use the system as I was not a local resident. Barcelona has many bike lanes making getting around the city this way incredibly easy and safe. When the system was first introduced a few years ago, local bike tour companies wanted tourists to be banned from using it for fear of competition. Personally I feel it a bit of a swizz but one sees the point.


So I walked to my next destination as I didn't want to spend money on metro tickets. I hadn't invested in the 10ride ticket as I thought being overland I'd see a lot more. Singles are more expensive than Madrid costing 1€35c. Though, I probably should have taken them Metro to the Joan Miro foundation Museum because it was up in Montjuic hill overlooking the city. By the time I got up there after lunch I only had a little over an hour to smooch round. Worth it though if you are into Modern Art. Though the guy at the hostel thought going to Barcelona's official Modern Art Museum, MACBA, was a better option. It was centrally located also. But it was a good walk round for me, no audio guide I'm afraid. But there were the odd info boards in English. The museum is situated just down the road from the City's overhead Cable Car system that gives good views of the city and park. Here I decided to splash out on the metro back. Bit of a treat down to the city – the metro carriages are on a slope and I think cable operated.


That evening I crashed out in front of Barcelona vs Athletic in the Spanish Football Cup final in the common room with other guests. Barcelona won and the city didn't sleep that night. I did however and the next day rose, on time, and dashed out for breakie on the run. I was on my way to Pueblo Espanyol. This is a faux Spanish village that was built for the 1929 International Exhibition. It's aim was to show visits examples of architecture from across Spain's different regions. Now it plays host to many artisans workshops where they sell their wares and numerous places to eat. I had breakfast here in a café overlooking it's Plaza Mayor. Again, with audio guide in hand, I spent near on 4 hours ambling around, taking in the various info about Spanish building styles and checking out all the things being made in the little shops. By the time I had finished I hadn't much time left before I had to catch my bus back to Madrid. I caught metro back to the Gothic quarter of the city which is the oldest part and very atmospheric. I walked from here back up to the hostel, of course it was then that it decided to start raining, how terribly British.

I checked out, managed to leave my towel there in the process and took the metro back to Estacion Nord. Barcelona's bus station isn't bad, if a bit tatty. Bus was practically empty back and the journey passed fairly quietly except for a few outbursts from a rather uptight bus driver. And this is when 'The Bus Story' comes in. Pulling into some random town, a woman wanted to be droped off somewhere quickly. So bus stopped she got off and then we headed back to open road. A good few minutes in an old man crawled his way up to the bus driver. A few Si, claro hombre's and stressed por favor's later we turned round as the driver didn't announce the stop and people had missed it. Yes I know it well.

I had remembered to bring the earphones from bus tour to plug in as Alsa busses have personal earphone things that I wanted to check out. Unfortunately, out of 8 channels, only 3 worked and when the film did eventually pop up on screen, none of these channels offered the soundtrack. This annoyed me a lot as it was Something About Mary being shown and I'd never seen that. Mind you probably would have been dubbed anyway. I could lip read well enough.

Barcelona: Great for Architecture, playing volleyball on the beach and remember your Audio Guides.

Barcelona - Part 1

Let's start at Avenida America Bus Station in Madrid. I arrived at 10am on a Monday and the place was practically a ghost station. First of all, amazingly tiny screens making finding right platform number where the bus is extremely difficult. Secondly, venturing out to platform – not a soul to be found anywhere. Hanging around, 5 mins before departure, found someone who resembled a driver who told me to go to a couple of platforms down, different to one on screen that hadn't changed. There, a small group of travelers waited in mild confusion only to be collected by another driver person who took us to a completely different platform at the other end of the station. Result – not impressed, Estacion del Sur at Mendez Alvaro still the best bus station in Madrid for ease and facilities.

7 hours and two motorway stops later, I had arrived in Barcelona's Estacion Nord. First task – find hostel. I had booked into Sant Jordi Hostel off Paseo de Gracia via hostelworld.com. Very good website, trusting traveler reviews who have actually stayed there so no nasty surprises. Instructions from hostel were detailed about which metro to catch and what exit to take and other than a short debate with a metro employee who didn't agree with the instructions, I found the hostel relatively quickly. I was tired from the journey and wanted to settle in as soon as possible and find something to eat.

Sant Jordi hostel is small and friendly. It is freshly decorated with a well kitted out kitchen and common room. They are so accommodating here that they organize socials each night. That evening was named 'Nasty Mondays' on the walls of the common spaces. The international set of Australians, Canadians and Americans gathered in the kitchen for drinks before heading out to a club one of the hostel workers knew which did great Mojitos. Once back at the hostel at something O'Clock in the morning I was ready to crash out. Unfortunately the room I was put in was a) at the front overlooking a busy main street, b) right next to the kitchen and topping it off c) my bed was pushed up to a set of connecting doors into the kitchen where at 5am I was awoken by a couple of Germans. It all amounted to a very bad night's sleep.

In the morning I was delighted to find at only 2€, an amazing spread for Breakfast. Just what I needed to start my day's exploring. I decided to do the traditionally touristic thing of taking an official Bus Tour round the city. Bus Tour views vary from a waste of time and money to an informative way to orientate yourself. I took the later view and spent nearly the whole day on three different tours. Of course it was hop on, hop off type but at 21€ day ticket (27€ for 2 days) I was going to make the most of it. I had a fantastic lunch by the harbor and gained some great ideas of what to see in Barca. However because there really is no point sitting on the bottom deck due to the amount of wonderful buildings the city has to offer and constantly looking up, I was on the top, in the sun for near on a day. This amounts to one thing as a girl of Celtic roots – amazing sunburn even in May when it wasn't especially hot there.

With a little time in evening before I ate, I visited the Casa Batlló which was just on the corner of the street from the hostel. This house was designed by Gaudi for a Textile Factory owner and oh my god – completely in love with Gaudi architecture now. You either love him or hate him but you can't visit Barcelona without exposing yourself to at least one of his works. One comment was that the house is a bit expensive to visit but with the bus tour, I got discount slips on nearly all the places of interest. Also if you have the ISIC card, which I really recommend, discounts are abound on all these types of places. At the sites I visited, I asked which discount would be best as the amount discounted varied.

That evening I asked to change rooms as I was not up for another night of light dozing. The lady behind the hostel desk was very nice and jiggled a few things so I could spend my last two nights in a quiet room at the back. That evening's activities were Sangria drinking with the guests at the other Sant Jordi Hostels. Or 'Crazy Tuesdays' as it was labeled. After crammed socializing in the kitchen everyone was invited to a club with free entry and a free drink. I wasn't up for it as I wanted an early start the next day and also the club played House and Hip Hop music and that's not my thing.