monkey, be gone...

Ok, I confess... I just couldn't take it anymore...

We were wandering around the streets of Murcia last night, feeling hungry, looking for the Plaza San Juan, as it was recommended to us as a good place to eat. I still can't get used to having dinner from 8.30pm onwards. The hunger pangs kick in at 6.30pm and continue until the beast is satiated.

The problem last night, was that we over-estimated the time it would take to walk from our hotel, across the river, Segundo, to the plaza. As a result, we were wandering around the surrounding streets of the plaza, an activity which I really enjoy, looking at the people and the shops... even the graffiti. (Btw, I've taken some great shots of some Spanish feminist graffiti in Granada... happy to show them around to anyone interested when I return home and sort through the zillions of pics taken thus far.)

During our meandering, I spotted an store called Belleza Masculina, which was open for business. A beauty store for men... however, in my defence, it also had services for women, but men were the priority.

I have been going mad this last week... spying the re-growth of my eyebrows, one hair at a time. So, in desperation, I entered the store and asked the gay male shop assistant if he could help me eradicate the monkey-like growth on my face. Si, si, claro que si... was the response. Ahhhh... salvation!

When a woman finally attended to my needs, I lay down, ready for the operation. But, what was this? She came at me with tweezers! Before I could protest, she started to painfully pluck at each folicle as she spoke about the weather in Murcia... in Spanish. Not a drop of wax was used... and boy, did I feel it.

I had brought my own tweezers with me... but, I hate tweezing. It's slow, painful and a waste of time - ultimately, it's almost impossible to get every hair to shape a perfect brow. That's why I decided to get a professional's help... I figured that if Penelope Cruz's brows can look that good, I shouldn't have a problem. Little did I know that I would be enduring 10 minutes of torture and get to have the pleasure of leaving this establishment for men with a red forehead.

But, enough of that... I'm sure you're not interested in my woes of vanity...

The change of weather in Murcia is noticeable. On the drive from Granada, which lasted three and a half hours, I could feel the temperature palpably increasing. As the bruja (witch) yanked at my eyebrows, she was explaining how Murcia has two seasons - Summer and Winter. They never get Spring here. Wasn't I lucky? I had arrived in time for the hot weather. It has been bright and sunny, starting at 19 degrees celcius in the morning and working its way up to 30 degrees by the afternoon. This is nothing... in the peak, it gets to 40+ degrees.

I'm looking forward to heading north to San Sebastian. I'm toast when it's too hot. The sun just doesn't work well with all the black. Plus, my fatigue increases in such temperatures.

Unfortunately, there hasn't been too much worthy of note here in Murcia. There are so many churches here (which we're not really keen on seeing), so we have just made our way to the Museo del Bellas Artes, which was an interesting distraction for a few hours.

Tomorrow, I get to drive to Cuenca - there's a lot of contemporary art to be seen there, apparently. I am looking forward to it. I'm sure that there'll be more to write about then.

Hasta pronto, mis amigos...

:)

xx