¡¡FELIZ NAVIDAD Y AÚN MÁS FELIZ 2006!!

Or Merry Christmas and a very Happy 2006!!

I know, I know, I owe you this for a long time, but I just didn't find the time to update my pictures and my stories. Well, at least most of you have recently received a loooong email describing the end of my RTW trip (if you haven't it's because I don't have your current email, so send it to me).

Last time I wrote you I was in Southern California, waiting for my Sony Studios tour, which, by the way, turned out to be very enjoyable, although I was not allowed to take pictures. I found especialy interesting to discover that the backdrops used in current movies are still painted by hand!! Imagine that! And if you saw it in a movie you would have never guessed it was a paiting. This is Hollywood.

Anyway, I spent my last day in California with my good friend Mariana, who is expecting her second kid. She showed me some of the things happening in Los Angeles for kids and I got a few good ideas for business I may be trying in Spain. So stay tuned.

Then I flew to Vegas, where I met Jorge and the bachelor party crowd, which included his ex-boss Mike, an ex-client (Todd), two friends from San Antonio (Miguel and Julián) and the only one, besides me, who ventured to come all the way from Spain (Jesús) for this, well... slightly "deceiving" event.

Let's admit it, we're not young party animals anymore, but a little more partying and craziness wouldn't have hurt this event. I'm not saying we didn't have fun: we played golf, went to a cliché girls bar, played blackjack (even some people played craps, the dice game you see in all movies), wondered clueless along the casinos, spent $350 on a bottle of wine,... Yes, lots of fun! But I guess my taste of fun has simply changed over the years.

Anyway, it was fun to have a last party with Jorge before he got married (although he was already married, but that's another story) and the everybody in the group was great and funny (dull, but great people :) And Las Vegas is always a place worth visiting, with its out-of-this-world hotels, its shows, its atmosphere,... It's the biggest amusement park in the world. The whole city is just a huge, life-size amusement park.

But, as those of you who have been reading this know, what I truly enjoy is exploring places on my own. So, since public transportation is out of the question in the US, I rented a car (which on the other hand is so much cheaper than anywhere in the world) and headed for a 1,000 mile loop that would cross Arizona from side to side, all the way to Eastern Utah and back to Vegas.

I crossed the Hoover Dam (the reason why Vegas is Vegas, since all the electricity is produced there) at night and slept at some road motel at Williams. It took me a while to find an unexpensive place that was open, but then I realized I had changed the time backwards instead of forwards when I entered Arizona, and it was truly 1:30 am. No wonder the motel owner didn't seem very pleased to see me.

I tried to wake up early to see the sun rise at the Grand Canyon, but I was just too tired to make it. I still managed to arrive there early in the morning, and the view, even though it was my third time there, was breath-taking. This is just an incredible place that no matter how many times I see it, it still amazes me. I can't help to think of the face of the Spaniard García Cárdenas when he saw this place for the first time.

I stopped at several view points to enjoy the view from different angles, but had to forget about trekking the Canyon, as I wanted to arrive at Monument Valley for sunset and that was several hundred miles away.

Driving in Arizona is a very rewarding experience. It reminds me a lot of the Australian Red Desert, but unlike there, the landscape here changes constantly. Canyons, gorges, mountains, colorful rocks,... all pass next to your window as you cross the straight empty roads that cover this state. It was very hard for me trying not to stop at every corner to take pictures, but today it was a race against time.

I finally arrived in Kayenta, in the middle of the Navajo Nation (almost like a country on its own, run by the extremely friendly Navajos), and enjoyed a wonderful sunset surrounded by the rocks of what I thought was the beginning of Monument Valley but, as I found out later, was not.

The next day I visited Monument Valley, who truly stood up to my very high expectations. You probably have seen this place in countless Westerners or commercials, but seeing this formations raise in front of you under a perfect blue sky is incredible. I drove around the valley, taking my time to enjoy it, and finally ran into a group that was much slower than I: a van full of what seemed to be professional photgraphers (they had good cameras and tripods) that spent at least 30 minutes in every spot.

Then, I started my trip back to Vegas. I was around 500 km. away, it was midday and I had to arrive in time for my plane. What a challenge, specially considering the many tentations I found along my way to stop, walk or simply take pictures. What a shame I didn't have 5 more days to do this trip!! But after what I saw, I definitely want to go back in the future.

I was hoping to visit Zion National Park in Utah, but it was getting too dark and decided to go around it. But what seemed like a short detour in the map, ended up being a one and a half hour detour along a mountain road that climbed to almost 3,000 meters!!! Not fun when you have to catch an airplane in a different state in a couple hours.

Anyway, I managed to arrive in time for my airplane, as I didn't get lost (as I always do when I'm late) and luckily, Nevada speed limits are higher than they used to (and so was my personal speed limit). The down side was that I didn't get to enjoy the view on Highway 15 from Utah to Vegas, which, even though it was dark, look absolutely spectacular.

I took my red-eye flight (it's call that because in 4 hours you hardly get any sleep) to JFK, and jumped in the subway as soon as I arrived early the next morning. I always wanted to visit New York and, specificaly, Central Park in Autumn, and I truly enjoyed the experience. I visited Ground Zero, which I found very moving, remembering the tragedy that occurred there 4 years ago. And then, I just wandered around Central Park until it was time to go back to the airport. I really like New York. I don't know if I would like to live there, but the more I visit it the more I like it.

So, second night spent on a plane. I arrived in Madrid, dumped half of my luggage and hurried back to the airport to fly to Geneva, where I was meeting my mom for 4 days on her favorite country. We stayed at the lovely village of St. Maurice, in the Swiss Valais, and visited the beautiful town of Gruyère, where the famous cheese is made and where we enjoyed an absolutely delicious fondue. The following day, we went to the wonderful skiing village of Les Diablerets, stopping before for a little walk along the Lac Léman at the posh Montreaux. We went up to the glacier at 3,000 meters to enjoy the view, and then simply strolled by this lovely wooden village.

My mom and I hand't travelled together in years and we really enjoyed this four days we spent together. The temperature was freezing in Switzerland, but on the other hand, we were given beautiful weather and blue skies, something not so common this time of the year.

And that was it. I came back to Madrid and started working on my future project, that hopefully will allow me to make ends meet before my cash completely runs out.

So, as I said at the beginning, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and hope that 2006 is as good to you as these last two years have been to me. Probably the best years of my life.

Take care, my friends, and be happy. Oh, and remember to visit my last album, since all the selected pictures are available online.

¡¡FELIZ NAVIDAD, AMIGOS!!