Los Escullos Almeria

... it might help. Let's just say, nothing made it taste worse than how it started. 13 euro later I was still starving. (I could only force down 1/4 of the pasta.) I stopped in a market but couldn't find anything microwaveable. And being in a hotel rather than a hostel my cooking devices open to me are limited. I finally stumbled upon a pizza place. Thank goodness, you can't screw up pizza, right?

I order a 'birra' which I later recognized was idiotic since that's ...

... had an American vegetarian in his Argentinian restaurant in Spain. I had some delicious vegetable soup and pasta. And after one glass of Rioja (typical Spanish wine) he suggested I instead drink the 'good stuff' some Syrah wine from Argentina. I am now on my 3rd glass of wine, my bag has been 'dropped' by my side for 2 hours and my friendly waiter, who also lived in Rhode Island for several years, snuck me the wifi passcode for the restaurant's office.

Life is good.

... with plastic td greenhouses that grow fruits and vegetables. You can not find a single area that doesn't have a plastic greenhouse. The mountains are very dry and rocky. We stopped in a town called Almerimar for lunch - a fishing village and big windsurfing and water sport area. The town has a marina and yacht club. There were tons of boats in the marina, but the town was pretty well shutdown for the winter. Only a handful of cafes were open. It was pretty quiet. We ...

... the day from Olly: "We came down here to see what it would be like to sleep here Chris. We the discovered its the kind of place that goats get brutally masacred. Therefore, Its not a good place to sleep, is it." Despite Ollys compelling arguement the thing that changed my mind was the sketchy guy the kept cycling near us. When he returned with more friends to look at us I thought F**k this, lets do some night riding. The decision was further reinforced when we left because we ...

... enough to tick the box: `went to a nuddist beach´. . . I´m not mental . . and I do not care how much I care.

When we returned Tracy gave us some bad news about our cycling to come. Firstly, there was a heat wave due (last year it hit 57 degrees in land), there is a windy season, and we were about to cross the siera nevada (a massive mountain range). Apparently Spain is the second most mountainous country in Europe. This along side the fact that I had ...

... asking to use there computer in an estate agent (they politely refused) and buying a peach in a supermarket just so we could ask the cashier who ended up drawing us a map on the back of a receipt.

After an amazing meal was cooked for us we drank beers and exchanged travelling stories with Tracy (who had backbacked for 8 years). Then off to bed. . . . in an actual bed. normal = good

Our goal was to see the Costa del Sol villages along the med sea
and then head on to Barcelona. We had to fly into Madrid on the 26th
spent the day there and stayed at the hotel Regina which was right across the street from the metro station Sevilla. For the price it was a very nice hotel and right in the middle of Puerta del Sol.

We decided to take the bus to Almeria from Mendes Alvaro metro ...

13th October 2008 Camping Roquetas, Costa Almeria The winds and dust have gone The roaring winds and dusty haze has gone now but that means the mosquitoes were out in force last night, so much so we had to retire to the tent. Even the cleaner commented on my lumps and bumps this morning! We decided this morning to stay in bed and not cycle to Motril as planned. So round about 11 off we ...

... local rumour implies that a certain amount of alcohol was involved) when they ran into a merchant ship which promptly circumcised their bows! The reception staff were very friendly & helpful giving us a map of the town & saying they could phone the Alhambra for us & book our ticket , when we visit Granada. The costs were about average (17€ per night reduced by 20% after 3 nights). They sent a marinero to help us moor the boat ...

... to sit with them or eat with them to practice and listen, too. THey have two little dogs that are AMAZINLY well-trained. Strangely enough, I did not expect them to respond to Spanish commands. I just thought all dogs spoke English. They also have two sons that live out of the house. One has the sweetest 1.5 yr old girl I have EVER seen and she comes to the house twice each week. The other owns a Pizzaria that they will take me to at some point. He makes ...