Mountain Villages & Heading Home

We never tired of our expansive breakfast buffets, including deep fried eggs, bacon, chocolate covered donuts, variety of fruits, meats, cheeses, champagne, cappuccino, etc, etc - getting home to the weigh scale will tell the tale! We also enjoyed the seaside walkway or paseo, complete with elaborate sand sculptures, beautiful green monk parakeets & numerous restaurants & shops.

We headed off to visit Olav & May at their rental apt. in Nerja - took the bus first to Malaga, a bargain at 1.65 euro. We had time for a wander about - found a beautiful flower market on the meridian of a major street and a huge indoor fresh market with an amazing stained glass wall. Onto another bus to Nerja, an hour west, past hundreds of greenhouses then off in Olav's rental car to visit Competa. Twisty, narrow roads past olive, almond, mango & citrus orchards up into the hills. Market day so a bit more shopping (should have brought bigger suitcases!), beautiful woven carpets, lunch outdoors in the town square; paella & chicken curry & exploring the pretty white village. Spent the night at their rental flat then off on another road trip in the morning.

More windy mountain roads on the trip to a unique white village perched on the top of a mountain - Compare. A centuries old Moorish town, complete with a surrounding wall & entry gate. Lots of narrow streets & walkways with ceramic plaques outlining the Moor & Spanish history, including the 15th century church and a colorful cemetery. Breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside. Stopped for tapas & beer in an old restaurant & enjoyed watching the locals play dominoes & cards. As we wandered the town an older woman beckoned us into her home where she proceeded to "pitch" her wares - huge mangoes, grapes, almonds, figs & fresh cheese - we were happy to support her entrepreneurial efforts & thoroughly enjoyed our purchases.

We found our way back down from the mountains to the sea & to our hotel, leaving Olav & May until our next visit, having enjoyed our adventure together.

We followed Hurricane Patricia's path through Mexico on the Spanish TV, glad to hear that minimal damage was done. We had our own heavy rainstorm that caused quite the mess along the beachside walkway. We managed to pack our bags, including of course 2 leather jackets (one each!), and took our last stroll down the beach.

The trip home was brutal - we left our hotel at 6:45am, 3 flights, up for 27 hours then home, sweet, home at midnite after a 7 hour time change!

 All told, a wonderful holiday, until the next one - still Living the Dream!

Ancient palaces, Alhambra & Alcazeba

Our next tour took us to Granada to visit the Alhambra - a medieval palace built in the 1300's by Nasrid sultans ( Arabic Muslims). Decorated with intricate patterns of wood, ceramics, plaster & calligraphy, but no images as that is forbidden by the Quran. Breathtaking, carved wooden ceilings, stalactites of plaster, indoor fountains & "streams". Access is very controlled to prevent too many people inside at any time, they checked our tickets 4 separate times, it was definitely a "bucket list item" for me.

We also toured the old centre of Granada thru squares & to the cathedral. And of course "free time for shopping"!

We have been spending time with other Canadians from our group, happy hours, suppers & a very enjoyable Sunday roast dinner at an English restaurant, complete with 5 kinds of roast meat & banofee pie for dessert! We are a bit lonely now as the group went home Wednesday, leaving us to our own devices for another week. We have taken the local buses to visit surrounding towns - Mijas up in the mountains ( we both purchased lovely leather jackets there), Fuengirola to the huge weekly market ( of course we found a few things that we "needed" and to the city of Malaga. In Malaga we visited the Alcazaba, another Moor (Arabic Muslim) palace, constructed in the 11th century. Not as ornate as the Alhambra but we enjoyed it more as they also have many artifacts from the period on display. We were lucky to see a group of flamenco dancers having photos done - of course we took as few as well. Next to the palace are the remains of an ancient Roman theatre, pretty cool! Up a very long hill from the palace we toured the Castillo de Gibralfaro, constructed in the 14th century to protect the palace. Malaga bullring looks quite out of place in the city! In Malaga we enjoyed the best meal yet at La Tortuga bar, mixed tapas & local beers.

Of course we still lounge in the sun, catching up on some reading & people watching.

Tomorrow we are off to Nerja where my Norwegian brother Olav & his wife May will be vacationing. Time for a quick visit before we start the "fun" job of packing. Definitely enjoying ourselves!

Travels in Morocco

We spent a day here in Torremolinos thinking about my father - he actually spent his last few years living here. We found his last apartment & had a beer with an old Danish fellow in a Scandinavian pub who remembered Roar. It was a good day.

We spent our 39th wedding anniversary on the beach and supper of seafood & Fire grilled sardines - excellent!

On Oct. 10 we left for a 3 day trip to Morocco. Bus trip then a ferry from Algeciras across the Strait of Gibraltar to Cueta. We were surprised to learn that Cueta is a Spanish city on the coast of North Africa. City tour, tapas & beer then off to the border of Morocco - slow process, dealing first with Spanish customs, then Moroccan. Our guide Mohammed was very helpful! First stop camel riding - a bit frightening when they stand up but great fun for only 3€.

An unfortunate fact of Morocco that we found out about pretty quickly - young teenage boys think that life in Spain is "perfect" so they try to sneak their way there. They see a tourist bus, doesn't matter which direction it is headed, and they try to climb onto the back grill or climb underneath & cling onto the frame. 3 boys were discovered underneath the bus when we stopped for the camels, filthy from head to toe - grease & road dirt, they were chased out but tried to get back on as soon as we started moving. Sadly this was a regular occurrence at most stops, even through the customs area.

Tangier city tour on the bus and a walking tour of the Medina (market). Busy city, people, scooters & cars everywhere, noisy and dangerous to cross the street! Our bus driver seemed inexperienced with the narrow streets & tight turns, he managed to back into a car in a traffic circle. This caused pandemonium - yelling, arms waving, quite the excitement! It didn't delay us too much, we arrived at our hotel in Tangier by 8, dinner not till 9. This was almost early by Spanish standards!

We were given some history of Morocco including some basic facts about Muslims way of life & their dress. Surprisingly 60% of Moroccans are 20 yrs old or younger, but generally it is not a poor country, lots of agriculture. It is becoming more modern, we saw only a few women with the full burkas, but many men & women wear the jihab (caftan with a hood).

We left Tangier to go to Chefchaouen, a city in the mountains, very picturesque, past small farms with donkeys, sheep, goats & cattle. Saw lots of olive groves & 3 traffic accidents. The transmission on our bus was failing so we had only 2 gears, stalled several times on the 2 lane highway (rather dangerous) & travelled at either 30 km/hr or 70 km/ hr. Not a fun ride & we unfortunately had chosen to sit in the front seat. 

We had an amazing walking tour with a tiny local man as our guide. He led us through the blue & white city (white to reflect the sun, blue to ward off mosquitos) - thru tiny lanes, up and down stairs, thru the Souk, quite cave-like in places, built in the 1400's. Excellent lunch of Moroccan stew, then of course, free time for shopping ( this is fit into every tour!). Lots of handwoven blankets, tablecloths & scarves, also leather, esp. Pointy shoes & purses of every colour.

Our 2nd night was spent in M'Diq in a beachside hotel, lovely and a great place to add to our sea glass collection. Plus we got a "matrimonial bed" ( queen), vs the singles in our hotel in Spain!

We were greeted in the morning with a new bus - hurrah!, then off to Tetouan, a city started in the 8th century - can't get over the age of places, quite the experience to walk on streets where the Romans may have been. Another walking tour thru the walled centre of the city, thru different markets, gold, leather, clothing Berber blankets, second hand, all in narrow lanes & squares. I was the model/Guinea pig that was dresses in traditional Berber dress, many layers plus a charming hat! We wandered thru the Kasba (housing area), each with a mosque, Koran school, Turkish bath, bakery & fountain. We were given a "tour" of a Berber pharmacy - selling Moroccan Argan oil, spices & other exotic oils & potions, then of course, shopping. Hopefully we make it through customs with our collection.

Lunch was a delicious Moroccan meal in a beautiful hall, exquisite detail in the decorations, Arabic dancers & musicians - couscous, chicken, mint tea.

After spending 3 days listening to rowdy Spaniards & the hustle & bustle of Morocco it was lovely to return to our hotel, looking forward to two more weeks of sun & relaxation.

We spent yesterday on a trip by local bus to the town of Mijas, along with another couple. Horse & buggy taxis, amazing views of the coastline, lots of shops - leather as soft as butter, I may be coming home with a new jacket!

We continue to "live the dream"!