Elba Costa Ballena Beach Hotel Rota

... and got ready to go out. Thinking I was back in L.A., I brought a red dress and heels with me. Everyone else had decided that the beach was a casual place, so flipflops and jeans would be perfect. Trust me, you'll notice the contrast in the photo I post! Anyway, we walked around the small city until we settled at a tapas bar. Cadiz is a very small city with little cobblestone streets and antique looking buildings. We walked around the ...

... to communicate. We were able to watch Flamingo dancing at the center in town as there was a special performance that night and the star was a young man who grew up in Cadiz and Loly and her husband have known as a child. After the show we went to lunch with Sergio and Oscar their sons. Oscar is older and speaks a little English and looks just like Jon Vaglio. Crazy. That morning both sons were at a casting call for a movie to be made with Tom ...

... set up a little ladder so that the mice could drink the sherry out of a wine glass!


Then we went to the horse show. Very similar to what the Lippanzaner Stallions do. It was…an experience…but I don’t think I’ll ever go watch something like that again. But I can at least say that I've seen it.

... the way we stopped in Olvera so Mike could get his photo of the village and church tower. We arrived to Nerja very late and couldn't plug in the address in our handy-dandy gps - so we had to call the owner in the UK to give us directions. it was kind of late by the time we got to the house (after midnight). ugh! this was a long, long day! But, we're excited to be at the beach for the next 7 days. Shae can't wait to get her feet wet in the mediterranean.

... streets at night. There might have been several million of the carnaval people in Cadiz that night, I think.

By the way, the most original and interesting costumes were of Lego; there were also a few people dressed up as Mario, the pope or Heineken bottles, but my personal best was a guy dressed up as Facebook. He was unbeatable.

Our train was scheduled for the evening, when it was already dark, and when the festival was actually about to begin. I ...

... dan trekt er een lagedrukgebied over en wanen we ons meteen in Nederland, maar dat duurt gelukkig maar een dag. Hoewel het de komende dagen wat bewolkt blijft is het erg aangenaam. Problemen blijven er natuurlijk altijd, nu is het onze buitenboord motor. Zodra ik de benzinekraan open zet stroomt de benzine er bij de carborateur uit en niet zo'n beetje. Geen schroefje zit los en het eerste probleem heeft zich aangediend, temeer daar we de komende week snelstromende ...

... never becoming entirely clear to me. Grace and her family happen to be the most hospitable people in Spain. And they happen to live in a big white villa on the beach. And to own a pizzaria, and some bars, and a rather encycopedic knowledge of andalucian vegetarian cooking. All of which is very helpful for two self-fed vegos struggling in a land ruled by ham. A difficult week was spent basking in the sun and in the generosity of our hosts, eating eating eating and then ...

... all layered and pretty, but we had to drink them anyway. Next, a group wandered down the narrow yellow lighted roads to the port. It was pretty quiet and I was getting restless so after a short visit, I left. I made my way down to the beach and walked out on the pier. I watched the waves smashing into the rock shimmering down a shower of drops lit by the moon. It was mesmerizing but I noticed I was getting splashed so I retreated back to the shore. Nicole ...

... by the guy running the place. I guess it was time for siesta (3pm) so they were closing. I scrambled about apologising for keeping him...I was the last person there. I guess I was so focused that I hadn't noticed the other 20 people leave. I dropped my stuff off at the apartment then changed into beach clothes. I didn't even bother putting on shoes because the front door is literally about 15 steps from the sand. As I walked along the cool ...

... to the apartment. The conversation continued hitting heavy subjects like science, religion, politics and psychology. A few other friends came over for a visit but in the end only Jami and I were left hashing it out. Exhausted from the depth of it all, we finally said good night and I barely remember my head hitting the pillow. Today I am thankful for trains. I can lose myself in thoughts as we glide along smoothly past the countryside.