Cliffhanger

I've never been on a blind date, but I felt today as though I was in the same type of situation.

I boarded a bus in Sevilla bound for Arcos and sat anxiously as the bus meandered through other small white towns on the way. First came the town of Espera, which translates to "wait" or "hope," both of which I was doing at that moment: waiting and hoping for something better. Nothing against Espera, but it's tiny and the school's playground that we passed was pretty run-down. I wouldn't want to teach kids with low morale due to rusted monkey bars. Espera did have a nice fountain, though; I'll give it that.

Next we passed through Bornos. Also white, also nestled into a hillside. Some nice horses but no castle. Once again, I breathed a sigh of relief that I would not be spending the next 8 months of my life there.

Which is where my metaphor somewhat falls apart. On an actual blind date you have the option of fleeing the scene when you realize the guy wearing the red rose in his lapel was once the kid who peed his pants after he was assigned to be your square dance partner. Or, if you're on the American TV show, Roger Lodge will make fun of you for a half hour, but then you're free.

Really, my situation was more of an arranged marriage. I'd seen pictures, but I hadn't yet fallen in love and was worried that perhaps I never would. That is, would I like Arco's personality? Would it be too honest or too laidback or too stuck in its ways?

To be honest, when I saw Arcos I was somewhat disappointed. The majestic view is from the south and we were arriving from the north. I'd been nourishing myself on grandiose and romanticized views of the town (fueled mainly by this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it1okjvUu0U) and the reality of its appearance just didn't seem to match up to my expectations. A problem, since I'd been going on appearance alone (like finding out Prince-Arranged-Marriage-Charming has a tooth missing when he first smiles at you--too many metaphors?) As the bus neared, I kept thinking "Maybe this isn't it? No, this is definitely it. Maybe not? No, there's the castle. This is definitely it."

The road we followed wrapped around the western side of Arcos and the more dramatic side of the cliff began to come into view (okay, so Prince-Arcos-Charming might be missing a tooth, but if you look at the right angle, you can't even tell. Actually, his teeth are pretty white...). I felt excited again.

Now I'm in Hotel Los Olivos, in a private room with a terrace that overlooks the view to the south. I can imagine the Rock of Gibraltar out there past the stretches of windmills, and Morocco just beyond that. The breeze blows Mediterranean sea salt through my hair. I'm beginning to think I could love this place, even with any flaws I may soon find. Or maybe it will really be perfect, as the guidebooks advertise.

Maybe I'll find out my Prince Arcos-de-la-Frontera is great at talking about his feelings.


The view from my hotel room's terrace