Winter in Jerez means thick fog
I met the mummy of Jerez de los Caballeros. One of the two mummies who live here. We found the door to San Bartolome open. Normally the church at the top of the hill is closed. I am trying to make sure I do absolutely everything in Jerez. I’m pretty close.
We asked the woman cleaning the church if she would allow us to see the mummy. She went into the back to get the official mummy keys. She unlocked the gate in church and turned on the light to the glass enclosure with the mummy inside. This mummy was unwrapped and its facial expression was far from peaceful. Seeing the mummy was on my Jerez bucket list though, so that’s done. Scroll past if you are squeamish:
I am back in Jerez and experiencing what that’s like after traveling so much. Jerez is a beautiful town. It has a quiet beauty that can be found in any small town in any country where the people lazily stroll and chat with their neighbors and who appreciates a sunset in the park.
Sunset and the Santa Maria church
I have started running again which reconnects me with the landscape and the town. When I ran to Albuera recently (what I have been calling a lake, which in reality is a dam), I was almost ran off the road by a couple of young kids trying to scare me. I don’t care that they were careening around the corners at a high velocity. (Boys will be boys, or something like that?) What I do care is the fact they were driving at high velocities inches from where I am running, and honked for the what, fun of it? is when I get angry. Jerez is still a small town with some small-minded people. Like any town, anywhere in the world. When I run, people stare. When I walk, people stare.
When I traveled to the great cities of Spain like Granada, I was another tourist. Bartenders would ask where I am from with curiosity rather than stare me down. Or I would fall into obscurity as just another tourist who drives the economy. Yes I am a foreigner. What I would appreciate is rather than the stares from the stoops or sidewalks of Jerez are questions about who I am, where I come from, and why I am here. I’ll answer, practice some Spanish and feel like Jerez is open to outsiders. And direct them to my blog of course.