Deanna’s Birthday – and last days in Barcelona.

 It turns out Devin doesn’t really think I am 25 as he greeted me in the morning with a big hug and a reminder that today I am …39…ok not really.  Anyway, he is fully aware of my age and enjoyed telling me all day how old I was now.  Such a sweet boy, our Devin.

The day started with lots of hugs and kisses and Noah woke up early for the first day of this trip! Calvin made a great breakfast that included fresh fruit and chocolate croissants and great coffee. He’s got his cup of café con leche down pat. The boys made me homemade cards and each of them had some reference to Spain on them. Bullfights and Spanish flags decorated the front and they will be real keepsakes for me. Lots of lovely gifts that they all picked out and were very excited to give to me. 

It was my choice how I wanted to spend the day so I chose to visit the Gaudi (am I a fan?) park that he designed, called Parc Guell.  Guell was a wealthy client of Gaudi. We once again took the metro and got off a little too early and as a result we had to make a steep climb to the park. Outdoor escalators were available but we still had to climb them.  They had stairs for the non-North American tourist.

The view was beautiful and the park is full of lots to explore.  There was a guy playing both the dijereedoo and the accordion at the same time?  A Polish Aussie?  He was really good and the boys rewarded him with .5 euro each.  

The park is Gaudi’s most colourful creation. There is a large public square with a snaking balcony of colourful mosaics that offered a stunning view of the city and is said to be the world’s largest bench. We took lots of pictures and ate our picnic lunch we brought – restaurants are really expensive here but groceries are cheaper than home…picnics for us.  

Aidan bought me a cool leather bracelet in Jamaican colours from one of the street vendors and Noah picked out a pair of silver earrings for me and they both paid with their own money.  Spoiled me and I loved it!  We enjoyed a gelato on our way back home. 

Calvin poured me a large glass of wine and cooked another amazing dinner while the boys began the art projects I commissioned them to do of me.

Aidan and Devin used coloured markers and Noah used pastels and I am as proud as Picasso’s mother must have been. We enjoyed our dinner, relaxed for about 20 minutes and then headed back out to a night of jazz music in the park. We used our beach towels (we have no beautiful afghan) and lay down to enjoy the music along with many locals and tourists. We didn’t stay too long as it was getting late and I am getting old don’t forget.

 Once we got home, at 12:30am, the wonderful men in my life surprised me with a lemon birthday cake, which just happens to be my favourite.  I had a great day with my great family and thank you for being so understanding of this very self-indulgent entry! XO

Our last full day in Barcelona was spent doing laundry and packing.  Devin stayed home to help me while Calvin, Noah and Aidan went to tour the stadium that the greatest football team in the world, FC Barcelona, calls home. It is the largest football stadium in Europe and comfortably seats and sells out to just fewer than 100,000 fans. The club has a museum inside that displays memorabilia and trophies on 2 floors. They were shocked at how many trophies they have actually won. Noah and Aidan got to hold up the European championship trophy and had their picture taken with the World Cup.  They toured the stadium including the dressing rooms and media rooms and left happy football fans. 

We have really enjoyed our time in Barcelona and  think it is a great city! Thank you to S & T for the use of their lovely home. 

Barcelona

The boys and I were excited to head out on our Antoni Gaudi exploration day. I didn’t know a lot about his work before arriving in Barcelona but we are now all fans.  I will not include too much of his history here but take a look online at some images if you are interested. He was one of the godfathers of Modernisme (a variant of Art Noveau) a style born in Barcelona. The city is full of highly original buildings that he and his contemporaries created. They included many aspects of nature in their designs and I suspect some ‘aspects’ of nature contributed to their inspiration, imagination and courage to challenge the conventional ways.  There is a mushroom from northern Spain that is said to be his favourite piece of nature.  As a result, there are not a lot of straight lines in any of his designs and many styles and colors are incorporated both inside and outside of his works of art. 

We decided to start our Gaudi tour at the Sagrada Familia temple – his final work.  It is one of the most unusual and unconventional churches in Europe and his greatest work.  In 1883, Gaudi inherited the task of designing the church and there could have not been a greater choice as he was in his prime.  He revised the initial plans that looked nothing like the nearly finished final product.  He died before he finished it and it still is not complete but bears his mark. The estimated completion date is still 10 – 12 years away.  

I can’t think of any project anywhere that began more than three generations ago and is still under construction ….OK, maybe our deck.  It helped the boys put some of these huge cathedrals and castles in to perspective.  Seeing a work of art in progress and the enormity of the effort required to complete the task helped them appreciate those that were able to complete buildings hundreds of years ago, without today’s tools or electricity to ease the worker’s load.  There were a lot of tour buses full of cathedral seekers so we decided to walk around and admire the facade from the outside where some believe the most beauty is visible. You can really spend several minutes on each small section as there is so much detail. We took lots of pictures.  You can’t help but be impressed with Gaudi’s vision but equal praise is due to those that were able to execute on his vision so well.  Some of the world’s greatest craftsmen have contributed to the Sagrada Familia.

Our next stop was the Casa Mila. It was built in 1910. It is a corner apartment block and was a big departure from conventional building construction and as a result was highly criticized. There are no straight walls in the building. Kind of like our house !!  Did Gaudi spend any time in North Vancouver? The building also lacks any colour, which is unusual for his work.  The kids were pretty impressed by the uniqueness of this building - sort of Dr. Seuss like. The chimneys and sculpted air ducts look so threatening that the locals refer to them as the witch- scarers .

We continued on to Casa Batllo down the street from Mila.  A complete contrast to Mila, Batllo is so colourful. The tiles on the roof are multi coloured and curved. The balconies look like skulls and Aidan picked that up right away. We sat outside on a bench and took it all in with the rest of the tourists and I decided it was one of my favourite buildings. We walked around a bit more and stopped for dinner. I was craving some red meat and ordered a steak but they just couldn’t get it cooked in the middle enough for my taste ,even after sending it back a couple of times so I didn’t eat it and was pretty disappointed. Calvin ordered fish and enjoyed it and the boys enjoyed theirs as well. Devin had a bit of a problem with the bathroom lock and thought that he would have to spend his holiday in there.  He was a bit freaked for the remainder of the evening.  We continued to walk after our dinner and didn’t arrive home until midnight, thoroughly exhausted. These boys are troopers and ice cream is a great motivator.

What better way to follow the Gaudi 10km walking tour of the previous day than a hike up the mountain in Barcelona.  European tourist maps can be deceiving and legends are rarely accurate.  Using the legend, we calculated that the trail to the mountain top was no more than 1 km from the house – after several attempts and 2.5km later, we reached the dirt trail leading up the hill.  The hike lasted close to 3 ½ hours and was well worth it. The views were panoramic and the sea beyond the city is a beautiful expansive blue – it reminded us of the view from Grouse. We sat and ate our picnic lunch and felt pretty proud of ourselves. It was very hot so we didn’t stay up for too long and found a shorter route down.  Noah grabbed the map and navigated us home where Chef Calvin prepared a great stir fry and I enjoyed a wonderful bottle of red wine for all of 4 euros. The only thing missing was a masseuse to work on my calf muscles.

We are in Barcelona for only 4 more days and we want to see everything – we are falling in love with this city.  We discussed our options over breakfast and the vote to go out yet again was won by a slight margin of 4 to 3 – Calvin and I have two votes each.  There were a few grumbles from the kids. After we leave Barcelona we will be staying by the beach and there will be plenty of time for chilling out so off we went.  

Today was the Picasso Museum.   Calvin somehow attached the computer to the TV to play our tourist videos of Spain a few days earlier and the boys were fascinated with Picasso and his work.  The thing that captured Noah’s interest the most was Picasso’s changing styles and the significant difference between his work as a young boy and his abstract paintings as he grew old.  They seemed to contradict logic to the boys – it appeared, to them, as if he became a progressively worse painter as he aged.  His work as a young boy focused primarily on portraits and landscapes where his precision and attention to detail was astonishing.  There is a painting of his, in the museum, where the wind is rustling the veil on a young girl’s head.  It is so perfectly painted that you would swear you should be able to reach out and touch the veil.  The boys were asking to see Pisaso / Pichatico / Pistachio / Piclaso’s work and after butchering his name for a few days, Calvin came up with a great way to help the boys remember his name…..phonetically….pickasshole.  I doubt they will ever forget his name and it felt as if they said it every 30 seconds while we waited in the long line to enter the museum. Mom stepped away and pretended not to know any of them.  

There were plenty of street vendors to keep the boys occupied while we waited in the line-up.  Aidan negotiated the vendor down to 1,5 euros for a fan to keep us cool and Noah snagged a new pair of “REY BEND” sunglasses for only 5 euro (1/2 of the original asking price). Ray Ban’s brother I guess, and truly authentic just like the Rolex for 15 euro. The line-up took about 45 minutes which wasn’t as bad as I thought and the kids were admitted for free!  That’s always a nice surprise and makes for a pleasant visit when we don’t feel we have to stay long enough to get our monies worth even though the kids may be complaining. That wasn’t the case this day.  The museum holds Picasso sketches, his ceramics and some graphic works. We were all really impressed with his talent at such a young age and his self- portraits.  At age 15 he was already painting major works. We came across a pastel portrait of his mother that he did when he was about 16 and since my birthday was the next day, I told the boys that for my birthday, I wanted them to each draw, pastel or crayon a portrait of me. They were keen to do it. Should be fun to see what they come up with. The boys took their time in the museum and were rewarded with a couple of pretty explicit nude sketches. Giggles echoed through the museum and they of course had to race over to grab us.  We were about to take a pic or two when the security guard tapped us on the shoulder and we were told “eXCuse mE, but it is abSOLutely foRBIDden” so no pics of Pickasshole but we regularly use the new phrase so money well spent at the museum.   We passed through his blue period (sad and lonely) and finished up with his modern, abstract stuff full of colour.   A quick visit to the gift shop (fridge magnet) and we were off again.

Our last stop before heading home was a visit to the Palau de la Musica Catalana.  This is a real palace of music in the Modernista style. We decided to splurge on the tour of the music hall as it was a recommendation on trip advisor. We found that the kids were free again and at the end of the tour we would enjoy a glass of cava (sparkling wine) ...sweet !  The tour lasted 55 minutes and was brief but well worth it. The hall is decorated with mosaic, stained glass and sculptures. The auditorium is lit by a huge inverted dome of stained glass that is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. At the end of the tour we got to go on stage and see what it is like from that perspective and to enjoy our glass of cava. We tried to talk Devin into playing something on the piano so he could really appreciate the feeling of performing on a stage of that size but he didn’t want to show off or he was too shy.

Back on the metro we headed home for dinner and relaxation. Tomorrow – Deanna turns 25, according to Devin….and Deanna.

Barcelona

Fuengirola, Malaga was a great home base for visiting Andalucía (Southern Spain).  We were less than a two hour drive from all major cities and attractions and Malaga itself is a beautiful city with plenty of history, culture, beaches and food to experience.  This is a pic of the Moorish Castle built just above the Roman amphitheatre that is within a few blocks of Malaga’s University and some of the best walking / people watching streets we have seen.  We had a great time in the Villa and highly recommend this area of Spain for some R&R.

We decided to fly from Malaga to Barcelona instead of driving for 10 hours.   Flights within Europe are cheap if; you time it correctly; are willing to fly on the very late or early flights; deal with some unsavoury smells, and; choose the standing room tickets (just kidding, Mom).  We watched the Spanish Air website and picked up five tickets to Barcelona for 15 euro each which came to a total of $225 after taxes (taxes aren’t quite as high as Air Canada) – not a tough decision vs. a 10 hour drive.  The boys have been handling the drives reasonably well but 3 to 4 hours seems to be the breaking point with these small European back seats and growing boys.  Their elbows start creeping east and west as the rolling sunflower fields turn to boredom and thoughts of wrestling.  We returned our rental car at the airport and started our first of many MacInnis Uno Family Championships.  Aidan won the first 3 hands and seemed to have a lock on the first victory but was handed a pick four card just before Devin won the fourth game and Aidan went from first to last.  I think Devin won the first championship.   We discovered on our flight to Madrid that Devin gets motion sickness just like his mom.  I sat beside him with the barf bag ready, just in case but we were ok.  Travellers tip – this is also a great way to get a couple of empty seats beside you….just break out the barf bag when you take your seat and watch the area clear. We were scheduled to arrive in Barcelona at 11:30pm - we arrived at midnight. 

Two cabs and 30 minutes later we arrived at our casa in Barcelona with a set of accurate but challenging instructions to find the keys to the gate and then to the house. It reminded us of a clue in the show Amazing Race but everything seems like a chore at midnight! Luckily, Calvin bought a high powered flashlight that our neighbour, Darryl, recommended so we flicked on the prison watchtower beam and searched for the keys.  I was a little worried that a neighbour would call the police or send a guard dog our way but it was pretty uneventful and after 10 minutes we found the keys. The house is beautiful and we feel very lucky to spend our week here rather than in a hotel. We fell into bed with a thump. The next morning, the early birds of our family, Aidan and Calvin ventured out to get the lay of the land and came home with savoury and sweet freshly baked croissants and a couple of café con leche (coffee with milk). It was after noon before we got our act together and went in search of food and metro.  

 

The metro system here is inexpensive, clean and easy to use.  Our Barcelona casa is located about 10 minutes from one of the stops.  The area is full of shops, parks and a few Palaces and churches (yes, Palaces and churches in Europe) and we walked quite a bit that first day and decided to get some food and crash.  We found a large grocery store within 15 minutes and picked up supplies for the week.  Calvin carried most in his backpack and in two large bags – a great workout when you have to walk 2 km with 23 kilos of wine.  

 The next morning we managed to get a 70 ride metro pass for less than 50 euro.  With over 6 million Barcelonans, they need efficient transportation.  We read all the websites warning us of subway pic pockets and we did see a team of three pic pockets try to snatch a purse that seemed built for stealing = two small clasps connected it to a thin chain around her shoulder.  Luckily they failed but it was interesting to see them at work – well planned moves but a bit weak on execution.  There were many security guards and police with large dogs roaming the metro cars and subway stations – we never felt unsafe or had any problems – it helps when most families  go out for dinner at 10:30pm and return to home at 1:00am. 

We made our way downtown and decided to head to La Boqueria Market which is an amazing food market said to be the biggest in Europe (I have my doubts) – probably a man oversized it. The first stalls you see are fresh fruit and freshly squeezed juice, which on a hot day is a welcome sight. We all picked our favourite combinations of juice and sipped our way through the market. After sampling a couple of different olive selections we bought some with garlic and tomatoes and some in a spicy sauce. We also bought figs, bread and a selection of nuts. Aidan and Devin were surprised how much hazelnuts taste like Nutella…go figure. Nutella is a staple here but peanut butter is a rare sight. We bought our lunch and ate while we stood and people watched. We do that a lot. After a considerable amount of walking we hopped back on the Metro and headed back “home” for a movie and popcorn and bed.

The next couple of days were spent relaxing indoors playing ping pong, uno, charades and poker. Devin is now a pretty good poker player. He’s still working on when to fold but heck that’s something we all need to work on.

Last days in Malaga

 

We are trying to take a breather between adventures and perhaps too much between blog posts but there is so much to experience that it is difficult to resist.  The boys are up for anything and have yet to push back and as long as we balance the day with water (drink and pool), food and rest, we can get hours of exploring in before they complain.  

We told Devin that until he could swim without his water wings in the deep end he would need to continue to wear them.  He decided that he would swim laps in the shallow end until he could swim without the wings…..he’s now diving (yup, full dives) into the deep end.   Calvin has told him that if he doesn’t start an Internet based company before he is ten that I would have to go to all his classes with him….let’s see what he comes up with ….watch out Facebook.

We have had our first need for medical attention and thank goodness it was for me.  This has taken its course so need to worry.  I woke up in Madrid….yup, two weeks ago, with a very sore leg and discovered a large bite on the back of my leg.  At first I thought of blaming Calvin but he eventually convinced me that it was a nasty spider bite.   It continued to grow in size (roughly an orange) so I visited a local pharmacy that are permitted to prescribe medicine for some things. She gave me a cream that took the redness away but it started to become hot and continued to grow in size. I went back to the pharmacist and asked for the address for the local clinic and within an hour we had found the clinic, registered, met with a doctor, and her translator, and got a prescription filled for antibiotics and pain.  Who has great healthcare?  It is better now but I still have no idea what bit me.  Is there a Spanish Tarantula? Not to dwell on the obvious, but Aidan broke his toe  (we think) prior to our departure for Europe and we waited in emergency for 5 hours before giving up…..and never saw a Dr.

Calvin found a flamenco show in Malaga that was rated very well on Tripadvisor, named Kelipe.  It is in Malaga centro and one of the reviews said “don’t be put off by the strip mall setting”??? Hmmm this sounds interesting.  We chose this flamenco show over others because this one is a more traditional gypsy style rather than the kind we have seen in the past.   Calvin and I love flamenco dance and fado music and have been to several concerts in the past.  Our history with this music goes back to our honeymoon in Portugal. We stumbled upon a concert of Spanish flamingo dancers and loved the passion and power of the show.  We recently attended a concert at Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver that also amazed us.  So, we decided to go with the gypsy style because it was more like the kitchen parties in Andalucía, Spain. 

We found our way to the “strip mall “ with only a couple of minutes to spare and sure enough there it was ,right in the middle of a little mall of stores on multi levels . Travellers tip – get a GPS if you are driving in Europe – it will save you hours of frustration circling your destination on one way, narrow roads.  The show was set up on the bottom floor in the centre court where the acoustics are fabulous (think Roy Thomson hall-not quite but the same cylinder structure). The show consisted of 3 performers = one very talented man on guitar and a male and female singer/dancer. What the setting lacked in atmosphere it made up for in passion and incredibly talented performers.  We felt like we were invited into their living room for a family fiesta! Calvin and I loved it and the boys would have probably been keener if it had more flashy flamenco dancers but appreciated the guitar playing just the same.  The guitarist never really knows where the singers or dancers are going with the song or movements but it’s that interpretive nature that makes this so cool. 

I would love to learn flamenco dance so don’t be surprised if you see me stomping around with a very serious face next year! The show started at 9:15pm and lasted about an hour.

When we surfaced from the basement out on to the pedestrian walkway the city was thumping. Every bar and restaurant was full of young beautiful people, and dressed up like it was Vegas…but more tasteful, OK, maybe somewhere really cool in Europe – like Spain.  You could eat off the streets and the buildings were beautiful.  We wandered around for another couple of hours, grabbed some gelato and found the main walkway full of street performers and more beautiful people.  I lost Calvin a few times … and he has a whole directory of photos that he insists will fill another blog.

 So many days have been spent by the pool, in the pool, at the beach and looking in stores. Aidan never seems to tire from perusing the aisles of souvenir shops. They all have the same inventory and they all charge the same prices but he continues to look for unique items.  Noah and Aidan are getting the hang of bartering. The street vendors on the beach enjoy haggling for their wares and Calvin has taught the boys what price to start at and at what point you walk away and more importantly, how you walk away….slowly.....slowly….so the vendor has time to call to you or tap you on the shoulder.   They really enjoy the challenge, it seems, where I would prefer not to have to do it… so they are doing it for me. If I even glance at something on a vendor’s blanket they encourage me “Mom, do you like it? Do you want me to get the price down for you? “Aidan has perfected the slow walk while Noah is using a bundling technique. Two for one ….what will we do with two fans, two bracelets, two scarfs …you get the picture. Priceless to see them in action and good for their confidence I think – I suppose it has served Calvin well over the years. 

The beach is packed during the day but we managed to section off a square for us.   Monique and I went shopping and left the ‘boys’ to find a spot for us on the beach.  A group of a dozen Italian girls were fresh out of university and coincidentally just happened to be next to our ‘boys’ when we found them…..what a way to enter puberty…..and I’m talkin’ about Calvin.   They are certainly all shapes and sizes on the beach here and I admire the confidence of the not perfectly toned bodies.  We have been making great dinners at home with the Amanat family and Calvin treated us to a dinner of fish cooked in a citrus butter sauce. How come I only get poached eggs at home?

Off to Barcelona in a couple of days to stay at the home of a distant family member and her husband who I haven’t seen in about 20 years.  She graciously offered their home while they vacation themselves.  So generous of them and fortunate for us.  

Sevilla

Sevilla was over two hours away from our home base so we decided to book a hotel and to stay overnight.  We could have easily spent three to four days in Sevilla but you need a lifetime so you have to make some cuts somewhere.  The hotel, Petit Palace Canalejas, was in the old centro section which is very, very, very old.  The streets were not intended to be driven but now they do and it is a challenge to say the least.  We found a parking garage and parked the car for the night and following day.  The hotel was a bargain at only 70 euro a night and it comfortably slept four and only slightly uncomfortably slept five.   We planned to arrive early and visit Alcazar, originally a Moorish fort converted to a Royal Palace over a number of centuries.  It was 42 degrees when we arrived that afternoon so the ladies went shopping and the boys opted for the air conditioned room and a nap, prior to the bullfight. 

We have been using tripadvisor.com as our main resource for checking referrals or finding interesting things to do.  The majority of the time, it has served us well but not for our choice of restaurant this evening.  We ate at Restaurant Horacio across from the bullring and had much of the tapas. It was overpriced and not too tasty. 

It was the final bullfight of the season at the Plaza de toros de la Real Maestranza.  This is the oldest bullring in Spain and the rock hard seats (literally rocks) prove this claim to be true.  As you can see from the picture of the ring, the cheap seats (on the left where very few are sitting) are in the sun and you bake for the savings of a few euro. The ring is considered the most challenging of locations by Matadors due to its history, traditions and its spectators who are said to be the most unforgiving in the sport. If the matadors don’t perform to the crowds expectations, the crowd begins to cheer for the bull. Bullfighting raises plenty of moral and ethical questions and arguments throughout Spain as well as at home but most Spaniards consider this a very important part of their tradition. 

A visit to this ring helps you understand and appreciate the Spaniards’ passion for bullfighting and its place in Spanish culture – this place is surreal and spiritual.  Hearing about bullfighting is one thing but seeing it live is quite something.  It does feel like you are part of the history of bullfighting when you see the relationship between the matador and the bull.  It’s hard not to admire their courage and skill.  We would prefer that they not kill the bull but this is how it is done in Sevilla.  Barcelona bullrings now ensure the bulls survive while Madrid is phasing out the killing.  Devin was a little nervous during the first fight, worrying that the matador was going to get hurt since the bull really got the best of the matador during that fight (except for the ending) but by the 3^rd match he was hollering with the rest of us. Noah and Aidan were mesmerized and took many pictures. 

Calvin, Noah and Aidan ran to the canteen between fights to get us some beer and ice tea but like most sporting events in North America, the line ups were long and the next bull fight started before their return so they were unable to return to their seats until the bull fight ended.  Calvin was chatting with a Spanish fan while they waited to return to their seats and he offered an interesting perspective on bullfighting vs. some of the sports we watch.  Calvin mentioned to him his initial difficulty with witnessing the death of the bulls but the man questioned how different was it really from our “gladiator sports” in North America where men attempt to kill each other while on skates or with their helmets or with their fists, knees and elbows.  Calvin kneed him in the groin and left him crying for his mother.  We guessed the attendance to be four to five thousand fans or about 80% full and almost all were locals.  They clearly enjoyed the evening and waived white flags in support of the bull or matador (we never found out which) and they whistled at the President and / or judges when the judges did not show their approval of the fight.   It was fun to scream TORO when the bull charged the red cape. I doubt much has changed in the sport since it began from what we witnessed. 

The next morning we headed out to walk through the Alcazar. The Alcazar was originally a fortress built by the Moors and like most buildings in Europe, the conqueror built up and around the conquer d’s palace or place of worship.  The upper levels are currently used as a part-time residence by King Juan Carlos of Spain. When the royal family is in residence, the Alcazar is closed to tourists. So we were very fortunate to visit when we did.  The architectural design of the Alcazar has changed over the centuries from Islamic to Neoclassical.  The Alcazar and its gardens is a magical place to explore, so be sure to schedule enough time to see everything.  It's breathtaking and a wonderful example of the harmony that existed between Christians and Muslims at times in Spain. It was built by a Christian ruler in the popular Moorish style and with Arabic calligraphy throughout. We shared an audio guide to help appreciate the history and significance of the various rooms and structures.  Two rooms in particular were where Christopher Columbus voyages were planned and approved by the King& Queen and another where he later prayed before his voyages.  The room in which many sailors after him prayed for safe passage now contains a painting that is considered to be the first with images of the discovery of America.  The Virgin of the Navigators protects ships, cargo and sailors in the folds of her cape.  In the background, within the folds of her cape, are the first known paintings of the indigenous Americans that were brought back to Spain for the King and Queen.   

 We spent almost four hours wandering around including coffee & agua breaks.  It took us over 45 minutes to find the exit. Noah started the search with no success, followed by Calvin who took us as far as humanly possible from the exit. I didn’t even attempt to take over as my sense of direction seems to be a little misguided this trip. Aidan grabbed the reins and somehow walked us confidently through gardens, courtyards and side doors to the exit.  I knew he could do it since he is a Cub Scout after all. It was as if he designed the place – we were all impressed and a bit freaked out by how he did this. 

We grabbed some sandwiches for the road and started the trek homeward.  Everyone, but Calvin our driver slept for an hour on the way home and we were in the pool again for the remainder of the evening.

Calvin and I are writing this blog together. It is challenging at times as we disagree on certain references but it is a combined effort, so when you read long drawn out descriptions of sites, that’s Calvin and when you read, clear and concise – that’s me. I better post this before he reads that….

Gibraltar

Our two weeks in the Villa in Fuengirola (Southern Spain) is intended to be a home base for various day trips we hope to complete. 

The Villa is nice with more beds than you can count but only a few of the twin beds are comfortable.  The location is excellent and the pool is warm and we are in the sun for most of the day.   Dinners are on the patio overlooking the valley below while the kids play in the pool. The fruit here is also absolutely amazing- fresh and juicy.  The kids have played soccer with limes that have fallen from the trees!

We awoke early to begin our drive to Gibraltar, a British territory at the southern corner of Spain.  My grandmother used to always use the expression “hard as the rock of Gibraltar “so I am anxious to see the rock! The locals are not keen to have this beautiful area owned by the British and prefer to make it more difficult than necessary to return to Spain when attempting a day trip – more on this later….  We packed our passports, bathing suits and a lunch with plenty of fruit and water and started on our way.   

Our first stop was 45 minutes outside of Malaga at the Manilva Roman therapeutic baths.  This was recommended to us by one of the locals.  There are no signs on the highway that identify this Roman site.  We were told that there are many Roman ruins throughout this area but none are identified – not sure why.    The baths are just off the second exit on the roundabout when exiting the AP7 – there is a very small sign.  After several wrong turns, we found it!

These therapeutic baths were discovered by the Romans and they constructed an arched covering of which four chambers still exist today.  Calvin, Noah and Jay grabbed the camera and started down the dark (pitch black) tunnels that led from the main bath area.  The water was quite chilly but felt lovely. Three additional caves and bathing areas stretched from the main bath – it must have been huge at one time.  I thought Calvin might get hit with a bat or two as he explored the inner caves but no such luck.   It is said that Julius Caesar (JC) cured himself of skin infections from bathing in these waters.  How special for us to be bathing in the same water….

A thick, almost concrete like mud wall ‘down by the river’ is the first stop where you use rocks, hands and fingernails to scrape mud from the river banks.  There were finger prints in the riverbanks that had fossilized into stone and we concluded that someone had discovered this site well before JC.  The deep holes in the rocks and mud must have taken decades if not centuries if not millennia to dig – this spa has been opened for a very long time.  The mud is then rubbed all over your body and after a few minutes in the sun at 36 degrees – you’re cooked.  This exfoliation treatment would be at least $500 in West Vancouver but no champagne or foot rub here. 

We had a blast playing Neanderthals and running through the bushes.  Probably a good thing there were very few people around or we may have been captured for the local museum.

After we bathed and washed off the mud, we picnicked and started the final 30 minute drive to Gibraltar (The Gib).  The line up to leave Spain to enter The Gib was crazy for a Tuesday afternoon. After an hour of bumper to bumper traffic we entered The Gib.  We were hoping for a new passport stamp but this was a get’em in get’em out kinda border stop.  There are many cheap, duty free items to be had in Gib including booze, cigarettes and gas.  We filled the tank with cheap diesel and kept going. It seems like every third person smokes here and they have not enforced any outdoor smoking laws – we’ve had to master the Spanish wind patterns so we can properly choose our patio seats to avoid the smoke. 

The Rock of Gibraltar has plenty of history…mostly protecting Europe from invaders beginning in Roman times. The Gib has plenty of cool caves (over 50 kms) and a Moorish castle we visited on our hike down as well as one of the best views you’ll ever find.  You can see North Africa on a clear day, which it was not, but I’m pretty sure we could see some mountain shadows of Morocco in a few pics we took at the top.

The crazy apes (tailless monkeys) that live on the top stole the show along with a few purses and lunches from fellow tourists.  There are warnings everywhere to not feed, touch or get too close to these apes but there are always a few who are just too cool for school.  We had our first encounter within a few minutes of arriving at the top when Calvin was leading the way up a circular set of steps and happened upon a mother with a baby clinched to her stomach.  He saw the mom and baby but not the large dad coming down the stairs.  They met head on and the male monkey was not too happy to have him so close to his baby.  His hair stood straight up and he raised his arms and growled very aggressively showing some impressive fangs ….. It was pretty scary but you should have seen what the monkey did, ha! Ha!  Calvin turned to tell us to get down quickly and he continued up the stairs as he was already past the angry daddy ape.  No one was harmed and we found another route up to meet Calvin. 

An hour later we were asking one of the workers for directions when he interrupted us a couple of times to yell at some tourists who were getting too close to a large group of monkeys including a number of moms and babies.  Now these tourists ranked high on the clueless scale – some were doing rabbit ears behind the apes as they snapped pictures and others were trying to pet the ‘wild’ animals.  With no warning the monkey gang attacked the tourists and a few of them were bitten and scratched.  It was very scary as there were plenty of screams and people running.  Calvin bolted to where the action was to make sure none of our boys were too close.  Of course, Devin, Aidan and Noah saw the whole thing and that was the end of our day on the rock and we started the hike down.  VERY freaky experience and while I highly recommend a trip to The Gib, I suggest you bring NO food and keep a safe (3-5 meter) distance from these animals.

We hiked down the Gib (that’s 426 meters for the athletic few in the audience) and we ran out of water on the way down which was not wise as it was mid 30s all day.  Luckily the security guard at the Moorish castle allowed us to turn the gardening hose on ourselves.  There is a cable car option that seemed expensive until we were about mid-way into our hike.  It took us over an hour to get back into Spain and once again there was no real border check as there must have been a few thousand cars doing the same thing as us.  After about 15 minutes or three blocks into Spanish territory we realized we were back in Spain and repacked our passports.  We probably should have filled our trunk with smokes for resale in Spain – could have paid for this trip. 

The drive home was quick – we were in the pool for an hour before bed time.