“Such a lovely place, Put that mask on your face Plenty of room at the Hotel Covid 19 Anytime this year You might find us here” It’s been an interesting year so far, that’s for sure. But we did finally make it back to Canada. Our journey from Malaga through Amsterdam on to Toronto went fairly smoothly compared to the last time we tried to leave Spain. The airplanes were only half full and the airports were relatively quiet, although they were busier than we expected. Europe is open for business and other than masks everywhere and a lack of full service (and meals) at the hotels, it’s pretty much…
Ronda – Last Days
The month has flown by! We have been relaxed here as opposed to Marbella. Covid is not a big issue in Ronda and other than everyone wearing masks, life is pretty much back to normal. No tourists though which is why it is quiet but it is not good for the local economy. We will be sorry to leave although it is getting a little warm for our tastes…the thermometer currently sitting at 38C. We managed to rebook our last KLM flight and so we are in Malaga for a week and then home on July 10th via Amsterdam and Toronto. Nobody has cancelled…yet. We haven’t done too much as…
Ronda – (You look so fine)
Catchy Beach Boys tune that, ‘Help Me, Rhonda’. Perfect for our situation right now. As you have probably astutely guessed, we are not in Canada. We needed a change of scenery from Marbella with all the palm trees and beaches etc…boring. Also having our flights cancelled…again…possibly had something to do with being here, but an influx of alcohol has put the subtle nuances of the decision process just out of reach. Our friend Charo was more than happy to rent us her lovely apartment for however long it takes, and they even came down to Marbella, picked us up, and drove us to Ronda. How nice was that! Something always…
Marbella – Freedom (kinda, sort of…)
Another long interlude between posts. You’d think with sitting around doing nothing and numbing out that we’d have more time to post, but in actual fact, when you’re locked up with very little to do, the days blow by in a haze like snow drifts in Alberta. Besides, there is not much to post about let alone take photos of. You’ve already seen the palm trees off our balcony and I’m pretty sure 10 different angle shots of the murphy bed, Ikea dresser, and the fridge are not high on your interest list. We have fumbled through the days with the usual yoga, scrabble, almost daily grocery shopping, reading, and…
Marbella – Locked up (and down)
Since the last post we went from being kicked off the beach to semi-quarantine and during that span we needed to travel from Marbella to Malaga. That was ok; very quiet and the bus was mostly empty. We found our way to the new airBnB but did not get to meet our host as the mandatory lockdown orders from the Spanish government came down that day. So, we settled in to a routine of shopping when necessary, yoga, scrabble, and staring at the construction site outside our bedroom window, which BTW was still ongoing. No corona-virus holiday for those guys. We were a bit stressed of course and most of…
Marbella – On the Beach
Not on the beach as in we’re suntanning and swimming but more Nevil Shute waiting for the atomic cloud to come and get us. Welcome to Holidays in Hell, part 3 (again apologies to P.J. O’Rourke). Earthquakes –check Volcanic Eruptions – check Thunder and Lightning – check Hurricane – check (although really, we got there after) Pandemic Zombie Apocalypse virus – check It’s weird here. Sunday afternoon and nobody around, even on the beach promenade. Well, there are a few people strolling, including us, making sure we are ‘social distancing’ and we’re not sick anyway. I think we’re safer outside than in but…there were the local police halfway through our…
Marbella – The Golden Mile
I was initially going to entitle this The Golden Rip-off, but to be fair, that would be a bit harsh. This strip of southern Spain’s Andalusian coast is absolutely beautiful, and we are staying smack in the middle of it. Extending about 5km from old town Marbella to Puerto Banus, this stretch of beachfront is home to some of the poshest villas in Spain And the wealth continues up the hillside away from the water towards La Concha, an imposing shell-shaped mountain that overlooks and protects the entire area. Needless to say, things are a bit on the pricey side here. When we see brunch at a sea-side restaurant being…
Jerez – The Mini Alhambra
We thought we should at least visit the Alcazar here since it is one of the most emblematic monuments in the city and we’ve been a little slack in the touristo department having skipped this wonderful relic on our last 2 visits. The Alcazar, or walled city, was built in 12th century and is one of the few examples of Almohade architecture that still exists in the Iberian Peninsula. While not as extensive as the Alhambra in Granada, it was quite grandiose back in the day, as Jerez was an important city in Lower Andalusia with the Alcazar’s 4km long walls enclosing a population of some 16,000. What’s left today…
Jerez 2020 – Dog Days
It’s not summer, being only the beginning of February, but with temperatures in the low to mid 20s and today more like 27 (again), it sure feels like it. Our third time here, we’ve seen most of what the city has to offer a tourist and we’ve certainly posted enough photos of statues, buildings, relics, and pointy-hatted dudes. So, to change it up, we thought we’d celebrate the warm weather by drinking (more) sherry and sharing Jerez’s dog-days.
Malaga – Where the Rain in Spain Falls Mostly…
in Vancouver, or Ottawa, or Atlantic Canada. But not here. At least so far. Sunshine and 18 degrees. We suffered through the last 2 months on the wet coast and that was enough. We hear it’s even worse now with Vancouver set for snow and cold, so we are going to enjoy the winter break here in Andalusia and this may become an annual thing as winter in any part of Canada is not really appealing anymore. Malaga is the start of another 3+ months in Spain but we’re only here for a week to start with. We are still adjusting to the overseas traveling with the long flights and…