I am happy to report I am writing from Spain. Linda and I had a great 9 days, visiting historical sites, snorkeling and enjoying tapas across southeast Spain. With so few days to play, it was a little rushed. That just means we know some places we want to visit during a future trip.
We had three nights in Madrid to see the sights and adjust to the time zone. Our first meal in Spain was actually really good Peruvian food at a restaurant near the Airbnb. Most of our passes and tickets were discounted – age has its advantages!
Madrid
By the end of our stay, we had mastered the transportation system, loaded our Metro card, figured out how to rush between train lines underground and get around the city. Getting turned around in the beginning was just part of the fun.
Madrid is a beautiful city. One of the most distinctive features is the abundance of rooftop sculptures. The top level of the Hop-on Hop-off buses were great for seeing things that weren’t all that visible from the street.
The opulences of the Royal Palace was made more interesting by the stories told by our guide about the royal family and how each generation chose to use the palace in their way. The current royal family opted to not have their own sterling or china pattern designed, preferring instead to use that of the previous king. How thrifty.
After a siesta, we wandered back out to visit Retiro Park. We strolled under the biggest trees I had seen in the city to a large man-made lake. People were paddling row boats, feeding the turtles and a black swan and hanging out on the steps, waiting for sunset. There is something about the European art that makes the experience different from a US city. Maybe it’s the age or the type of art. For me, it is like stepping back in time.
Córdoba
One of the themes of our short journey was my challenges parking the rented Audi A4. It was the perfect car on the hills and highways, powerful and responsive. It was a nightmare in the tiny underground parking spaces. In Cordoba, we first had to circle a really long block three times to even turn on to the driveway to reach the parking garage. The opening to the garage was protected by a dragon – well actually, a gate – that was activated by a key.
What we didn’t know was that it was on a short timer which we learned when it started to close while I was slowly driving in. Linda valiantly tried to stop the gate from closing and was fortunately not injured while jousting with the dragon. The short story is, I made it inside, and with a true team effort, we parked that car after at least a dozen small adjustments. We walked to the Airbnb, not at all confident that I would be able to exit the garage. My first choice was to fly Heather up from South Africa to get the car out of the garage, second choice was to just call Enterprise and let them know where to find their Audi. In the end, after a wonderful day in Cordoba, we exited successfully, agreed to never speak of the event and made our way to Gibraltar.
I really enjoyed our quiet morning walk through Cordoba to the Mosque-Cathedral. There were almost no people on the streets as we worked our way to the old part of town. The narrow streets were mostly in shadow and still cool. We saw painters hanging from slings who were creating the impression of old columns and facades on recently stuccoed walls. There was a statue of a woman watering real potted plants that were hanging from a wall and there was a real man watering the same plants.
We somehow found an 8 Euro breakfast that included a Cappuccino, fresh orange juice, water baguettes, cheese, ham, butter and jam. The waiter even gave us an extra bottle of water as we left because of the heat.
Mosque-Cathedral
Getting its start in the mid 6th century as the Visigoth Basilica of San Vicente, this amazing place was one of my favorite stops. The arches left from its days as a mosque give a strong visual reminded of previous events. The dark mahogany structure that makes up the choir in the center of what is now the cathedral, tell a story of a very different time in the church’s history. The crazy gilded statues made me think of both the places that were conquered for gold and the people who journeyed the seas to find it. History is history and I don’t believe it can rightfully be judged in the present tense. We have the luxury of learning from history and deciding what is right today. The Mosque-Cathedral is a place for contemplation.
Gibraltar
Ever since a short visit with Heather in 2015, I had wanted to visit Gibraltar again to see more of the area. We stayed a short way out of Gibraltar in the town of La Línea de la Concepción because it was much cheaper, not because it had such a cool name. Parking on the street was easy (hurray).
The first morning, we braved the winding mountain roads to attend an olive oil tour and tasting at a small family-owned business, 30 minutes away. I learned how to interpret the label on a bottle of olive oil. Newsflash! The whole idea of charging more for a first-press is completely bogus. It mattered back when olives were pressed on manual presses. Today, there is only one press and all of the oil is of equal quality.
What matters is how old (in hours) the olives were when they went into the press. Some producers mix old olives with new olives to increase production. That changes the flavor. Then there is filtered and unfiltered. I have always kept olive oil in the refrigerator to keep it from going rancid. That only matters for unfiltered olive oil. Odds are pretty good my olive oil is filtered.
My last bit of insight was that I don’t actually like the “really good stuff” the flavor is too strong.
We ventured out later with the intention of finding dinner in Gibraltar and scoping out our route for the morning. The odyssey of getting to the restaurant was definitely part of the fun. Fortunately, both Linda and I share the attitude that things not exactly working out as planned is part of the reason for traveling.
The UBER app said it would get us to the restaurant in 20 minutes. Curious, since there would be a border to cross. The wait time for the UBER kept going up so we decided to walk in the right direction and see what we could find. Along the broad road that followed the coast line, we flagged a taxi. For 5 Euros, he would get us to the border. We would then walk across and look for a new taxi on the UK side. Hmmm – wonder what the UBER would have done for three times the money.
With no lines at the crossing, were dually stamped by cross, grumpy looking border guards, and walked into the UK. It was Linda’s first trip to the UK and she didn’t even have to go through Heathrow. No taxis to be seen, we hopped on a nearby bus to go into town. With our senior discounts, the ride was 3 Euro for both of us.
We hunted on foot for the restaurant, only to discover that Lord Nelson’s, contrary to several reviews, was not just like a neighborhood English pub. We sat for more than ten minutes, watching tourists and deciding on a new restaurant without a single person coming anywhere near our table or seeing any of the other customers.
A short walk away, we enjoyed a lovely dinner, sampled a Spanish cognac and even got our waitress to give it a quick sip.
The next day, we drove to Tarifa, the southernmost point in Spain, to snorkel where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. There is a very small Nature Park that provided a sheltered bit of water where we would look at fish. The tour included a full wetsuit along with snorkeling gear, even though the water was not all that cold. The only available parking spot looked beyond my skills so when the parking attendant told me to pull into it, I asked if he could park the Audi for me. He quickly recruited a complete stranger who managed the task with relative ease. People can be so nice!
On the last day near Gibraltar, we arrived at The Rock around 11 am and were happy to see there wasn’t much of a line. It was September 1st and the “season” was officially over.
The actual ride to the top of the rock is less than 10 minutes but it does provide a great view of the bay where we had been staying. My favorite part of the visit was the Experience at St Michael’s Cave. They have created a multi-media show that really makes the most of the interior of the cave using video and music.
We snapped a few pictures of the famous monkeys and managed to walk down the hill, back to the car before our parking permit ran out. Hurray!!
Malaga – Benalmádena
The airbnb was actually 20 minutes northwest of Malaga in the small town of Benalmádena. The magic of our journey continued when we wandered out, looking for dinner, and found a full-blown festival underway – the Arabian Souk. Streets were lined with vendors, there were people everywhere. We went with the flow and found ourselves in a little piece of Morocco where band members were getting ready to perform. It turned out they were a traveling band and soon left the spot, playing wonderful music. We stayed to enjoy traditional Moroccan mint tea and pastry. It was like we made it to Morocco after all, just minus the ferry ride across the Mediterranean Sea.
The view from the Airbnb was just as advertised, the whitewashed town below us with a backdrop of the Mediterranean Sea. In the morning, we happened to find a castle built between 1986 and 1998 by someone with time and money who wanted to commemorate Columbus’ journeys. Cheap entry with our senior discount made it worth the price of admission. I’m not sure I would advise going out of one’s way to see it, but since we had practically tripped over it in our meanderings, it was a nice to see.
At last, time had run out and we had to say goodbye. Linda bravely journeyed back to Madrid on her own while I returned the Audi and prepared to start the next chapter of my trip. We had seen and done such a grand variety of things over just a short time. We agreed our next bit of adventure would include staying one place longer, even if it meant not covering so much ground. That said, I was super happy with the trip. We had made room for getting lost, for meeting people and seeing bits of history. We had practiced the team sport of parking on many occasions. The world has so much to offer, I know will explore more of it in the coming years.
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In loving memory of a friend who has left too soon. I will carry you in my heart forever.
