Seville was an unplanned stop in Spain for me but I was told I just had to come down here for the processions during Holy Week (Semana Santa) in the days leading up to Easter Sunday.

So I sandwiched a few days in between Madrid and Barcelona to take the train down to Seville. I had never heard of the processions and had no idea what to expect, or how difficult it would be to find accommodations!

Luckily Rob accepted my couch surfing request for three nights and four days. A 28 year old from Miami based with the Air Force an hour outside of Seville, we hit it off instantly and didn’t shut up the entire time. What is this feeling of such familiarity and comfort with all the people I am meeting on this journey? I cannot tell if it’s due to the overwhelming kindness I’ve experienced from strangers, my own openness or both? He was off of work for the holiday, so we spent the days exploring and the evenings celebrating – a first Semana Santa experience for both of us.

It was hot in Seville, over 100 degrees each day and in the low 70’s at night. I sent all of my summer clothing and sandals from Australia back with Jon after Italy, so I was ill prepared for that kind of heat… to say the least. There was a constant, unquenchable thirst.

I was surprised to see women in high heels and men in suits, dressed in their Easter best (literally) for each day of Semana Santa. Even more surprising, were the traditional robes and pointed hoods worn by the members of the church participating in the processions. No matter how much I saw them and understood that they are in reality not related at all, I never really got over the tinge of fear and unease of seeing these outfits knowing what they represent with the KKK in the United States.

The tradition of the garb represents penitence for their sins, to take the attention away from them and toward God. Each day there are these long processions, thousands of men and women carrying 4 foot long candles or bearing large crosses walking very slowly through the streets of Seville, many are barefoot. There are children dressed as priests and women singing sorrowful tunes accompanied by wind instruments. There are these beautiful and elaborate floats weighing close to two tons, some as old as the 16th century, that are carried by 40-50 men. Each church has their own brotherhood that marches along the small, winding streets up to the main cathedral. Over a million locals and tourists come out for these processions.

The biggest and most elaborate procession is the Thursday evening leading into the morning of Holy Friday – it doesn’t even begin until midnight and they walk for over 8 hours. To be in a crowd of thousands, all hushed… it was like nothing I have ever experienced before. Rob and I decided to leave around 5:45am… there were still hoards of people arriving and crowding around – children and elderly, party goers, families. You got this sense that they weren’t going home anytime soon. Even though I am not religious, it was beautiful to witness such tradition, passion and dedication.

Moments in Seville:
-haggling with street vendors for a new purse since mine had been completely destroyed on this trip and from the rain in Italy
-having drinks outside on a warm evening, discussing life with my couch surfing host
-seeing a live Spanish jazz band
-exploring the beauty of the Royal Alcazar gardens
-the beautiful architecture and painted tiles of Plaza Espana
-getting lost in the maze of alleys in the Santa Cruz neighborhood
-scaling a 12 foot fence into the Maria Luisa Park at 4am in search of a garden labyrinth which we never did find
-walking along the Guadalquivir River
-meeting Veronica and Marko in a shady dive bar and adoring them instantly – I will actually be staying with them when I get to Copenhagen!
-meeting a guy from Chicago and getting into a 1/2 hour long heated debate over pizza (for the record, deep dish is casserole not pizza)
-after two nights of procession celebrations and heavy drinking, enjoying a very rare night of relaxing, movies and pizza

Food highlights:
-mushroom and gorgonzola croquettes
-eating gazpacho (cold tomato soup) and albondigas (Spanish meatballs) on a rooftop terrace while drinking Sangria on a hot day

Language highlights:
-Paso: the giant float like structure (some being built as far as the 16th century) depicting Christ or the Virgin Mary, carried by 40-50 barefoot men (costaleros) depending on the weight… they march slowly through the streets for hours

AIRPORTS: 15
FLIGHTS: 16
TRAINS: 9
BUSES: 3
STATES: 7
COUNTRIES: 7
CONTINENTS: 3
DAYS TRAVELING: 119
CURRENCIES: 5