Espana!

Holiday in Spain.

Here's the blog about Spain, as promised. We traveled in the southern portion of Spain along the Mediterannean coast to places like Malaga, Riviera del Sol, and Mijas Puerto. From the second I touched down in Spain, I was in love with the country. It's striking natural beauty speckled with man-made architecture was the perfect mix of man-meeting-nature. The weather was hot, but not as humid as Ghana, and the Mediterannean Sea's chilly water reminded me of the mountain water back home. We spent most of our days shopping in Fuengirola and relaxing on the many beautiful beaches. At night, we typically cooked our own meals back in the condo. The most difficult decisions we made all week went something like this: "Red or white wine?", "This beach or that beach?", "Ice cream now or later?" It was simply amazing, to put it in small words. If anyone ever gets the opportunity to go to Spain, I highly recommend it. Thanks, once again, to my parents for letting us use their timeshare. It was the perfect vacation after spending 4 months in West Africa and I know that none of us will ever forget it!

My first night in Spain was spent trying to find the resort where my parents had the timeshare. I should probably add that the only Spanish I know is "toilet" and "In the name of Jesus Christ" (Belize mission trip in high school). I am the queen of being ill-prepared when I visit unfamiliar places, and my arrival in Spain was a perfect testimony of that. It was 1 a.m. when I wandered out of the airport. "Riviera?" I said to a taxi driver. He took me to a place called the Riviera Hotel. Not the correct Riviera. I stood outside, less 25 euros, clutching my suit case, and wondering where in the world I was. Thankfully the man working inside this hotel spoke a little English. He informed me that I was still 35 kilometers away from Riviera del Sol. He also informed me that all the hostels in the area were booked. He called a nearby hotel and booked me for one night at the rate of 38 euros. It was more money than I wanted to spend, but still not a bad price for a bed and a shower. I had to climb up a steep hill, lugging along my heavy suitcase, in the middle of the night. I finally made it to the hotel and had to wait several minutes for them to find someone who spoke English. I got the key to my room and stumbled in around 2:30 a.m. I hadn't had a hot shower in 4 months so that was my first order of business. I walked into the bathroom and turned on the water. The shower head shot off the hook and swung around like a pressure washer. I honest-to-goodness could have cleaned my mom's driveway with that shower head. Needless to say, I ended up holding the shower head above my head while I showered. At least it was hot water. The next morning I spent another 38 euros getting to Riviera del Sol.

Katie and Ali didn't get to Spain for a couple of days so I spent my alone time watching old black and white movies in my underwear, drinking milk straight out of the carton. Glamorous, I know. Spain was fantastic. Some journal entries for your perusal:

June 14, 2008

Riviera del Sol

I'm finally at the correct Riviera, sitting on my personal porch watching the pinks and yellows fade behind the Spanish hills. Those beautiful, skinny (Italian looking) evergreens mingled with picturesque palm trees are outlining the horizon. White stucco homes with tiled roofs are speckled thickly up the darker-growing hills. This is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Solitude is a marvelous thing every now and again. I think I'll add this moment to my box of memories that I can pull out when life gets in the way. The darker clouds are winning now, but they're unaware of what the sun has in store. The sun will always win in the end, like justice and other noble things I wouldn't know a lot about. I feel so priviledged to be able to experience something as wonderful as these last few months.