My Spanish Connection…

Just before we left my parents home in Uvongo, my mother presented Patricia with a laminated copy of our family’s Coat of  Arms, which just added another little twist to my already complicated heritage…!!

“This is to prove to you that you have married into nobility…!!” my father said with a wide grin…

Patricia was relatively unfazed by this latest revelation from my father, having been bombarded with snippets of information about our more recent history, even since our arrival… After some of the stories she had heard, I didn’t expect anything to surprise her anyway…!!

Although I had briefly mentioned that our family name originated in Spain, this was the first time that Patricia had confirmation of that… I had never discussed the fact that we had traced our ancestry back to the 16th century, and that the Spanish authorities of the day had recognized the nobility of our family by granting them an official coat of arms…

The Oak Tree on a Red background represents strength, something I had called upon many times over the past few years, especially when hoisting the Big Fella back onto his tyres after the few falls  we had…!!

The many friends I have made and ridden with in South America must be wondering why I never managed to master more than a smattering of Spanish during the months I traveled through the continent…!! I can’t figure it out myself, but after 5 or 6 centuries, I guess the Spanish gene has been diluted right outta me…!!

I see myself as just a South African of Portuguese and Irish extraction… Nothing too complicated about that…Is there…??

No more complicated I guess than my American wife’s German and Irish heritage…!!

Considering our very mixed family backgrounds, it will come as no surprise that Patricia and I see ourselves as “Citizens of the World”, and after our recent union, we fully expect to be inducted into the United Nations Hall of Fame in the very near future…!!