Spain in the 2000s

Visited: July 1992, August 1994, July 2004, July 2017

Duration of visit: 90 days

Capital city: Madrid

Population: 47 million (2017)

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

• Touring Segovia, Madrid, Barcelona and further south by car in 2004.
• Family trip to Alicante in 2017, culminating by slide down the adrenaline-full Verti-Go.
• Valencia – one of the most beautiful urban zones in Spain, Oceanogràfic – Europe’s largest aquarium.

Spain holds a special position on my travel list. From the beginning of my backpacking experiences to developing close friendships, learning Spanish language and immersing deeper in the Spanish culture.

In this article I describe my trips to Spain from the year 2000 to the present. More articles about Spain and other trips around Iberian Peninsula are available here:

The exquisite Mediterranean cuisine, the enchanting Flamenco music and dance, the picturesque sandy beaches, the custom of the midday siesta, the famous sports clubs from Madrid and Barcelona along with the numerous historical sites, contribute to Spain’s status as one of the few countries I frequently revisit, each time encountering new and remarkable experiences.

During the road trip around Western Europe I travelled through Italy, France, Andorra and Spain. I was camping to reduce costs of accommodation and visiting the most important landmarks along the road. My budget was very limited. Due to high tolls, I mostly drove on toll-free roads. I was fully equipped to cook food in the portable camping gas stove, mostly used for breakfast and dinner.

Beside returning to Madrid, Barcelona and Alicante, I visited for the first time Segovia, Valencia, Royal Palace de la Granja, Burgos and Valencia.

My love and admiration for the quality of life in Spain hadn’t changed. What I noticed this time, was rather vulgar vocabulary of young people, especially in Barcelona.

A World Heritage City of Segovia is known for an old Jewish quarter, the cathedral, grand mansions and the picturesque aqueduct. Its heritage began with the Romans in 80 BCE, continued to flourish through the medieval Moorish period and experienced a manufacturing boom in the 16^th century. Built on a cliff and protected by a deep moat, medieval fortress Alcázar looks like a fairy-tale castle.

The 167 arches of the 28 meters tall Roman aqueduct are a magnificent backdrop for the historic part of the city. One of the two largest existing Roman structures in Spain, built by Romans around 50 CE, the aqueduct channeled water 17 kilometers from the Acebeda River through a deep valley to the ancient city. Today the aqueduct is a trademark of Segovia.

Valencia, the third biggest city, is also one of the most beautiful urban zones in Spain, located on the Mediterranean Sea. Maybe not so popular for tourists, but it offers high standard of living for its inhabitants, mild climate, pleasant city infrastructure of parks, cycling routes and pedestrian sidewalks.

I skipped the charming historic center and spend most of the time in La Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (The City of Arts and Sciences), one of Europe’s most impressive centers dedicated to cultural and scientific exhibitions.

The Oceanogràfic is Europe’s largest aquarium, where more than 500 different marine species are represented by 45,000 sea creatures. The most dramatic of these is the tunnel, where you walk surrounded on both sides and overhead by swimming sharks and other sea animals. The special show with dolphins, penguins, sea lions and whales aim to present special skills that animals were trained for, at the same time offering the best possible conditions to the animals in aquarium.

In 2017, I took my family to Alicante to unite Javier’s and mine kids for the second time, after we had been hosting my Spanish friend with his family in Slovenia a year before. Alicante is still a wonderful city on the coast, offering beach activities that Spain is famous for. We used the opportunity to visit one of the most famous attractions in the area.

Aqualandia Benidorm offers 15 water rides and attractions ranging from kid-friendly to exhilarating, suitable for every age and level of courage. We were riding all of them increasing the level of excitement, until we reached the last two slides of 28 and 33 meters high.

Verti-Go is the name of this 33 meters high monster, which was at the time the highest slide in Europe and the tallest slide-capsule in the world. Technical specifications quote: “The gravitational acceleration assures that the client will achieve the speed of more than 100 KPH, as the worst-case scenario. The maximum speed and acceleration depend on the size and body weight.”

Javier and me were not the only family members that were fulfilling the criteria of age and size, but we were the only two brave enough to climb and later slide down this adrenaline-full attraction. Well, at least we though that we were brave enough.

If other attractions were relatively busy with short waiting time, there was no waiting time for Verti-Go. I started to climbed quickly, decreasing the pace every curve, before reaching the top, with beautiful view. It was soon my turn. Too soon! Few second of waiting, until the cover below me opened and I literally fell into the tunnel. In the following 3 seconds I dropped 33 meters, like jumping from the 13^th floor. A few moments later I stopped approximately 100 meters far from the starting point. My ass was burning from the heat, I was screaming, but soon smiling. What a crazy experience.

Javier came after me. When his face was transforming from a serious mature man to a smiling crazy teenager at the end of the slide, I already recovered to laugh lice a maniac. It is not the first extreme activity we did together and I hope not the last.

There are many other places that I visited in Spain, but I haven’t included them in my diaries, because Spain is not just about jumping from one landmark to another one. It is about enjoying the lifestyle and connecting with people.