The biggest highlight of Day Five was getting to see the wonderful Andrés Ordóñez, leader of the Patrulla Verde (a group of local young people dedicated to the preservation and development of the Vía Verde). I'd first met Andrés four years ago, when I was writing an article about the Vía Verde, and things have gone swimmingly for him since then -- to the point where they've even opened their own rural apartment for rent in the town of Coripe, a six-bedroom loft facility with full kitchen and (hurrah!!) satellite TV. (One hundred channels with nothing on is a lot more appealing when you haven't had TV for a couple of days.)
And it's worth pointing out that noting that Coripe doesn't just have the nicest people in that part of Andalusia; they have one of the wildest and most non-traditional Easter Sunday celebrations in Andalusia. Residents basically select Jerk of the Year (past candidates have included former Prime Minister José María Aznar - for getting Spain into Iraq - and Telefónica President César Alierta - in 2002, when the town lost phone service for six weeks.) Rather than burn the Jerk in effigy, the effigy is placed at the front of the church and anyone with a firearm is welcome to have a go at the effigy.
My jaw must have dropped a lot more than I thought it did: "Doesn't the priest get, um, a bit peeved at the gunshot damage on the façade of the church?" I asked.
"Why?" asked Andrés, smiling. "Every year he gets the church repainted for free!"
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