At times the trip from Santa Fe to Jeez seemed more like an Odessey than a simple point-to-point trip, but we got here in good order on Wednesday afternoon. Because we needed to use a travel credit left over from TAP airlines cancelling our flight home from Madrid in 2020 (because: COVID) we flew from Santa Fe to Phoenix to Boston and had a 13 hour layover. We decided not to spend those hours in the “delightful” Boston airport and instead spent the day in a hotel located on Boston harbor, where I got this nice picture of the Boston skyline. The flights from Boston to Lisbon and from Lisbon to Madrid reminded us why we avoid TAP and the Lisbon airport. Getting through immigration and security at Lisbon airport almost made us late for our connecting flight. By comparison, our flight from Madrid to Jerez on a jam-packed puddle jumper was pure luxury.
We were able to book the same apartment we stayed in last year for this year’s festival. When we arrived, we were met by our host, Pedro. We were able to spend some time talking with him before we began the settling-in process. We are located very close to Iglesia de Santo Domingo, a church from the 1200s. We can hear the bells shown in the picture very clearly. They ring, more-or-less on time, every 15 minutes, but not at night. I took this picture because it shows that the bells are struck by hammers, rather than by clappers. They have a distinctive sound. The weather was in the low 70s when we arrived and as evening progress we were able to sit outside at a cafe catching up with our friend Amarita.
Today, Thursday, we will finish setting up for our stay. Our first performance is Friday evening. We both commented on how comfortable we are in Jerez.