I’m no linguist, and have a pathetically short list of words at hand for most countries we tour in.  It’s embarassing really, but somehow we’ve managed to get by with little more than common phrases, greetings and minimal transactional language in the by now nearly three cumulative years we’ve spent biking in non-English speaking countries.  When we first got started in this we made a better effort and took conversational French and Italian classes; but since then we’ve been almost inexcusably lazy about this.

Spanish is no exception.  I don’t know that many words in Spanish, and the ones I do know I don’t know well.  Vuelta is a good example.  My only exposure to the word vuelta is in context of La Vuelta (properly, Vuelta a España), the Spanish counterpart to the Tour de France and the final Grand Tour of the cycling season.  Without giving it much thought, I’ve assumed before now that vuelta meant tour.  It’s not that simple though. 

Vuelta is one of those simple but complicated words which can be used as multiple parts of speech and can take many different meanings depending on context.  When used as a noun, it translates as turn, return, tour, walk, change, spin, lap, round, detour, revolution, reprise, yadda yadda yadda.  Its use as a verb is simpler, where it is a form of the verb volver: to return.

For what it’s worth, Google Translate converts vuelta into English this way:

• La vuelta = the turn
• Vuelta = return 

An why do we care?  Well, we care because we need a name for this silly journal and it occurred to me to pattern it after La Vuelta (which begins next weekend!).  We can’t use that name of course, because it’s been taken and has been for the last 74 years.  Fortunately, we’re going to more than merely España.  We’re going to Iberia!

Interestingly, Google Translate gives us these English equivalents:

• La vuelta a Iberia = around Iberia 
• Vuelta a Iberia = back to Iberia 

They’re both suitable, but Vuelta a Iberia feels pretty much perfect.  Back to Iberia, a land we’ve grown to love.