On Sunday, May 15,

I arrived in Madrid. After dropping my backpack off at the hostel at which I was staying, I met up with Christina and her friends.

It was fortunate that I had arrived when I did, they told me. The 15th of May is the Feast Day of San Isidro, the patron saint of Madrid, and throughout the city celebrations of the holiday were underway. In addition, a Manifestacion (demonstration) had been organized to coincide with the celebrations and we were going to see it.

Traditionally, crowds gather to celebrate the holiday in Puerta del Sol (the Gate of the Sun), a large plaza in the center of Madrid where the gate of the city once stood. This year, in addition to the celebratory gathering, there was to be a march into the square by the young and disenfranchised of Spain.

My first day in Spain and I was already in the midst of a national political protest.

I knew this was going to be a good trip.

Leaving the tumultuous uproar of the city square, we walked south to the river where a firelight display had been installed in celebration of the holiday. We gazed at the flames floating on the river until it was too late to stay up any longer.

On Monday, I spent the day walking about the city - first on my own and then with a walking tour. While walking about, I saw my first solar powered piece of Spanish infrastructure:

If only I’d been able to read the manual…

After the walking tour, I visited the Reina Sofia with two new friends that I had met that day, Billy from Holland and Iyad from Germany. The museum’s collection was stunning. To gaze upon the masterworks of Dali and Picasso in Spain was an experience that I will not forget.

After a day trip to Toledo, the former capital of Spain, on Tuesday with Billy, I had my first solar energy technology meeting on Wednesday with Tomas Diaz of the Asociacion de la Industria Fotovoltaica, a private non-profit organization that serves to lobby for and promote the growth of the Spanish photovoltaic industry.

The discussion with Mr. Diaz was very illuminating and was a fantastic chance to discuss the current state of the Spanish photovoltaic industry.

After another day of walking about in Madrid on Thursday, on Friday I visited Carlos del Canizo Nadal, the director of the Instituto de Energia Solar at the Polytechnic University of Madrid.

The Institute’s building had solar panel window shades

and was surrounded by testbed projects such as a solar powered home and various types of solar concentrator panels.

Meeting with Professor Canizo was a great opportunity to learn about the history and accomplishments of the oldest photovoltaic research center in the world and to hear about its current areas of endeavor.

Later on Friday night, my time in Madrid came to a close as it had begun, at the protests in Puerta del Sol.

Unexpectedly, some of the marchers from Sunday evening had decided to camp out in the square on Sunday night and by Monday had begun setting up temporary shelters. On my walking tour that day, I pondered how things would develop.

A few television stations were curious as well, apparently.

By Thursday, thousands had gathered in support, and by Friday night, tens of thousands had gathered in the streets and squares surrounding Puerta del Sol despite the potential ban on political gatherings as a result of the elections on Sunday, May 22.

Symbolic of the generation’s breaking from their previous political apathy, the crowd took a moment of silence before midnight and then shouted out at the stroke of twelve.

Every few minutes, chants would ring out from the crowd expressing distaste for the current politicians and for the way in which the financial crisis has been handled.

I was honored to have the opportunity to observe and participate in such a gathering.

After a short night's sleep, I checked out of the hostel in Madrid and boarded a train to Barcelona.