Antequera, Spain.

By the end of December 2010, I had been traveling for about nine months. During that time, I didn't have a lot of personal time or space, I wasn't always being as active as I would've liked [weather, work, and other activities got in the way of running], and I certainly wasn't eating particularly healthfully. So when I was figuring out what to do for New Year's, I decided to forego partying all night long with friends somewhere and instead head to Andalucía for a fitness vacation - nine days of doing good things for my body and relaxing.

The location was Antequera, a city of 45,000 between Granada [one of my most favorite cities in the wooooorld] and Málaga.

The white buildings of Antequera. In the background you can see the Peña de los Enamorados, which many people say looks like the face of a sleeping man. According to legend, at some point when the Moors ruled the area, two young star-crossed lovers [from different tribes, or one Muslim and one Christian, or...] were chased up there by the girl's father and his men before jumping off it to their death. Man...I don't get why people get so excited about love. It just seems so dangerous to the health.

The hotel, Finca Eslava [nothing to do with slaves, although the association helped me remember the name], is just outside of town and is well known in the area [and beyond - a lot of athletes from around the world go there to train] for its swimming pool and gym facilities. This is the view from my room, looking toward the gym and pool one evening.

Man, Spain sure is Catholic. Churches all over the place! This was some kind of cloister or something up on a hill, possibly with agave around it [we asked our guide to confirm, and he said, "I don't know...I'd just call that a cactus" - understandable, I wouldn't be able to identify most plants in Wisconsin, either].

More pictures from hikes, bike rides, and so on to come...