Welcome to Alumencar!

I've made it to Spain! After a long and harrowing journey from Glasgow, Scotland (which included a 6 hour delay, 4 hours of having my seat on the plane kicked by drunk Scottish men, frantic phone calls to the US because I couldn't figure out how to use my European phone, and almost missing the last train to my city), I finally arrived in Almunecar (in the Granada province) in the middle of the night, tired, hungry, and thoroughly confused. Luckily, my wonderful landlord Veronica met me and after showing me the apartment, decided she couldn't send me to bed hungry. So she whisked me off to the other side of town, where we had a lovely late dinner with her French neighbor Willy. We had tomato and mozzarella salad, homemade hummus, and this lovely baked cod dish with potatoes and eggs. Honestly, it was like heaven, especially after airport food!


So on Saturday, after sleeping for a solid 9 hours, I went out to hit the town. Here's a picture of my town map:




I went to the grocery store, checked out some of the restaurants on the beach, and mostly just wandered around a bit.  On Saturday night, I found a bar showing the England/US game, where I was the only American cheering us on.  It turns out that Almunecar is a popular destination for vacationing northern Europeans, so there were a lot of them there to cheer on England.  The fact that I am both American and a solo traveler is really confusing a lot of people around here.  It's pretty amusing.

Yesterday I decided to explore more of the town, visiting one of the major attractions: El Penon del Santo.  It's a beautiful rock formation that was long ago turned into a sacred site. It's an easy walk to the top and there are beautiful views of the town and the Mediterranean.  It's quite inspirational, really.  Plus, it's pretty quiet up there during the siesta, so I didn't have to fight off any of the other tourists for good pictures!


Today I'm back in town, catching up on my Internet use and picking up a few more essentials (like a hair dryer).  I'm heading back to my apartment after lunch though, as it's turning into quite a beach day.  And the weather and tranquility are already starting to inspire me; I hope to spend the rest of the afternoon on my balcony, getting some work done.  With a view like this, how can you not be inspired?
I've got lots of pcitures and stories from Scotland to tell, but first, I need to go find some food!  But I am having a wonderful time so far here in Spain.  The weather is beautiful, the food is great, my apartment is very cozy, and I haven't insulted anyone with my lousy Spanish yet.  Not a bad way to start the summer!


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