It’s competition time! But this is a competition with a difference. The aim is it come up with 500 of the very best things to do in Spain, be it eating that tapa in a certain restaurant in Seville, taking a special train ride, or swimming off your own little-known deserted beach… I’m sure you all have one amazing tip to share! At the end of the competition on March 31st we hope to have a list of 500 amazing experiences, and one lucky winner, who will receive a brand new iPod Shuffle and a CD of great Spanish music to put on it.
But there’s more… once we have the list of 500 we will be putting it to good use, sharing it with the entire Notes from Spain community: the 500 experiences will be listed here on the website for a limited period after the competition ends, begfore being turned into a book that can be bought in downloadable pdf or actual book format, with all proceeds going to the Spanish Red Cross or another Spanish charity of your choice.
How to enter/Rules:
The theme of the competition is ‘Things to do in Spain before you die’ (and we hope that with your help the list will reach 500!) Your entry can be about any experience available to travelers anywhere in Spain, but the more specific you are, the better. For example, naming a certain bar, restaurant or harbor to eat seafood in will be better than just saying ‘eating prawns in Galicia’. The more details the better, but try to keep within a maximum of around 75 words. See my examples below and take your time, all entries are going to end up in a book remember, and the better the book, the more we can raise for charity!
Entries must be sent in to Ben by email. Please include your name and location. You may enter as many times/things to do as you like. The winner will be announced on March 31st 2007, and we will get to work on putting the book together after that (N.B. By entering in the competition you agree that your entry will be published in the book afterwards and that some entries may be edited for grammatical correctness!) In the meantime, all entries will appear here on the blog throughout March.
Here are some examples of the format we are looking for, but remember, your entry might be about a stunning train ride in Huelva, an unmissable tapas experience in San Sebastain, or an often-overlooked village just outside Cuenca, whatever you think everyone should do once in Spain before they die…:
Climbing the giant sand dunes in Bolonia, Andalusia: This is one of the wildest beaches in Spain, with random cows, dogs, and fisherman wandering up and down the white sands with no particular destination in mind. Climb to the top of the giant dunes at the far end of the beach for an eye-watering view across the glistening Straits of Gibraltar to the shores of Morocco, the very edge of Africa.
Walking down the Cares Gorge: This spectacular six hour walk between the hamlets of Poncebos and Cain in the Picos de Europa mountain range, follows a narrow footpath that clings to the sides of a 1,500 m deep ravine. Not for the faint-hearted, as the drops are severe and, being Spain, there isn’t a safety railing in sight!
Eating freshly bought sea snails out of a paper cone with a pin, on the harbour in San Sebastian, while trying to spot the friendly dolphin in the bay!
Right, it’s over to you, our inbox is waiting!
Every year on January 17th, people bring their pets to be blessed on the Calle de Hortaleza in Madrid. Despite my slight reticence about Madrid’s fiesta scene in the second half of the podcast (click play podcast above), this was a fascinating event. Castizo is the word Marina used – very traditional in a Madrid kind of a way – below is some video from this morning to prove it:
Notes from Spain by Ben Curtis 
